Light: Cities and Architecture, Design More to Consume Less

Author, Professor and recently, Poet Brendan Gleeson joins LCA to discuss the gravitational power and development of cities, with a focus on Melbourne. With a background in geography and urban planning, Brendan is interested in the human relationships developed through planning and architecture. He is a member of the Melbourne Centre for Cities within the University of Melbourne and is the author of 14 books, most recently Records of The Loss Property Department of Gardiner Reserve. I am excited to dive in and hear his perspective on the past, present, and future of Melbourne and urban economics. Ideally, this episode will provide some insight into the history and complexity of cities and urban planning, and provide hope on the key future issues cities will face in a warming climate.

This episode I invite esteemed author and Professor of Architecture Mirjana Lozanovska, a good friend of mine on to the podcast to talk about post-war southern European migrant housing in the 50's and 60's. Mirjana's extensive expertise sheds light on the architectural landscape of Melbourne, particularly the houses in our local neighbourhoods. Migrant housing holds a personal connection for me, as my parents moved to Mildura from Italy after World War II, and Mirjana's research resonates with the memories of homes from my childhood. Mirjana, Professor at Deakin University, focuses her research on architecture, diversity, and culture. Her book, "Migrant Housing," delves into the significant role of migrant architecture in shaping Australian cities, considering the substantial number of Australians with overseas-born parents. Join us in this enlightening episode as we explore the stories behind the buildings that contribute to the diverse fabric of our communities. Tune in now to gain insights into the fascinating relationship between culture and architecture.

From this episode onwards, we are introducing a new discussion point on which we will invite speakers to contribute - Design More to Consume Less. This topic will introduce and interrogate the concept that design can aid us in reducing how much we consume. Whether that be through well produced items that last a lifetime to scrutinising the supply chain of everything we buy, can design and designers be the authorities on consumption? Can we truly consume less and design more? In this episode we invite Damien Wright - designer, furniture maker, and activist, to discuss with us the ways in which design thinking and craft come together to inform his view on consumption.

After a hiatus of 8 months Jackson and Antony are back talking Light, Cities and Architecture.  In this episode they talk about The Light and Space movement emanating from California in the 1960’s.  Together they discuss the work of Robert Irwin, Helen Pashgian and James Turrell.  With obvious links to architecture these artists redefined art in the 20th century to be a sensory experience that broke free of the boundaries of the canvas and became installation pieces in different locations around the world. The impact is still being felt today with artists like Olafur Eliasson and even Kayne West being both influenced and supporters of the work.

In this bonus episode Jackson and Antony depart from Aalto that was discussed in last episode and discuss the role of daylight design in contemporary buildings.  We venture into the meaning of architecture, the art of daylighting and the rise of electric lighting to satisfy people’s needs for light and control in spaces.  The future of daylight might be less obvious as lighting design and lighting controls give greater certainty to lighting outcomes.  But can electric lighting ever give us what daylight gives us in architecture?  Find out what Jackson and Antony think will be the future of lighting design and architecture in the 21st century.

In this episode Jackson and Antony look at the work of Alvar Aalto.  Specifically, we look at his library buildings and the relationship to lighting design and daylight.  Aalto’s work spans over 5 decades and each of his library buildings we see an evolution of the way he uses daylight to create spaces.  We explore the influences of luminaire design on his architecture and how he created a model of nature and the environment that inspired his interior architecture.

In Episode 5 Antony and Jackson delve into the delights and mysteries of the night time sky and the impact that light pollution is having on our connection to the stars and colours of the sky at night.  Since the advent of electric lighting and urbanisation of our cities we have slowly filled our cities with more and more outdoor electric lights.  Increasingly we rely on lighting, advertising, technology for entertainment, human connection and storytelling.  However, our evolution has for millennia relied on the simple day night rhythm that is deeply embedded in our DNA.  By removing darkness from our lives, we lose connection to our spiritual lives, we affect our physical and mental health and we impact flora and fauna to a frightening extent.  In this our (difficult) fifth episode Jackson and Antony once again attempt to navigate the impact of abundant electric lighting in our cities.  We delve into the consequences of losing the night from our lives and what it might mean for we humans.

In episode 4, we explore the daylight in the urban context of big cities and the backlash that happens when we build tall buildings in close proximity.  The urban realm at ground level is compromised and the effects are felt for generations.  New York has progressively tried to provide planning regulations to limit the effect of daylight at ground level and the story of New York involves those who wish to see development thrive and those who want to see the public realm retained as a livable healthy place for people to thrive.

Podcast 3 explores the origins of Christmas lighting. There are many interpretations of how the Christmas tradition evolved, and what most of these versions have in common is that Christmas came about as a way of bringing people together during the coldest & darkest days of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In this episode Antony and Jackson discuss how the traditions have been adopted by different communities all over the world, the rivalries between neighbours that play out during this time, and how the advent of electricity transformed the celebration into a cacophony of glowing light.

Podcast 2 ventures into the birthplace of lighting design.  Antony and Jackson discuss three important figures in the history of Lighting Design.  Mies Van de Rohe, Philip Johnson and Richard Kelly.  With the arrival of glass boxes in the mid 20th Century – lighting faced some new difficulties and challenges.  How exactly does one light a glass box reveals the importance of lighting design to solve problems that architects had previously never encountered before.  While the work of Mies and Johnson is revered – it is Kelly who is relatively unknown outside of lighting circles – who resolved the detail resolution of lighting space and architecture to create a wholly new discipline of design.