Lighting designer in focus: Peter List

Hamburg – LED Linear spoke with Peter List, owner and head of the office list lichtdesign in Hamburg. For the project "Baltic House" he chose luminaires from LED Linear and reported on his experiences. In addition, he gives insights into his vision of luminaires, lighting and lighting design.

LED Linear: Please give us a brief introduction to your person.

Peter List: I was born in Hamburg in 1961 and have been working with light for over 30 years now. At first I did an apprenticeship as an electrical installer. Then I studied lighting application at the technical university in Ilmenau. It was not possible to study lighting design as it is today back then, so I learned a lot myself and during the work on different projects. Since 2009 I have been the owner and head of the office list lichtdesign in Hamburg. Before that, I worked in various companies and partnerships in the area of lighting design.

LED Linear: You have worked with our luminaires at the "Baltic House" project in Hamburg. What are the challenges for this project?

Peter List: At the Baltic House, it was the challenge to emphasize the architecture and to give the round corner of the building a special significance. The clear division of the stories should also be highlighted by linear lighting. This lining was the lighting planning template, which provided the idea to use light lines very fast. In the beginning, the question was, "How can light be represented?" There must be a surface on which the light reflects. The luminaires should not be visible, the architecture should be recognizable. We therefore opted for a lighting solution that can be integrated into a joint. Another requirement of the city's gremium was a brightness gradient in the lines. This brightness can be achieved with many partial lengths of 30 cm. Each partial length has its own address in the light control unit and is controlled separately. There are in total 420 luminaires. The sections at the corner get 100%, to the ends they are dimmed - thus the decent light course on both building wings developed. Ultimately, however, every project is a challenge. We want to create something beautiful and emphasize the architecture, this is what we stand for.

LED Linear: Which product of LED Linear did you choose for the project and why?

Peter List: We chose the VarioLED™ Flex VENUS. It can be integrated into the architecture due to the small form factor and delivers completely dot-free light. Moreover, it is flexible and can be produced in small pieces. For the outdoor area it was, of course, the prerequisite to use a lighting solution with high IP protection.

LED Linear: What feedback did you receive from your customer about the project?

Peter List: The customer was satisfied and the overall composition is very harmonious.

LED Linear: What do you like about LED Linear?

Peter List: I met Carsten Schaffarz and Michael Kramer very early. The first project was a gastronomy on the lower floor of the city hall in Hamburg. The company has started directly with LED lighting and is continuously improving. Brightness, efficiency and CRI were steadily improving, the quality was always good. I am also satisfied with the flow of projects and the sampling. Flexibility to meet the customer’s needs was always there.

LED Linear: Which luminaire from LED Linear do you like best and why?

Peter List: I do not have a favorite luminaire. The wishes of the customer are at the center, afterwards the luminaire is selected functionally. The luminaire itself is often not a standardized one, but adapted to the application and the needs. I therefore build my own lighting solutions, mostly with small profiles. The light source should not be perceived, only the light.

LED Linear: What fascinates you about light?

Peter List: I prefer to plan light for people who want to relax. An atmospheric lighting. Work with materials. Staging the space. Ultimately, in the case of light, the reflection is always the most interesting, how the light falls into the human eye and the overall picture resulting from this.

LED Linear: What makes a great luminaire?

Peter List: I think in light and not in luminaires. For light, color reproduction and brightness are important to me. For a luminaire the specification possibilities and especially the control. It is also important to me that the light does not harm human health, and the control plays an important role in this case. The research in this area will hopefully be picked up by the industry in the future so that better devices will be built.

LED Linear: Do you have a lighting design philosophy?

Peter List: It is all about planning the light adequately for the application. To deeply understand the customer and to deliver the best result. Find out what is essential in the application. In the case of task lighting, for example, it is the support of the visual task, in the case of decorative lighting, it is the aim to create a certain mood and atmosphere.

LED Linear: What excites you about LED technology?

Peter List: The small design. In addition, less heat generation and better heat dissipation. A 2 cm gap is sufficient to integrate a luminaire for an effect. The possibilities and applications have thereby enormously expanded, giving more design freedom in lighting design than before.

LED Linear: How do you see the future of lighting design?

Peter List: The requirements of the customers are getting bigger and the health aspect is more in the focus of lighting design. Daylight is the most beautiful light and the goal should be to make artificial light as healthy as possible. The proportion of blue light in the LED light is often overlooked and the effect is not yet sufficiently explored. There are many factors that play together and there must be a lot of consideration in order to make the light more healthy in the future.

LED Linear: Thank you for the interview!

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