Lux Populi takes on projects in many areas – the commonality being our expertise. We are experts at understanding our clients needs and where light can contribute to addressing them. This “First Principles” approach leads to individual and innovative solutions to our clients’ challenges. These approaches tie together the many processes and needs for which lighting has impacts.
During the design phase, we address the lighting design, its integration into the architecture and its control. These are informed by a technical layer, addressing cost, performance, code compliance and other analytical works. This in turn is informed by the human body’s response to light, both in vision and health. We experience the spaces we inhabit through light, so the analysis of the perceptual impact of light is critical – it allows us to reveal and conceal, emphasize and deemphasize, and to bring together architectural experience with coherence. This in turn affects occupants’ emotional sensation of space, from intimate homes and bars to active, energetic offices and sports facilities. Ultimately, most spaces are best supported by lighting that encourages desired behaviors, whether it’s attentiveness in classrooms and on the road, relaxing with a good drink in a restaurant, or assisting a guest in circulating a cruise line terminal.
At the end of every project’s design phase, we are creating high quality contract documentation for our clients to commission contractors to build their projects. From there, we become stewards, ensuring the construction phase and final commissioning deliver the full value the client has rights to.
Our projects exist in every category and budget, our Collaborating with clients and designers to develop custom crafted solutions for each purpose and project, Lux Populi’s work is informed by architecture, identity, context and function. We develop creative solutions to address a project’s requirements, be it budget, delivery schedule or the resources available on site. Retails rollouts must address universality of location, whereas an art installation in the jungles of the Yucatan peninsula must be robust and maintainable by local tradespeople.
Our projects cover the full scope design works from concepts and feasibility studies to final commissioning and warranty inspections. Through our care and delivery, Lux Populi has drawn a devoted following in the architectural community, building many ongoing relationships.
DESIGN BRIEF DEVELOPMENT
Lighting is a driver of many aspects of projects, not only aesthetics and basic function, but also diverse topics such as brand identity, behavior, revenue, emotional and physical health, sleep, relationships with neighbors, environmental impact, operating cost, staff retention and far beyond. Lux Populi is an extremely sharp instrument in this space, but requires broad knowledge of its clients and their objectives to apply its skills in the correct domains. We develop our initial brief from the client’s own brief by adding research into stakeholders and their interests, constraints such as budgets, codes and technologies, available resources such as maintenance capability and the like. This range of interests varies from project to project and so this initial phase is critical to delivering a well-balanced solution. The design of this research phase varies from residential work though to infrastructure and brand identity, and it is the design of this phase that differentiates Lux Populi’s work.
CONCEPT DESIGN
Our concept designs are presented with sketches, drawings, reference images etc., to communicate the analysis and our strategic response to that analysis. In collaboration with projects’ design and engineering teams we develop schematic designs which are presented with layouts for coordination purposes, along with load schedules and specifications of luminaires.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
The design development stage further refines and coordinates the documentation and progresses the design to defined luminaires and budgets as well as initial design details where coordination is required with other team members and construction packages. Our work is communicated and coordinated with the other design trades, balancing each issue based on merits according to the client’s needs.
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
Construction documents are all about ensuring a detailed, comprehensive and clear set of drawings and schedules that allows accurate procurement and installation of the scheme with the aim of minimising delays and the need for on-site coordination. We coordinate our work heavily with other consultants and resolve issues methodically. Construction documents are the core of the contract between our clients and their contractors, as such, we focus on ensuring the quality of our work.
CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
We consider construction administration, which may include responses to contractor questions, sign-off submittals and shop drawings, monitoring of site during construction/installation, to be an important factor contributing to a successful outcome. Delivering designs is a collaboration with the contractors, and we consider ourselves a partner in this role.
FINAL COMISSIONING
We follow through our projects to the final commissioning stage when luminaires are focused and commissioned, and control systems are programmed. This stage enables the lighting design to be viewed in its final and public presentation and completes our design implementation. Where the stages up to Construction Documents are the design of the instrument, construction administration is the period of its manufacture, final commissioning is composed of tuning the instrument by adjusting lights to art, accent surfaces and beyond, and playing the instrument, recording beautiful scenes that allow the project to always be in its perfect composition.
