Philips and the Professional Lighting Designers Association (PLDA) have named 29-year-old Flynn Talbot as winner of the international Architectural Lighting Design Competition.
The competition, launched in January, called on lighting designers under 35 to submit concepts for a temporary lighting installation at Frankfurt’s Saint Peter Church, with the winning project showcased during Luminale – the PLDA Celebration of Light during Light, + Building 2010 in Frankfurt.
Flynn Talbot’s winning, LED lighting-based concept, was chosen out of 175 international entries by a jury of design experts who judged the entries on a number of criteria, including creativity, response to the context and architecture of the church, energy consumption of the scheme, and the scheme’s feasibility as a temporary installation.
“I wanted to create an experience,” says Flynn, who comes from Perth, Western Australia. “I wanted my solution to be more than just lights. I came up with an idea that I called Portal. The idea was to have a ‘cloud’ of light at the top of the spire that would be blown about by the wind. It was almost like a piece of heaven or a piece of the sky that had fallen down and landed on the tower. It would act like a beacon across the city.”
“The 2010 Architectural Lighting Design Competition set out to provide up-and-coming talent with an international showcase for their creativity,” comments Mark Major, a leading lighting architect and member of the judging panel. “Flynn embraced this opportunity perfectly with his submission, which won over the judging panel by telling a story through light. Flynn is a fantastic young talent and we wish him well for the future.”
Garrett Forde, chief commercial officer of Philips Professional Lighting Solutions in Europe, agrees. “Flynn’s concept is a wonderful example of how LED lighting is expanding the lighting designer’s palette,” he says. “We’re delighted to be involved in this competition and helping to provide a great platform for talented new designers like Flynn to create new possibilities for lighting in cities and urban spaces and, ultimately, simply enhancing life with light.”
