david k warfel
Think Light Series A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to attend a presentation by Prem Kumar at the IES Maritime Annual Conference on Prince Edward Island. As is the case with good presentations on lighting, Prem got me thinking. If you have lighting on the outside of your home (or business), you are... Continue Reading →
We recently lost a potential client to a manufacturer who offered “free” lighting design services (so long as you purchased fixtures from them, of course, which have the cost of service buried into the sale price). My first reaction was indignation but, as is often the case, a closer look revealed a much more nuanced... Continue Reading →
In most of our kitchens, we prioritize our dogs or the dust bunnies that inevitably collect on top of cabinets, range hoods, and refrigerators. At least when planning light. We might put more money into our countertops, cabinets, backsplashes, sinks, and appliances than our floor, but we are systematically using the best light in the... Continue Reading →
Coffee, when poured into a mug and consumed, delivers a strongly desired boost of energy through caffeine. The same coffee, when poured onto the laptop, can be ruinous. The question of usefulness or harmfulness, applied to coffee, is answered by the use. The same can be true for light, especially outside. But indulge me a... Continue Reading →
Not all that is new in lighting is much better. One of the newest trends in architectural and residential lighting is tubes of light about 1” in diameter. When I started my career a rather good number of years ago, we called these T8 Fluorescent Tubes, and they were universally loathed for their institutional feel.... Continue Reading →
Feeling a bit groggy as you start your workday today? Hundreds of millions of Americans will be a bit less productive this morning, require a bit more coffee, and be a little more grumpy than usual. Just like we were last year at this time, and likely will be again next year unless we change... Continue Reading →
Lately I have heard others describe my work and the work of my company as “not as good” as some others. They are right. That is my goal. I suspect that the average citizen, when asked to describe the work of an architect, might wander into descriptions of skyscrapers and art museums. Frank Gehry, Zaha... Continue Reading →
Are you trespassing on your neighbors every night? I love my neighbors, mostly, except when they stand in their yard and go about watering their plants but send half of the water over the fence and on to my hamburger. Just to be clear, that never happens. Because I have good neighbors. And usually eat veggie burgers,... Continue Reading →
The Washington Post called following an online rant by pop singer Mariah Carey against "overhead lighting." The author wanted to hear from lighting experts and might have suspected that I would follow the usual lighting professional response tactics and point out the complexities and intricacies of overhead lighting are far more nuanced than a celebrity... Continue Reading →
So much of our modern lives is digital that we scarcely stumble across the archaic digital versus analog debate. No one uses an abacus in high school math class. Finding a land line to make a phone call is increasingly difficult. Clacking typewriters have given way to silent computers. Some of us wear watches that... Continue Reading →
the language of light 