On the 20th anniversary of this retrospective first published in LD+A August 2003, we celebrate the life and times of Howard Brandston
The headline above might look familiar. Long-time readers of LD+A will recognize it from the “Letters to the Editor” section in the 1970s. Those newer to the magazine and the Society will understand why we chose to revive it as they read on.
Provocateur, contrarian, change-agent, gadfly and self-described “advocate for good science and defender of design practice,” Howard Brandston says his guiding principles as an IES member have always been “to be thought-provoking and to arouse curiosity and skepticism.” Along the way, he has also aroused plenty of “controversy and emotions,” as he puts it. But in the final analysis, he describes his 44 years as a member as “inspirational. All my work with the IES has been most rewarding for me.”
To commemorate his golden anniversary in the profession and the 20th anniversary of his IES presidency, we bring you a decade-by-decade look at what Brandston calls his “affair” with the IES, as well some of his landmark projects and career milestones. Call it Brandston Unplugged.
1950s
- A star is born. Brandston begins career in 1953 as a theatrical designer while studying illumination at Brooklyn College.
- February 1958, joins Century Lighting as assistant to lighting design pioneer Stanley McCandless.
- Joins the IES in October 1959 at the insistence of Rollo Gillespie Williams, then president of the NY Chapter. Begins participating in local Section activities for one or two years until becoming “discouraged by what I considered to be the very limited understanding of light and lighting and the intolerance of the Society to other views. My eventual disillusionment was predicted by McCandless, when I joined the Society.”
1960s
- Forms Howard Brandston Lighting Design Inc. in 1965. The firm’s name changes to HM Brandston and Partners in the late 1980s and ultimately becomes known as The Brandston Partnership Inc. in 2001.
- Marches to the beat of his own drum when it comes to adopting recommended industry standards. “I went about my practice, setting my own standards for each individual project. I used IES standards in many cases as a list of what not to do. The previous experience of the architectural and design community based on prior work was proof enough that doing it my way would better serve the client’s needs. Indeed, it is the client and the architect who design building functionality and not human visual performance function that determines building design.”
- Serves on the IES/AIA Joint Committee on Classroom Lighting but is dismayed when the IES raises the recommended lighting level to 70 ESI footcandles. “It was clear to me that the IES and I had different perspectives about the application of light. My architect colleagues on the committee asked my opinion. I said, ‘40 fc and 40% contrast.’ The AIA quit the committee and so did I. We all disagreed with the IES recommendation.”
- Is a founding member of IALD (1969).
- Signature projects include “Man, His Planet & Space”—Canada’s pavilion for Expo ’67 Montreal.
1970s
- After challenging IES authority and recommendations at the Canadian Regional Conference in Ottawa, Brandston is approached by IES President Kurt Franck (1975-76) who asks why he does not join a committee to lobby for his preferred practices. “I told him I had been ‘blacklisted’ and could not get on a committee. Kurt interceded on my behalf and l was given entrée to the Roadway Lighting Committee. Rita Harrold (former IES president and IES director of education) also pitched in and I went on the Lighting Awards Committee.” The changes raised the standards for judging and remain to this day, but “removing the awards program from the regional vice presidents almost got us both physically beaten by the RVPs.”
- Begins using the “Letters to the Editor” section in LD+A “to state a distaff view of how lighting should be done or argue against some new committee publication. This caused considerable friction with many of the IES folks who asked, ‘why don’t you join a committee and do some work instead of only criticize?’ I used my position as a designer and a member to meet with some of the committees to tell them why I thought they were wrong and ask them to reconsider. No changes were made, but the case was heard. I felt I was making a contribution and that was sufficient for me.”
- His work and writings are frequently published, not unnoticed by the IES and conspicuously absent from its publications. “There had been a de facto censorship of my work,” he says. After a visit from LD+A staff, Brandston is persuaded to sign on as contributing editor with complete editorial freedom. “This was an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
- Authors a piece that appears in both LD+A and the prestigious Sight Saving Review (a publication of the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness), entitled “A Little Light on Sight,” which calls into question much of the science behind IES standards. The article is subsequently excerpted in hundreds of newspapers nationwide. “That did I incensed our leaders and was summarily removed from the masthead and banished. I returned to the “Letters to the Editor” route.”
