[Culture] Interview with alumna Ko Ki-young, Korea’s leading lighting designer
- Date2020.03.18
- 6528
The Ewha DNA series of interviews introduces esteemed Ewha alumnae from various fields. This is an interview with alumna Ko Ki-young (graduating class of 87, Department of Decorative Arts), one of Korea’s leading lighting designers.
출처 : <ELLE>KOREA(elle.co.kr), Photo by MAENG MIN HWA
Q. Hello! Please tell me about yourself briefly.
Hello. I started my undergrad in 1983 at Ewha Womans University and majored in Space Design of the Design Division at the College of Art and Design. In 1987, I went on to Ewha’s Graduate School and studied interior design, and then studied architectural lighting design at Parsons Design School in New York. Since 1992, I have been teaching at Ewha Womans University. In 1998, I founded Bitzro & Partners and have been running the company for 22 years.
Q. Could you introduce the various lighting projects you’ve participated in?
I participated in numerous projects that all encompass lighting design for human needs in the area of architecture and environment. And unlike in the past, I also work on various art contents, including media arts, with the emergence of LED lighting. In addition, I also took part in a number of unique, unconventional lighting design projects, such as master plans of cities, corporate identity design manuals, luminaire design and lighting installation.
JW Mariott Hotel(bitzro-partners.com)
Bitzro and Partners has been working on a lot of projects for a long time. We took charge of lightings of many hotels such as JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, Jeju Nine Bridges Golf Resort, and Luanda Hotel in Africa. We also undertook a number of domestic lighting projects such as D-Tower in Jongno, Opera House in Busan, and the National Museum of Korea as well as overseas projects like Biobank and Almaty Tower in Qatar and Causeway in Kuwait. Bitzro also contributed to the master plan of Gyeongbokgung Palace and the moonlight tour of Changdeokgung Palace as well as the lighting design of international events such as the 2012 Yeosu Expo and the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
Seoul squre(bitzro-partners.com)
Among them, we set a milestone in the modern history of lighting with the renovation of Seoul Square, a former Daewoo building located in front of Seoul Station. We started this project with the idea, "Let's turn the walls of the building into a canvas.” The term 'LED Media Facade’ was firstly introduced into Korea after this building renovation, which was made by planting LEDs on the outer walls of the building made of ceramic tiles. Artist Julian Opie created a sensation by displaying his artworks using this LED-implanted tiles.
Q. As a lighting designer, when do you feel most rewarding and most challenging?
I feel most rewarded when the clients happily use the space that I created. The most challenging part is that this work requires a lot of physical strength. Another challenge comes from the fact that lighting design doesn’t deal with visible elements. Lighting is a purely spiritual project because it can't be seen or touched. So, it's very upsetting when people don't appreciate such elements of lighting design and are only concerned about economic value of it. However, things have been improved a lot as many people come to recognize the value of lighting design in recent years.
Q. How did your studies and activities at Ewha Womans University affect your career path?
I think the six years I spent at Ewha helped me a lot in shaping my course in life. When Ewha first established the Spatial Design Department, it marked a milestone in the history of design, introducing the concept of environment in the field of design which didn’t exist before. My academic advisors at Ewha emphasized this and made me realize that design is not just about decoration, but about the environment in which we exist.
And they told me that I should study not only the environment, but also the human nature, which allowed me to develop a broad understanding of design. Lighting is a field of study that needs a holistic approach rather than looking at light itself. I learned at Ewha to have overall perspective on matters, which set my foundation and has played a big part in acquiring my expertise in lighting design. The future-oriented spirit and progressive lesson that Ewha always pursues provided me with a foundation that maximizes my feminine strengths in the professional field.
- Source : Ewha Today