INTERVIEW
by
Vilma Barr
32
RAY GRENALD
For Grenald, this approach lacked
East Falls Bridge, Philadelphia
the excitement of discovering
and applying new concepts and
revelatory theories. His interests
tended toward psychology, physi-
ology, and ‘human geography’.
He decided to forego aeronauti-
cal engineering and stuck with
architecture, hoping that it would
provide a design basis for pursu-
ing these topics.
He had been hearing that Phila-
delphia at this time was undergo-
ing a major urban redevelopment
program, spearheaded by the
city’s legendary mayor, Richard-
son Dilworth, that was turning
the staid municipality into a lively
centre for art, culture, industry,
and finance. New construction and major renovation programs were Lee Waldron, whose background was in theatre and television lighting,
underway to house the offices and headquarters for the expanding joined Grenald in 1976 and became a partner in 1983. He has overall
economic base. All this appealed to Grenald, and he left the Northwest responsibility for design conceptualisation and project management as
and headed East to Philadelphia. It turned out to be an advantageous well as business development. “Our relationship is symbiotic,” Waldron
move. “I was in the right place at the right time,” he muses. states. “Ray had structured the practice so that its approach was holistic,
He started his own architectural practice that he operated for 14 years. the type of professional environment which most appealed to me,” he
He compares the decision-making process for the engineer and the points out.
architect. “For an engineer,” he explains, “there is but one correct solu- “We agreed from the beginning that the firm should function as a place
tion. For the architect, on the other hand, there is never one solution where we all want to learn and have fun while producing distinctive,
- there is a compromise.” high-quality lighting design,” Waldron says. They have chosen not to
Lighting for his projects through the early 1960’s was typically carried specialise. GWA’s active project categories range from urban lighting
out by electrical engineers. “They designed lighting by the numbers,” to shopping malls, from museums to offices, from retail stores to health
he says. He decided to take on the responsibility of creating the lighting care facilities, and from schools to embassies. “We look for people to
for his architectural commissions. “It was an opportunity to pursue the join us who are talented and curious,” he indicates. “Our staff mem-
effects of ambience on activity, and see for myself how lighting can bers are exceptionally bright, enjoy solving challenging problems,
enhance a space.” and work well under pressure,” he affirms. “They have a expertise in
Grenald began to win awards for his lighting. “I recognised that light- controls, industrial design, fixtures, landscape architecture, and electri-
ing is a phenomenally powerful means of manipulating behaviour, by cal engineering.” Three design studios comprise the Philadelphia office,
evoking a predetermined response.” In 1968, Grenald founded his headed by Waldron, Sandra Stashik, and Mark Harris. A Beijing office
architectural lighting firm in Philadelphia. was recently opened, headed by lighting designer Ma Ye.
In 1976, the same year that Wal-
The Zone, Rosebank, South Africa
dron joined Grenald’s practice,
Grenald was finishing the four-
year-long relighting of the Carls-
bad Caverns for the National Park
Service in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
It is one of Grenald’s all-time
favourites, as it documents user
behavioural change initiated by
his lighting design. The Cavern’s
three-and-a-half miles of under-
ground trails represent one of
the world’s largest underground
chambers. It was physically ardu-
ous, professionally demanding,
surprising, rewarding and to this
day, remains his favourite job.
His assignment was to design an
energy-efficient lighting system
that would be cooler and less
harmful to the cave’s environment
and that would establish scale
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