Though ethereal, light is one of architecture’s most important materials. Whether natural or artificial, light can accentuate architectural genius, mask mistakes, grab attention, make a place feel sacred or safe. New lighting technology and educational programs are keys to keeping architecture’s spark alive. LED's bring 'em on.

Left and below: UN Studio and Arup Lighting, both based in Amsterdam, teamed up to give Seoul’s Galleria West fashion mall a dazzling, Paco Rabannesque makeover. Concealing a nondescript 1970s concrete building is a layer of 4,330 frosted glass discs, shielding an equal number of LED luminaires. Each disc acts as a giant pixel; the building becomes a vast display screen. With Dutch company Xilver, Rogier van der Heide of Arup developed an RGB LED fixture that improves the color tone of the LEDs. Technology LEDs, the Latest Frontier on Architectural Lighting LEDs are everywhere, and not just in traffic lights and digital alarm clocks where they started several decades ago. LEDs, short for light emitting diodes, have been steadily making their way into architectural applications around the world. Until recently, LEDs were considered impractical for widespread use in large environments but the technology has improved dramatically—they’re smaller and brighter, use less power, can be computer controlled, and cycle through all the colors of the rainbow—enticing more and more architects and designers to integrate them in their work.

Many manufacturers (even those that only recently incorporated the technology into their lines) have now made LEDs, if not a core component of their product offerings, part of their R&D. “We consider implementing LED technology for every new product under development,” said Ted Chappell, president of New Jersey–based Erco Lighting, which did not bring LED-based products into its line until its 2002/ 2003 catalog. read full article via archinect.com