- A highly controversial cover story in LD+A (January 1975) features Brandston’s use of a single RLM over each drafting table and a cluster of four in the conference room when lighting the New York offices of architect firm Beyer Blinder Belle. Letters to the Editor find the project “disturbing,” “disgraceful,” and a “complete abrogation of the efforts of the Society in espousing energy-efficient lighting.” The client, however, leaps to Brandston’s defense and challenges the critics to “come visit what our staff, clients and visitors agree is one of the best work environments in New York City.”
- At the height of the energy crisis, appears on the nationally televised PBS broadcast “We Will Freeze in the Dark.” The Society “did not fare well,” says Brandston. “Lighting level requirements set by the IES at that time were unnecessarily high—sometimes as much as three times what prudent practice would call for. The cost of lighting is about 1 to 3% of new construction, so it plays a small role in cost, but it can use up to 25% of the building energy. Pseudo-science led to some of those preposterous recommendations. The defensive posture and the technical arrogance of our leadership and some of the poor, perhaps tainted, research was brought to light in that PBS broadcast. The Society was forced to change; it never would have happened without the energy crisis.”
- “Forces” his way on to the ASHRAE Committee to write a standard on energy (90-75). Simultaneously serves on the IES Energy Committee and writes the final version of the lighting power limiting equation used in 90-75. Although still an “outcast” within the Society, is appointed to represent IES on the Architectural and Engineering Federal Energy Committee. His work on energy conservation helps set the initial standards for lighting from 1975 to 1985.
- In 1979, is appointed as the Society’s first VP for Design & Application—the mandate being to reach beyond the technical focus of the respective committees and bring balance to the practices, standards and recommendations of the Society. The irony is not lost on Brandston. “Someone who never held a committee chair was suddenly an officer.”
- Decides to “get something done” by starting the “Workshop for Teachers of Lighting.” To date, it has trained more than 200 teachers of lighting, influencing tens of thousands of students.
- Meanwhile, back at the Brandston office, high-profile projects included the U.S. Pavilion—Expo ‘70, Osaka, Japan.
1980s
- Creates the Brandston Award for Students, stimulating hundreds of in-class assignments and encouraging students in lighting for almost a quarter of a century.
- With Bill Tao, conducts a series of lectures sponsored by the RVPs to explain why many of the Society’s standards and metrics were flawed and being changed.
- Brandston’s reputation for mischief precedes him at the annual conference in Denver. Upon introducing himself to incoming president Don Marcue (1980-81), Marcue reportedly replies, “I never would have recognized you; they told me you had horns and a tail.” The two bond during a buffalo-chip throwing contest at the conference, which Brandston wins. “I was always accused of throwing the stuff and I proved it.”
- Tosses hat in the ring as an IES presidential candidate (1983-84 term). “In a nanosecond calls came in from almost all the officers and VP’s for me to step aside; it was not my turn. So, I ran against the lineup and won. I was right; the members knew who I was and what I was getting done.”
- Gets the nickname “Light Pain.” It sticks, and he later begins using it as his e-mail address.
- Receives national acclaim for the 1986 relighting of The Statue of Liberty.
1990s to 2000s
- Inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 1992, the only lighting designer ever to be awarded this honor.
- Is an initial inductee of the Architectural Lighting Design Hall of Fame and receives the IALD Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Garners two major awards in 1999. Is awarded the AIA Institute Honors award for his contributions to architecture and receives the Illuminating Engineering Society Medal—its highest honor—for his outstanding leadership in the lighting industry. He is the just the fourth designer to be so recognized by the IES.
- Named Honorary Fellow of Britain’s Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers—an honor limited to 25 living persons.
- The lion in winter. Still trumpeting the need for better standards, in 2002 he starts an ad hoc committee to review IES standards.
- Hallmark projects include Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—the world’s tallest buildings—and San Francisco-Oakland Bay replacement bridge (currently under construction).
2010s
- Stay tuned. Who knows what the future might hold?