Lighting analysis: Nasher Art Museum

This is the Nasher Art Museuem at Duke University, designed by Freelon Architecture.  The central atrium is as light and airy as a greenhouse, with an industrial glass ceiling and polished tiled floor.  Natural light and a neutral palette serve to differentiate this "wayfinding hub" from the surrounding galleries, where the lighting is warmer and artificial.  Inside the galleries, flexible halogen track lighting highlights the artwork while recessed lighting (lamps unknown) provides architectural depth and intrigue to the ceiling planes.

Lighting analysis: Lantern

Lantern breaks just about every imagined rule regarding lighting-- and yet it stands as one of my favorite late night spots for eclectic asian munchies, sensual surroundings and exotic cocktails.  If you've ever fantasized about spending any amount of time in a black lacquered bento box, then by all means this is your place.  The ceiling, walls and flooring are coated in a thick layer of high gloss black paint and the layout is cozy and boxy, resulting in the intimate clustering of tables and people-- not unlike a perfectly composed bento box.  The lighting consists of soft incandescent lit silk lanterns overhead, recessed fluorescent light in the mirrored liquor display, and a recessed LED strip behind the booth seating for a  glowing chair rail.  The result is a very dark pandoras box where lanterns glow like floating orbs, and corners are left undefined.  I'm not convinced that this "play of brilliants" lighting would be easy to work in, nor would I want to be in this dark windowless environment during the day-- but on social nights, when the theatrics are high, Lantern delivers.

Lighting analysis: Moshi Moshi

This is Moshi Moshi Sushi in Brighton, England.  During my year working here as a sushi chef, I often thought about Moshi Moshi's unique take on lighting as I observed the patterns of light while the days and seasons passed. The restaurant is a single story building set at the center of a plaza surrounded by taller buildings, which create some daylighting challenges due to the 360 degrees of shadow cast by the surrounding structures throughout the day.  To take advantage of what little light did reach the restaurant, Moshi Moshi's ceiling was punctured with a large cross shaped skylight and two of the exterior walls were made with shoji screens.  The interior surfacing was dramatic with a deep red ceiling, grooved black flooring, polished black bar counter, dark gray walls and stainless table tops.  Unfortunately these surfaces either absorbed or reflected the light and the result was a rather dark environment with a lot of specular glare.  Moshi Moshi's lighting fixtures were exclusively halogen pendants, hung at low levels to increase the sense of intimacy.  The effect was a play of brilliants-- bright points of light throughout the space, which I found particularly inadequate as task lighting at the sushi bar.  Perhaps if Moshi Moshi had utilized a larger variety of lights within the same family of luminaires, the restaurant's various spaces and their unique functions (the chefing surfaces, bartender's counter, host stand, tables, sushi belt etc.) could have been appropriately lit.  Here, I would recommend, some ceramic metal halide track lighting and recessed florescent lighting to create a brighter space without sacrificing the intimate ambiance that Moshi Moshi is known for.  I would also change the surfacing of the bar counter and table tops to reduce glare with honed matt surfacing in lighter natural tones.