»Good light can breathe new life into rooms«

Mr Teo, which aspects of your work as a DIALux trainer and lighting designer do you especially like?
There has been light for as long as there has been a sun and from the very beginning this was captured in the form of fire. This continues to play a role up to the present time in the latest lighting technology.

For me it is a great honour to capture and control the fast-moving character of light. As a lighting designer I have the chance to plan and play with light. Not only to illuminate a space or a room but, what is more important, to be creative with light to give the people in this room or space a feeling of well-being.

For me it is also a great honour to work alongside great architects and to present their work in the best possible way, also at night.

As a DIALux trainer I get to know a lot of people and different cultures. While doing this I am not only a trainer, but I always learn a lot from the participants at the seminars, too. An important part of my work as a trainer is to share my knowledge and my experience with a completely new generation of lighting designers. Perhaps my work will inspire this new generation of lighting designers – also in working with DIALux. In my opinion DIALux has, in the past years, made a huge contribution with its software to promoting the lighting industry and raising standards in the lighting industry there is hardly anyone who has not heard of DIALux.

What trends or challenges do you observe in lighting design, especially in your part of the world?
The challenges for us as lighting designers can be summed up in one sentence, because a lot of people think that light is just illumination. However, for us as lighting designers or planners light has a much greater value than the simple illumination of a room or surface. It is much more. It has to do with the feeling of well-being for the users, with satisfaction and productivity. Careful planning and a good understanding of design can breathe new life into a room. It can make someone feel good at his place of work and it can mean that this working place is safe.

Which are the most interesting projects that you have planned with DIALux?
There are two projects which I would like to tell you about: the PS Café in the Raffles City Shopping Mall in Singapore und the Lai Meng School Hall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Lai Meng School Hall is one of the first projects for which I used DIALux evo. I worked with lighting scenes to give the best possible impression to the school authorities of how the lighting mood in the hall changes through an automation system. The luminaires in the school hall were replanned with DIALux evo. At the time it was very difficult to imagine that the hall could be used for prestigious events but with the new lighting effects this is quite easy.

The PS Café in Raffles City is one of my proudest moments. We could fulfil the requirements especially well and impress the client with the DIALux evo presentation. We were not only able to provide the client with clear statements about lighting levels but give him an immediate impression of the visual effect of light – and this is what sealed the deal for us.

Would you like to contact Chris Teo? Here you will find him at LinkedIn.

If you are interested in DIALux training in the country where you work, you will find further information here about our trainer network.

Numerous free tutorials on YouTube provide a first introduction to using our lighting design software.