20 - Light Voices #7 – Raphael Pesch

Martina Kröll is an electrical engineer at engineering firm Klauss in Austria – and lighting seemed to find her naturally. In this episode of Light Voices, she talks about Austrian Federal Railways, a climbing hall, budget cuts, and how having a son with a visual impairment changed the way she thinks about light entirely.

Raphael Pesch is a PhD researcher at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology – and he's trying to make solar cells catch the rainbow more efficiently. In this episode of Light Voices, he explains perovskite tandem cells, bio-inspired photonics, and why nature – from butterfly wings to rose petals – is the best engineer of all.

Grace Gallagher designs lighting for roads, bridges, tunnels, and airports at WSP in New York City. In this episode of Light Voices, she talks about why good lighting is never noticed, how the spacing of tunnel lights can trigger epileptic seizures, and what it means to work on infrastructure that millions of people use every day.

Tzu-Hao Kuo grew up in Taiwan, studied architecture, spent three years guessing at lighting as an interior designer – and then moved to New York City to finally learn it properly. In this episode of Light Voices, he talks about MEP consulting, a mirrored column installation, and what lanterns in a Taiwanese mountain town taught him about wayfinding.

Katrina Matejcik is a lighting designer, freelancer, and professor – and she loves all three. In this episode of Light Voices, she talks about her path from architecture to light, what it felt like to light a gallery installation at MCA Chicago, and why connecting with a lighting designer might open doors you didn't know existed.

Quincy Drane is an architectural lighting designer in New York City – and president of BUILD, the Black, United in Lighting and Design organization. In this episode of Light Voices, he talks about his path from architecture to lighting, what the job really involves, and why daylight will forever have his heart.

Jo Calver runs two design companies in the UK – and she's on a mission to make people understand what light really does to a space. In this episode of Light Voices, she talks about layering, circadian rhythms, common lighting mistakes, and why light is the unsung hero of every interior project.

Nicola Gillespie is a London-based lighting designer – and she never planned to become one. In the first episode of Light Voices, she talks about how she discovered her passion, what lighting design really involves, and why it's so much more than just picking a pendant.

In dieser Rückblicksfolge schauen Paula Longato und Johanna Stückler auf die wichtigsten Erkenntnisse der Tageslichtstaffel zurück – fachlich, persönlich und mit Blick auf Planung, Gesundheit und Alltag. Eine zentrale Erkenntnis aus den vergangenen Folgen ist die Bedeutung, Tageslicht früh in der Gebäudeplanung mitzudenken, um die Bedürfnisse der Nutzenden von Anfang an in den Mittelpunkt zu stellen.

Wie wichtig Tageslicht für die Genesung ist, erklärt uns diesmal Chronobiologin Dr. Mirjam Münch. Sie macht deutlich, welch entscheidende Rolle das unterschätzte Medikament Tageslicht in sozialen Einrichtungen spielt, besonders für vulnerable Gruppen wie Kinder, Kranke und ältere Menschen. Anhand zahlreicher praktischer Studien beleuchtet Mirjam Münch die Auswirkungen von Lichtmangel auf die innere Uhr des Menschen. Dabei wird klar: Obwohl Tageslicht essenziell für unseren zirkadianen Rhythmus und unsere Entwicklung ist, liegen die größten Herausforderungen wie so oft im Bewusstsein und in der architektonischen und planungstechnischen Umsetzung.