Editorial

摘要

This being panto season and all (oh yes it is) it seems apposite that there is a theatrical flavour to the issue. First we look at the long- recognised infiltration of entertainment technology and techniques into the urban environment (All the world's a stage, p10). It probably began with fittings such as those big beast Vari-lite Irideon colour-change projectors that you might recall temporarily turned Croydon into a half-interesting place some two decades ago under the supervision of Speirs and Major. Those, of course, were dichroic halogen fittings, expensive in both budgetary and energy terms, which was always going to prohibit their widespread use. But the newer technologies and the improved means of controlling them have made them more viable in what were formerly often prosaically lit urban environments. 'The introduction of good quality LED colour-changing and DMX protocols that work has opened up the possibility of theatrical lighting approaches to public spaces because it is no longer a maintenance issue or an inefficient approach to lighting design,' says lighting consultant Michael Grubb. The latest city.people.light awards (Restoration drama, p16) are a perfect illustration of this pervasive influence, which of course goes way beyond just splashing a bit of colour about. What the winning Leipzig scheme demonstrates is that this approach doesn't necessarily equate to the brashness of some old panto dame, but is rather about creating mellow and dramatic, not melodramatic, spaces.