032 REPORTER
Left Designer Maker User at the Design Museum features almost 1,000 items of 20th and 21st-century design viewed through the lens of the designer, manufacturer and user
Below The exhibition Gabrielle Chanel – Fashion Manifesto at the V&A South Kensington was the first retrospective dedicated to the work of Gabrielle Chanel in the UK
you to kind of play, I had a very kind of hands- on approach.’
Her time at Goldsmiths allowed for a lot of
experience in fringe theatre and being part of the inception and creative vision. ‘And I guess at the time it was storytelling, and, in a sort of abstract way, there was a form of narrative, which [is still how I] approach things as a studio,’ she adds. Before founding her practice in 2006
Hughes worked as an assistant to film director Mike Leigh on three films: Naked, Career Girls and Secrets and Lies. She was also lighting design consultant for Warner Bros’ Batman Begins. Her theatre designs include projects in London’s West End, on New York Broadway and for The Sydney Opera House. In opera, Hughes has worked extensively across Europe. She talks about being captured by the sensory aspects of the job: ‘It’s the very sensory nature of it. It can be its rhythm, its punctuation, its expression of joy, or something that’s so understated that you’re not aware that it’s actually there. It’s subliminal, [but also] a big expression, and something that’s much, much, more quiet and subtle – [that’s] what I find really fascinating with it. It’s that kind of sensory quality, which we as a studio interpret.’ Hughes speaks regularly on best practice in lighting, such as at Futurebuild and at the Light ’23 Show in London, as well as for the DARC Talks programme, Women in Lighting, the Museums Association and at The London School of Economics in previous years. This year, Hughes was a mentor on the Silhouette
Awards Mentorship Scheme, as well as representing the industry as part of an initiative by The South London Careers Hub, which is bringing together educators and creative industry professionals to empower young people aspiring to work in the creative sector, with the programme seeking to impact directly on students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including under- represented groups. ‘I think there should be an undergraduate
level,’ says Hughes on the routes leading into lighting design. ‘And also I think there should be something of a more apprenticeship level as well, because the job is varied and if you want to be on the more technical side of it, but creative, [you don’t] necessarily need to be trained to Masters level; it doesn’t need to be wholly academic and it feels to me you’re missing out on a whole range of potential talent.’
Reaching out and finding routes into the
profession is one area Hughes is helping to address, but she also says changes to way we view building design and advancements in LED technology is also leading to a positive change. LED lighting can be integrated into schemes much more easily and, with spaces being designed for flexibility, technology and designers are working more cohesively. ‘Schemes can be tailored and can be
future-proofed for different configurations and use,’ adds Hughes. ‘Space is a premium – every space these days has to do three or four functions, so I think controllability is really a major innovation as well as the light source technology. I think lighting is going to play a more critical role and, also, the way that we build our buildings and how they need to be future- proofed. The lighting industry is really trying to introduce a more circular economy-type practice, whereby we make a lighting unit accessible so that we can change out the chip, or… the driver, and we don’t need to change the fitting. So, I think it will be key in [creating] more sustainable architecture and more flexible architecture. But, also, understanding our triggers and emotional worlds of work, rest and play – I think this idea of circadian rhythms and how to use these kind of technologies to create better environments is something that is being acknowledged and will be more and more implemented. ‘It will be exciting and growth for the industry and for our studio. I think that that kind of runs hand in hand with the way that we want to practise in the future.’
GARETH GARDNER
THOMAS ADANK
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