I’m Carl Gray. I’ve established GrayLight to bring my passion for Lighting. Sustainability. Services. directly to the architecture / engineering / construction industry; and in doing so help to create amazing buildings.
Lighting.
The name GrayLight (whilst of course borrowing from my own name) hints at the variable and multi-faceted nature of light. We describe light on a multitude of dimensions – bright/dim, warm/cool, hard/soft, clear/hazy.
We use the colour of light to denote special meaning, significance, or metaphorically – the gray light of dawn, a red-light district, a blue-light disco, or a green-lighted project. ’Light’ will accept more adjectives than pretty much anything else I can think of.
For a medium so pervasive, so rich, and yet so mercurial; you would think that the market would be filled with skilled artisans. But the technical aspects of architectural lighting result in it being mostly the labour of ‘engineers’ rather than ‘designers’. We seek to bridge that gap, to bring light back into the hands of those who design the spaces it will fill.
We seek to be the artisan.
Sustainability.
Depending on your point of view, sustainability might be a must-have, a marketing buzzword, a value-add, a market differentiator, or perhaps a crock. As for GrayLight, sustainable design is quite simply the default.
That is not to say that we are ‘there yet’ and can rest on our sustainable laurels – for even the greenest practitioners there is some way to go on this journey towards a sustainable economy. Others along the way with us – architects, consultants, clients, and building users – each have their own desires and experience which they bring with them.
We see recognised tools like Green Star, NABERS / CBD, and Part J as ‘guidebooks’ around which we can rally forward. A Green Star or NABERS rating is not a destination, but a beacon to guide us in the right direction.
We seek to be the sherpa.
Services.
To paraphrase Le Corbusier; a building is a machine for living (or working) in. How well this machine works, and as a result how well we can live or work within it, is often a matter of building services – electrical, mechanical, plumbing, etc.
Truly effective building services are fairly invisible to the user, and taken for granted. They are just there. It just works. This is as it should be, but it takes care and coordination in design to bring this about.
GrayLight designs building electrical services (along with lighting and controls) and partners with specialists in other disciplines for the complete servicing of buildings. We work closely with the architect and consultants to ensure that the services are well planned and coordinated; and with the client to ensure that systems work as they need them.
We seek to be effective.
“I consider myself to be an architect’s engineer.
My greatest passion in my work is for architectural lighting design – though this does not mean that other areas are neglected or considered of lesser importance. Of all the specialist engineering disciplines, lighting sits closest to architecture, and I believe that a lighting-first designer brings something extra to all building services.
“I believe that the best results are achieved through multi-discipline collaboration and ‘whole system design’ and I greatly enjoy collaborating with architects, engineers and other design disciplines in such a process. (read: I don’t like to stay in ‘my own little box’ – I always seek to contribute across a whole project wherever my expertise allows.)
“I am a strong advocate of sustainable design – but believe that ‘sustainable’ design must provide increased amenity rather than just reduced impact.
“I have been fortunate in my career to have had a number of fantastic employers, mentors, and educators. I have established GrayLight in order to put ‘my own spin’ on all of that knowledge and experience, to contribute to the creation of beautiful, functional, sustainable buildings, by providing:
- Affordable, accessible architectural lighting design which meets each project’s needs and budget;
- Flexible and responsive service to architects and clients on projects small and large;
- An evidence-based approach to environmentally sustainable design;
- Passionate and innovative (but also pragmatic and responsible) design services.
“I hope that you will join me – either as a client, a collaborator, or simply as a reader of the blog – in this venture.”
Carl Gray
GrayLight