Sometimes, profundity of a city or a country could be identified through its cultural activities; when it comes to the clearest representation of a city’s culture, that’s must be infrastructures related to it .The Star Performing Arts Center & Star Vista is exactly such a place – this is a multipurpose complex featuring a state-of-the-art with 5000 seat auditorium, above the theater located a vibrant shopping mall. The 2012 completed complex is truly a new representation of Singapore’s cultural style.

Since the first PechaKucha Night debut in Tokyo, Japan in 2003, lots of people around the world have been captivated by this enjoyable event. The main purpose of PechaKucha Night is to share speakers’ – no matter professionals or laymen – observations and opinions on light/lighting. PechaKucha Night is now a global sensation and has been held in more than 700 cities in the world. Of course in Taiwan it does, there is a PechaKucha Night event in Taipei, Taiwan every year.

It is a restless intersection located in one of the busiest area in Taipei City, Taiwan; around the corner stands a luxurious but quiet construction with an entrance resembles in an egg knitted by steel and wooden materials. This is Runtex Tun-Rein Residence, a symbol of sophisticated taste and prestige. The most recognizable feature of this building is exactly its egg-shaped structure installed in the lobby. To illuminate its distinguished design, lighting designers from CMA Lighting Design (CWI Lighting Design then), Ta-Wei Lin, Su-Chen Wu and Jamie Liu brainstormed.

“I visited the Philips Lighting Application Center earlier in the year which helped me learn more about the application of LEDs and where they made sense” Steve Kendig, Facilities Manager

To identify something “good” can be done according to various criteria, while searching for a “lighting hero” is not an exception. We had a report about how the TNT Night Watching Tour carries; after you read that article, you may wonder about the most crucial criterion mentioned by all those TNT members – HOW YOU FEEL. “They are detectives anyway,” you may ask. ”How can a detective search for heroes or villains by feeling?” Well, it’s time to tell you why feeling matters.

Standing in Poole, Dorset, England, the Twin Sails Bridge is the second road linking from Poole town center to Hamworthy. It is a lifting bridge which being designed in a pair of the sail-like triangular lifting leaves. Completed in April 2012, the bridge spans across the backwater channel in Holes Bay and the purpose is to connect four major sites together for vehicles. This is a project which began 30 years ago and Poole’s civic leaders believe their new Twin Sails Bridge is the key to regenerate the town. Lighting designers from Speirs + Major undertook the lighting design task and encountered challenges -- how to use light to encourage people to engage with the structure after dark, how to create a beautiful civic feature both when the bridge is open and closed.

Riddle’s Jewelry, known for diamonds and exceptional customer service, is newly engaged to an efficient LED lighting solution from GE. The retailer is changing halogen bulbs in its 57 locations to GE’s LED replacement lamps, saving 20 to 25 percent in annual jewelry store lighting costs while bringing a new sparkle to its stunning selection of fine rings, pendants and gemstones.

On 14th September, Coretronic Culture and Arts Foundation (CCAF) held an opening musical ceremony for local residents living around Wind God Temple; one day before it, there was an official lighting-up ceremony. BeLight had many interesting and fascinating talks about the background stories of this project.

Earlier this year, the glamorous Westin Lima Hotel in Peru decided to renew its lighting system by adopting new LED lighting from GE Lighting. The upgrade to GE’s energy smart® LED GU10 Replacement Lamps generated an 88 percent savings in energy consumption compared to the former halogen lamps used at the Westin. In its first phase of the project, Westin replaced 4,290 50-watt halogen lamps with the new 6-watt GU10 LED lamps, which are ideal for accent, display and general lighting in a variety of commercial environments.

On southern-west coast of Singapore, there is a huge and grand garden called “Gardens by the Bay” at 54 hectares. On 29th June this year, the Bay South Garden featured in two colossal glass enclosed glasshouses and a cluster of 18 distinctively shaped structures of various sizes called “SuperTrees” opened. Immediately after it opened to the public, this new garden became an icon in Singapore. The origin of this project is an ambition to make Singapore a “Gardens City” or “City in a Garden.” To achieve this, National Parks Board launched an international competition for designers of the Masterplan in January 2006 and Grant associates and Gustafson Porter were awarded the Masterplan design for the Bay South and Bay East Gardens respectively. However, the local consultants for the Bay South tried to invite few international lighting consultants including Kaoru Mende and his colleagues to bid for the lighting design of the garden and they were awarded to work on the project.

Since 1999, the Transnational Tanteidan (TNT) has been traveling around the world to survey lighting conditions in different cities. This time, they traveled to Taiwan and had a short but impressive event with Taiwanese people. In this event, members of TNT discussed with participants on their survey and went out to detect lighting conditions in five areas in Taipei City. That was a typhoon night, yet these detectives didn’t be defeated by the wind and rain. They walked in the areas and observed carefully to find out heroes and villains – good lighting and bad lighting.

