WE ARE IN DIALOGUE WITH YELİN EVCEN AND GÖNÜL ARDAL
This month, we are hosting Gönye Tasarım founding partners Architect Yelin Evcen and Interior Architect Gönül Ardal in our “Dialogue” interviews on Lighting Design with our guests from different disciplines of the industry.
We talked to Yelin Evcen and Gönül Ardal, the founding partners of Gönye Tasarım, which has many branded housing and residence projects in which leading real estate investment companies in Turkey are creative solution partners, about lighting design. At the same time, the design office continues its design activities in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe with its experience in hotel, office, and store interior projects.
1. How does light affect your lifestyle in your life, work, or home?
Yelin Evcen: I can say that it directly affects my mood, I prefer different lighting options for different needs during the day. Being in unlit spaces suitable for the function of the space disturbs me. The light level, whether it is direct or indirect, and of course its temperature must be designed in accordance with the space and function. If possible, daylight is always my first choice, especially to start the day and working during the day, but it is not always enough.
Gönül Ardal: I think that the use of light in living spaces directly affects all living things as well as humans, both sensory and emotionally. In my lifestyle, I prefer to use the light optionally according to my different usage preferences, the place and the moment I live. Being able to use both hidden lights, indirect and direct lighting alternatively both in my office and at home allows me to create the environment I want. The light environment that I am most impressed with is the sunrise light that fills my room and the sunset that I watch on my balcony in summer evenings.
2. Which of the following is included in your Lighting Design project/investment? Why?
• Science
• Technical
• Art
Y.E: Actually, I think it's a whole, lighting has a feature that directly affects the ambiance of the space. The ambiance of the place affects our mood and therefore our brain chemicals. Since our aim in our projects is to improve the quality of life of people, lighting design is one of the most important parts of this goal.
G.A: I think that lighting design includes both science, technique and art. The positive effects of lighting design on people have been scientifically proven. The light effect, which is desired to be felt separately in each place, is integrated with the design with different values and calculations, and by combining it with technology, it is studied within the framework of technical information. While it requires a technical work, it also includes an artistic work, since it is desired to appeal to the eye and all the senses aesthetically. When you combine all kinds of works of art, from an architectural structure to a sculpture, with an effective and correct lighting design, the visual and emotional effect it leaves on you can be completely different.
3. Do you think Architectural Lighting Design can add value to the project?
Y.E: We experience the materials used in the design as well as the design details with different lighting effects. I must say that I find light more important than a concrete object in space design. I think the design of the space is not complete in places where the lighting design is weak. What I mean by poor design is that it is illuminated too little or too much, or that the lighting is not designed by the function or space. Someone who is not a designer in well-lit spaces may not be able to evaluate the design of the lighting, but he/she will certainly feel good in that space.
G.A: I see lighting design as a part of the whole and I think that it has a very important contribution to a project process as much as other disciplines such as Architecture and Interior Architecture. This work, which requires separate technical knowledge, will add much more value to the project if it is done by professionals. With a good lighting design, you can better emphasize the architectural details, while at the same time you can experience more than one ambiance in the same place with the use of various scenarios.
4. What do you think the process of working with the Lighting Designer contributed to you as an investor/manager?
Y.E: First of all, to reach the lighting design suitable for the project, to give the space the ambiance we want.
To be sure that the lighting lists are prepared most correctly by choosing the right quantity and technical features.
When the space is completed, the first thing that comes to my mind is that a surprise light effect can be prevented from spoiling the design or from affecting the user badly.
G.A: With the lighting design service provided during a project process, the sufficiency of the light in the space is calculated and controlled by professional hands, making a positive contribution to our project with a technical-based study. With this design work, you can foresee the reflections that may occur in the space and find the opportunity to work on a sustainable design with different scenarios and product suggestions.