Do you read? Here, this list is for you: publications on urban design, historical light, stories of sleep, nocturnal narratives, the power of disorder and heterogeneous spaces and places, wrapped in a frame to consider when designing illumination for cities. Two more books released in 2015 Cities of Light, Two Centuries of Urban Illumination can be purchased from Routledge Press. For a free download of Rethinking the Shades of Night, visit the Arup night-time website. #urband

Here, the Arup description: “In the past, the attitude of ‘the more light the better’ has led to a general abundance of light, especially in urban areas, but both light and darkness are equally important to our health and well-being,” said Florence Lam, global lighting design leader at Arup. “With the shift towards 24 hour cities, we should not aim to simply recreate the day at night, but instead, we need to carefully consider the role of night-time lighting. We need to desig

City Light Guide, a free mobile app by Philips has just been released. Link to Android City Light Guide  &  Apple City Light Guide apps Here, visitors and inhabitants of Barcelona, Berlin, London, New York, Paris, Rotterdam, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo are invited to follow routes — through  photographs and narrative — put together by lighting designers including Paula Rainha from Portugal, Thomas Wensma from Netherlands and myself. This is a new approach to describing  intern

Municipal Art Society’s “Jane’s Walk” West Village, May 5th 2012,was fun and invigorating. I was the “official” photographer and took my mission seriously, running ahead, falling back, click click click.  Get the shot. Joan Schechter  is a pro tour-guide and she covered the architecture and history of the Village by the lights of Jane Jacob. How did it happen that Michael Levine, Charlie Anderson and I veered of the path of the official walk and viola! began a sensational wan

Lighting is an essential element of our 24/7 world The world is urbanizing at an unprecedented pace. Once dominant, rural and agricultural populations are now city-bound as people seek new job opportunities and better living conditions. Click to enlarge Numeric projections and issues such as the speed at which large cities have burgeoned into mega-cities, the differentiation between”Mega” and “Global” cities and comparative economic, social and health statistics are numerous.

A launch to the season of golden slanting sun and naturally tinting leaves, here is a seasonal selection of commentaries voted the best at Light Project studio — a visually warm celebration of the coming cool weather. It’s autumn in New York, The gleaming rooftops at sundown, Oh Autumn in New York, It lifts you up when you run down.  Glittering crowds and shimmering crowds, In canyons of steel, They’re making me feel – I’m home. Fête des Lumières; a NightSeeing™ LightWalk in

Public Art at Main Street Garden Park: SPRING Lights Change to SUMMER SpectraScape, the public art installation comprised of video bands of light that scroll across the green glass shelters at Main Street Garden Park will shift from the spring colors – hot pinks and white – to summer soft pink, lavender and yellows – on June 21, as the Summer Soltice transpires. On Tuesday evening viewers will see a dynamic media transmission echoing the summer landscape of the garden park. D

Photo by Leni The NightSeeing program’s intention is to open people’s eyes to an existing nighttime milieu, as well as providing an overview of public lighting theory in an experiential setting. Photos by Leni NightSeeing was presented on January 11th, 2011, as part of the Architecture, Residential, Commercial (ARC) Lighting Show in London.  This interactive experience was a guide to the nocturnal lighting environment, culminating in an hour-long evening walk through The Ange

Visual memories of December 2010 are clothed in a vapor of magenta pink. During the famous ‘Fête des Lumières‘ in December 2010, Philips International Communications invited me to join their Livable Cities event. The event consisted of a panel, dinner and a LightWalk amongst the winding streets of Lyon to directly engage and educate international journalists on issues of lighting in the nighttime environment. Lyon is the third largest city in France. It is located between two

SHADINGS is a hybrid work by composer Laura Elise Schwendinger and lighting artist Leni Schwendinger. Playing It UNsafe Concert Friday, March 4 2011 at 7:30pm View the video! Playing it UNsafe Composer Journeys: The Schwendingers In 1993 Leni undertook a photographic research project in Japan, an exploration of ephemeral architecture and the “kare sansui”; Buddhist dry landscapes.  Her medium, the short-lived black-and-white Polaroid transparency film, enhances the fragile