In order to promote the concept of “lighting environment activity,” Coretronic Culture and Arts Foundation (CCAF) started up a series of events in hopes to make our lighting conditions better. Last year, staffs of CCAF invited the pioneer of Chinese lighting designers, Mr. Chou Lien, to present a lighting show at Wind God Temple in Tainan, Taiwan and explained how lighting design affects our daily life. As staffs and all attendees impressively understood how important lighting is, CCAF decided to recreate the lighting circumstance around Wind God Temple.

Keratonat The Plaza is the latest addition to The Luxury Collection® Hotels & Resorts by global hotel chain Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. The Luxury Collection is an ensemble of hotels and resorts offering unique, authentic experiences that evoke lasting memories. Keratonat The Plaza is a luxurioushotel located in Jakarta’s well-known landmark Plaza Indonesia. Setting its sights on a high-quality and efficient lighting solution, KeratonatThePlaza specified GE Lighting’s provenLED system tailored to create an air of elegance at the luxury hotel.

The St. Botolph Building, over 500,000 sq ft space with 14 stories high, is one of the largest office development in the City of London. Speirs + Major was appointed by Minerva plc to design the lighting scheme for the internal public area: the reception, central lift core, outer stair cores and atrium.

Every kid has a dream to live upon a treehouse and hide his or her face behind tree branches. However, most of us are unable to achieve such a difficult dream for build a firm, wide tree house in some beautiful location. Believe it or not, there is actually one place that accomplishes this fantasy. Inspired by the nature, the Yellow Treehouse Restaurant, which offers 25 seats, in New Zealand is a stunning architecture that typically built on an enormous redwood tree for diners to enjoy their dishes while being immersed into the wonderful environment. As the dusk fall, you can also see the restaurant shines like a golden cocoon wrapped up by dark shade. This astonishing architecture is a significant project of a New Zealand based architecture studio – Pacific Environment Architects Ltd. (PEL).

After six years, visitors can return to the National Center for Traditional Arts (NCTA) and wander around there at night this summer. NCTA therefore launched a special summer project called “66 nights in NCTA – ‘Along the River During the Qingming Festival’ under the starry night” (Editor’s note: “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” is a famous Chinese painting that depicts bustling streets in Bianjing, now Kaifeng, along an ancient canal in the Song Dynasty) to feast visitors. In order to enrich the beauty of nights in NCTA, the owner worked with Delta Electronic who provided its LED lighting integration program which adopts hardwire and software controlling systems and power supply design, so it is possible to protect our environment by 63% lower energy consuming while enhance the gorgeous scene.

There are several reasons to explain why LED rises so quickly in recent years. One of them, maybe the most important one, is that LEDs are more energy efficient. LEDs are brighter and cooler than traditional lamps; this also indicates that they consume less energy to emit the same lumen. As the producing process getting improved, the costs to produce LEDs are lower, and this fact encourage people to consider using LEDs instead. In addition, LEDs are more flexible for different situations. Designers can achieve almost everything they want. Other than advantages of energy and flexibility, brightness is another beneficial feature of LED fixtures. Now, European countries are striving to cut as many costs as possible, and the United Kingdom is not an exception. When Wigan Council was planning to start their Street Scene and Lighting project, it was necessary to find a balance between brightness and money. The manager, Keith Benson, sought help from Philips and there was a perfect solution: Philips’ product called “SpeedStar LED luminaire.”

The tallest construction in New Taipei City, a.k.a. the Xinbei Bridge, reveals that even the latest architectural technology can dance elegantly with beautiful scenes when it is given help from appropriate lighting design. Taipei City is the biggest city in Taiwan; across the rivers surrounding it, it is the second biggest city – The New Taipei City. For decades, these two major cities have been connected by several bridges and become the Big Taipei Metropolis. However, as the population increasing, it is necessary to build a new one that can improve traffic conditions for the most densely inhabited districts. And the answer is Xinbei Bridge, literally “New Taipei Bridge.”

In an old capital like Beijing, the most impressive thing should be visiting those mysterious mansions in alleyways. The night lighting in Beijing is more elegant than other Chinese cities as it is calm and noble. The main purpose of lighting design for Beijing is not about to highlight the architecture, but about to integrate light with the architecture and surroundings to let the architecture and its background culture tell their own stories.

This project was located in a newly constructed park in suburban Shanghai. Originally, the building was designed as a public facilities room in the park, yet never been used since the park was completed. Due to the fact that there is a newly finished subway station, it also provides fresh energy to the surrounding area. For this reason, local government is willing to introduce a whole new design concept and a different business model so that they can try to create a new building type that would be more suitable to regional residents and customers. Designers and builders applied a series of copper gilded and carved out metal sun shading boards in shape of tea leaves at the southern part of this building to achieve the “eco-friendly, trendy and cultural” concept, and make this building an energy-saving and poetic lounge that represents the Chinese tea culture.

Spearing into the blue sky, Burj Khalifa – also called “the Dubai Tower” – has been regarded as one of the most remarkable building in human history. Burj Khalifa is a landmark among Middle East, where is mostly dominated by Islamic culture, and also an icon of how high technology can help to construct an “automatic” building. Across the Persian Gulf, there is a vivid comparison to Burj Khalifa –Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. The museum is a beautiful architecture that collects enormous number of Islamic artworks. Both of these two great building are lightened up by fixtures from Philips.

