Hospitality Lighting - Summer 2008 - (Page 7)

Food for Thought As President of San Rafael, CAbased EDG Interior Architecture and Design, Jennifer Johanson makes it her business to study the ins and outs of restaurant design. Lighting for dining is both an art and a science, she says, and the best designers can balance both to achieve spectacular results. the glare and the harshness of the undiffused lamp. We also rely heavily on a multi-zone GRAFIK Eye dimming system [from Lutron] to dim table zones independently. RL: How can poor lighting affect a guest’s dining experience? JJ: It’s not presenting the food to its best advantage. It’s one thing when, in the old days, things weren’t as fresh, and [they] were covered in sauce. It didn’t really matter. But now that everybody’s putting so much emphasis on fresh produce and locally sourced vegetables, you need that philosophy of color. RL: What specific techniques can designers use to balance the room and help make food “pop”? JJ: Don’t rely on single-source lighting solutions. Add lighting effects at varying heights throughout the room: sconces at mid-height, pendants to light the ceiling or to glow and add drama, spotlights on the art and the table or other architectural accents, and hidden light sources to add mystery and drama. You should also look at how to create different lighting effects from day to night if the restaurant is open all day. www.engstromdesign.com Johanson Residential Lighting: Is there a particular type of light source that’s best suited for restaurant lighting? Jennifer Johanson: We have found that the quality of light from low voltage halogen lights, such as MR16s, is best for creating drama and accent, as well as for bringing the best color-rendering to the food on the table. We use those sources for spotlighting the tables and artwork particularly. RL: What’s the best way to illuminate individual tables in a restaurant? JJ: We like to get spotlighting on the table, but [we] always request a diffuser to get the intensity of the light without Bloom, Malmö, sweden Feel the Love Hospitality design is increasingly seen as a more stable industry than the underperforming residential sector, and two major market centers have positioned themselves to capture this vitality. In Las Vegas, World Market Center (WMC) has unveiled plans to dedicate an entire floor of its new Building C, which debuted during July’s Las Vegas Market, to hospitality showrooms. With hospitality design already comprising about 15 percent of its customer base, WMC hopes to launch the themed floor—a total of 150,000 square feet—in 2009. The venerable Dallas Market Center (DMC) has already put into motion its plans to tap the hospitality lighting market. In June, DMC launched a one-day Hospitality/ Contract Lighting Show on the tail-end of its summer residential lighting mainstay. DMC representatives say more than 90 percent of their existing clients were on board for the contract show, which was held June 23. www.lasvegasmarket.com www.dallasmarketcenter.com In Full Bloom www.axolight.it What’s in a name? If you’re Swedish architect Jonas Lindwall, names can provide more than a little inspiration. Take Bloom, a new restaurant in Malmö, Sweden. Lindwall didn’t have to search too hard to find his venue’s lighting soul-mate; that fixture proved to be Blum, a blown-glass pendant designed by Marcello Furlan for Axo Light. Blum offered just the right combination of floral whimsy and contemporary glamour, lending a playful grace to the flowery atmosphere of the eatery. The lamp itself reinterprets Venetian glasswork, turning delicate curls of glass into ray-like protrusions radiating out from a chrome-plated central sphere. The result is a veritable “blossom of crystal” that complements the blocky, backlit wall panels that line the modern space. SUMMER 2008 | HOSPITALITY LIGHTING 7 http://www.engstromdesign.com http://www.axolight.it http://www.lasvegasmarket.com http://www.dallasmarketcenter.com

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Hospitality Lighting - Summer 2008

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