The line crawled out the door half the block down La Guardia Place… the seating once inside filled three spaces – the multipurpose hall downstairs, the mezzanine, and the library. All had projected video of the presentation held on the ground floor. The murmur and the luminaries present heightened the excitement of the launch of this three-year book project. Produced in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, “High Performance Landscape Guidelines

I was thrilled to receive a message from Dietrich Neumann, whose “Architecture of the Night” has inspired so many. He indicated that he had hoped to attend the Bryant Park, NYC LightWalk one year ago, but had been waylaid, and that now, very soon, he planned to bring his students to Times Square… and wouldn’t I take them on a LightWalk? As serendipity would have it, I have been studying the Square, for the Light Projects role as lighting consultants for the Times Square Pedes

SpectraScape, the Public Art installation comprised of video bands of light that scroll across the green glass shelters at Main Street Garden Park will shift from the fall  colors – rust and green – to winter on December 21, as the Autumnal Equinox transpires. On Tuesday evening viewers will see green and white tones of light that celebrate the sparse landscape of the garden park proclaiming the start of winter. SpectraScape, inspired by the colors of the seasonal foliage in

Lyon is home to the Lighting Urban Communities International organization.  This city hosts one of the most sophisticated and spectacular light festivals in the world. #lightwalk #urbandesign #International #publiclighting #LeniSchwendinger #LinkedIn #LightWalk #CitiesofLight #lightfestival #LightProjectsLTD #LUCI #Lighting #NightSeeing #cities

Dwell Magazine’s series, As You Light It <link here>, focuses on my idea of the City as home and the NightSeeing™ program. The video takes the viewer on a journey starting in the Light Projects LTD studio and on to the far west side of Manhattan, Triple Bridge Gateway at the bus terminal, Times Square and Bryant Park. Link to learn about my Public Lighting Theory and walk with me (and the camera) on Night City, a movie. #lightwalk #urbandesign #design #publiclighting #LeniSch

Less than one year after the contract was awarded, Light Projects’ illumination and color design for Louisville’s 2nd Street Bridge and Streetscape opened to celebrants on October 13, 2010.  Officially named 2nd Street Transportation Project, the landscape architect was Carman and engineers HDR.  Our client was Louisville’s Downtown Development Corporation (DDC).  DDC and Carman navigated complex approval processes which included federal government agencies, State and City De

Comment> A renowned lighting designer takes a walk in the dark in search of illumination (Full text and images link) In October 2010 my article on the NightSeeing™ program appeared in the Architect’s Newspaper.  It was a welcome opportunity to describe the development of the program, current events and future aspirations. Here, some excerpts: Savor the word “light” and the interior landscape of language evokes images of atmospheric effects—mysterious, picturesque, sublime. Wh

Interview with Leni Schwendinger, Light Artist and Designer (Full text and images link) Cities of Light, Planetizen’s version (Link to The Dirt) On NightSeeing™: It’s important that people see a place where they’ve always been walking around at night and yet see it with new eyes. It’s an inspiring and enlivening relationship with the city that I’m happy to promote. On Triple Bridge Gateway …they folded an aesthetic improvement into the infrastructure budget and it was brillia

In the evening Washington D.C. NW is a monochromatic blend of light. People are the action. The shifting interplay of nighttime dark and light make every city a unique destination. Join acclaimed lighting artist and designer Leni Schwendinger and a group limited to 35 as she presents impromptu the D.C. nocturnal city of light, culminating at the ASLA Gala. This mistress of light sculpture and installation will decode the shadows, emanations, and reflections that define the ni

CultureNow is focused on cultural mapping and exhibitions about New York City. They called the other day and asked if I would talk about my work for their “Museum Without Walls” directory of podcasts.  The collection consists of first person discussions of art, architecture and other landmarks in the City. Here are links to the podcasts: Tidal Radiance Tidal Radiance, concept, custom glass, lighting design, projections Coney Island Parachute Jump Coney Island Parachute Jump I