Public-private partnership between Illuminate the Arts, CalTrans & artist Leo Villareal turns bridge into The Bay Lights sculpture: 4.5 miles of LED supported by solar; spurs local economy In a shining example of public-private partnership, The Bay Lights, the new LED lighting system for the Bay Bridge that was developed by Philips Color Kinetics, has been gone to live since May. Fulfilling the brainchild of Ben Davis, chairman of Illuminate the Arts (ITA) and the vision of acclaimed artist Leo Villareal, the bridge will become a one-of-a-kind lighted sculpture for the next two years. Installed with the support of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the bridge is expected to be viewed by over 50 million people and bring nearly USD$ 100 million in revenue to the local San Francisco economy. The new LED lighting system uses 85 percent less energy than traditional lighting technologies, energy that will be offset by dedicated solar panels set up in Davis, CA by CleanPath.

The Berlin-based deluxe department store Quartier 206 teamed up with OSRAM AG to infuse its display windows with special lighting. Located on the Friedrichstrasse, one of the top addresses in Berlin, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs for short) were being used to create an impressive setting for the sophisticated fashions at the store. The light technology of the future transformed glass panels into luminous surfaces which emit a warm, very soft lighting. This permitted the creation of light installations unlike anything seen before.

Grocery and convenience store owners now have an extra-appetizing lighting solution for open deck cases that delivers a quick payback without sacrificing performance: GE’s Immersion™ RH30 LED lighting system. GE’s new Immersion LED lighting system attracts customers by making food packages shine with crisp LED light. The refrigerated display lighting transforms horizontal cases housing fresh meat, packaged dairy and deli items, as well as service cases at butcher and seafood counters.

Acuity Brands Indoor and Outdoor Luminaires and Controls Installed Throughout $1.4 Billion Construction Project More than 14,000 indoor and outdoor lighting luminaires from Acuity Brands, Inc. have been illuminating the new Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport since July, 2012. The terminal, which is certified Silver under the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard, includes a comprehensive array of Acuity Brands lighting and digital controls solutions designed to enhance the terminal user's experience by delivering quality, energy-efficient lighting. Multiple lighting products were installed in nearly every application throughout the 1.2 million square-foot facility. A blend of custom and standard lighting solutions were also employed to highlight the building's signature architecture and deliver required light levels throughout the terminal space, while addressing multiple energy-usage challenges.

Royal Philips Electronics have managed to light up Eden Park, New Zealand’s premier sports ground with energy efficient lighting. All over the world, Philips’ highly efficient lighting solutions have been turning stadia into iconic ‘theaters of dreams’ while delivering the best possible experience for people in and around the arena. Last year, Eden Park stadium underwent significant redevelopment to further enhance its big-match experience, and to cater for future stadium events and their differing requirements. Philips was asked to provide a floodlighting solution that would work for both rugby and cricket as each has different lighting needs. They was also asked by Eden Park Trust to present a high-impact way of illuminating the new south stand to enhance the stadium’s atmosphere and ambience.

The monumental facade and inner courtyard of Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam  is now lit by new, custom-designed LED lighting from Royal Philips Electronics. The outdoor lighting accentuates the characteristic features of the historic building. The premises where a luxury hotel locates in can be traced back to the 15th century, and in the past the building had served as Amsterdam's town hall and a monastery. Following the switch-over to Philips LED lighting for the indoor lighting inside the luxury hotel several years ago, the exterior part of The Grand is now also being illuminated by LED lighting. The purpose of lighting up the inner courtyard is to highlight the aesthetic features of this impressive building. The new LED outdoor lighting offers a seamless solution.

Osram illuminates the tenth cruise ship of Aida fleet with 9,000 lamps and a “strip” of more than 1 kilometers of LEDs. Aidastella, also called "the swimming city," has a total length of 253 meters and a width of 32 meters, and offers space for 1097 passengers. "Cruise ships with their complex range of demands are in reality lighthouses for lighting applications," commented Martin Nüboldt, manager of the lighting project from Osram. "As one of the leading providers of maritime lighting, we are highly pleased to provide lighting fixtures for Aidastella."

Since its founding four decades ago by three sisters and families who dreamed of honoring their mother and her collections, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, has been committed to enhancing lives through art and educational programs. As an art-in-nature-focused museum that is certified “Travel Green” by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, the Woodson also strives to be a model of sustainability. Deepening its commitment to environmental stewardship, the Woodson recently installed GE’s energy-efficient Infusion™ LED modules throughout a newly constructed gallery, saving 30 watts of energy per fixture and bathing the artworks on view in crisp, white light.

Arena in Sao Paulo: The pitch lighting exceeds the highest international standards by 50% and the LED video screen is currently the world's largest stadium LED panel. The new futuristic Corinthians Stadium in Sao Paulo: an arena of the superlatives. The entire high-tech lighting of the arena area is provided by the OSRAM Group.