INTERVIEW
by
Vilma Barr
31
RAY GRENALD
THE GREAT SEDUCER
AS RAY GRENALD ENTERS HIS FIFTH DECADE IN LIGHTING DESIGN, HE IS UNSWERVING
FROM THE TENET THAT LIGHT CAN SEDUCE OBSERVERS INTO BUYING A CHAIR, OR
BELIEVING IN THEIR OWN GOOD HEALTH. BY VILMA BARR
Raymond Grenald, NCARB, FAIA, FIALD, and FIES, is one of the living recalls, “I decided that I had to unlearn how an engineer thinks.” To
legends of the lighting design profession. Grenald, who just celebrated accomplish this goal, he went back to WSU and successfully completed
his 81st birthday in February, divides his time between Philadelphia and the Bachelor of Architectural Engineering program. “I worked the swing
St. Croix, U.S.V.I. When in Philadelphia, he puts in full work days at the shift at Boeing so I could take the required courses when they were
offices of Grenald Waldron Associates in a small former bank building offered.”
in suburban Narberth. He recalls his first classes in architecture involved esoteric projects from
A long-time observer of people’s cultural habits, Grenald’s conversa- the Beaux Arts era. “The favoured concept at the time was to shoehorn
tions are packed with recollections of the places he’s visited and the people into spaces. But I didn’t see any future following this line of
spaces he’s experienced and designed, and the phenomenon of how thinking. So I asked the professor, ‘What do you mean by environment?
people see. He was elected to the College of Fellows of the American What about people? What about surroundings that evoke a response?’
Institute of Architects in 1985, is a founder and past president of the The professor, to Grenald’s annoyance, disagreed that such consider-
IALD, and has chaired the IES’s national committee on museum and ations were what the acceptable practice of architecture was all about.
art lighting. Long active in professional education, Grenald has served
as a faculty member or visiting lecturer at more than a dozen major
universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University,
Yale University, and the University of Southern California, and has been
a board member of the Lighting Research Institute.
Last year, Grenald was honoured with the IALD’s Lifetime Achievement
Award. It is the organization’s highest honor, recognizing the pioneers
and visionaries in the lighting design field. The introduction by IALD
president Jeffrey I.L. Miller at the presentation cited Grenald’s “skill and
mastery in harnessing the power of light.” His considerable body of
work was adjudged to significantly contribute to a better public aware-
ness and appreciation of lighting design.
Born in Louisville, Ky., Grenald inherited design and technical influenc-
es. “My uncle was an architect and engineer in Europe,” notes Grenald
of his Swedish heritage, “and my father was an artist.” Early aptitude
tests indicated that Grenald could achieve success in technology and/or
artistic pursuits. But before he could begin his professional studies,
World War II broke out and he was a drafted into the U.S. Army, as-
signed to the Air Force as a research engineer on experimental aircraft.
He remained in the military, and was then posted to Korea as an Army
combat engineer.
When a plane in which he was traveling crashed in Korea, he suffered
severe back injuries that confined him to a military hospital for a year.
Following his discharge, he relocated to Washington state, and enrolled
in Washington State University. Grenald, earned a B.S. in Engineering
with a specialty in aeronautical engineering.
His first career move was a job with the Boeing Co., solving problems
in materials and methods of construction and fabrication. At about this
time, Grenald became interested in learning how the human brain
processes perception and how people react to their surroundings. But
his engineering education wasn’t taking him in this direction. As he
Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia
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