It's really interesting because the Middle East is a tough market and when you do concept design here, it's always concept plus You're doing some of the schematic work and if you come and do projects in the Middle East, you have to understand that as light designers we're always back to back with the architects but saying concept design, they're 12-16 weeks. They're massing the building, they're designing the structure, the fabric, the building and the lighting designer has a lot of work to do in the last few weeks.

Like.

I say it's concept plus. I think, more than any other industry that I know, we are a family and there are people that will help you and really share their knowledge, really give you good advice, and it's to seek out mentors. Sometimes the only difference between us is time, is experience, is connections.

Welcome back to the Virtual Lighting Design Community Podcast, a global platform that empowers, inspires, educates and connects the lighting design community. This podcast is brought to you by our premium supporters Aero Hospitality Lighting, creative Lighting Asia, erco, the Signify Lighting Academy and Philix Lighting. In this episode, we delve into a captivating conversation with renowned lighting designer, david Gilbey. Join us as David shares his insights and experiences with our VLDC co-founder, katia Kolovea, at the Light Middle East event in Dubai earlier this year.

David Gilbey, a veteran in the field of lighting design, has a diverse background, ranging from theater and film to architecture, with an illustrious career from his own design practice called D-Lighting, david now serves as the lighting design director at Diriyah Gate Development Authority in Saudi Arabia, where a city imbued with historical and cultural significance is being crafted around a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For anyone wanting a visual experience, please do check out our YouTube channel, where you will find the video version of this episode, as well as many other great interviews and presentations by our industry thought leaders. Our YouTube handle is at VLDcommunity and, of course, it wouldn't be complete without mentioning our online platform, where the magic happens. Join us and your fellow lighting enthusiasts, where you can gain access to the complete array of presentations, interviews, stories, ongoing conversations, a host of resources and much more. So please do check that out and explore the community. Let's dive into the episode with Katja Kolovia and David Gilbey Enjoy.

I'm Katia Kolovaia, member of the team for VLD community, and I'm delighted to have with me here David Gilbey and David. Welcome, thank you very much for being here with us pleasure. I would like you first to just briefly introduce yourself to our audience and then we can have our conversation. The two of us talk about life and yeah, yeah.

I'm David Gilbey. I'm a lighting designer all my life, first from theater, theater, film and television, then architecture, had my own consultancies and for the first time in my life, I've gone client side. I'm now lighting design director at the Rear Gate, where we are building a city.

Okay, I would love to know more about that.

It's based around the UNESCO World Heritage Site and it's a very historically and culturally important project.

It sounds really fascinating and actually that's like I met you first in the UK, right, like while you were based there in London working for a very big company doing projects all around the world, really. And then it was like the transition, different things, delighting, like many, many things. And now last year you were here again at Light Middle East in Dubai as a judge, correct? And this year you are actually living in Middle East, correct, yes, so before we kind of get into the expectations of the show and what differences you have seen from last year to this year, I would like you to tell me how do you see things now that you are based in Middle East. You are connecting with lots of different cultures and different people, so please share a little bit on that.

It's been right here. You're really involved and seeing the ambition of what's going on in Saudi Arabia and I kind of see myself, because there's not too many of us in Saudi Arabia. I kind of see myself, because there's not too many of us in Saudi Arabia. I kind of see myself as an ambassador. So what I try and do is when the light and design community are in town, I try and meet with them. If I get time, I take them on a personal tour of our UNESCO World Heritage Site to talk about quality of light and and it's an interesting position.

We still design, chris, chris and I still design. It's possibly 10 to 15 percent of what I do, but we manage design, we collaborate, we inspire design and it. That's great as well, because we're working with some of the best in the world.

In the world. And this is really fascinating because also from your introduction, before talking about your path from theater lighting to architectural lighting and all of those things, it's an amazing perspective of being able to kind of see different parts of like the client collaborations and different designers and being able to promote what good light is really by your decisions and your guidance, correct?

It's really interesting because the Middle East is a tough market and when you do concept design here, it's always concept plus You're doing some of the schematic work and if you come and do projects in the Middle East, you have to understand that.

So that's one thing. But there's something that I've never understood, and I see it now from the development side Things like programs we're as light designers, we're always back to back with the architects but saying concept design, they're 12, 16 weeks, they're massing the building, they're designing the structure, the fabric of the building, and and and the light designer has a lot of work to do in the last few weeks, like I say it's concept plus yeah, yeah so that's, and I don't.

I don't understand why, if there's a problem, you can't step out of the program, because a lot of times, in the early stages design, these buildings aren't even holes in the ground. We're not talking making changes to the fabric of the building, we're talking about a reflected ceiling plan. So why the program is so important? And you know I would still, especially when you're you know we're a historically and culturally important city that we're building, and you know Amadip and and I remember to be VLDC platform. Uh, we've talked about slow design and always the driver of development is speed and money, time and money, and especially in the region of Middle East.

Right Like this is the feedback that we have received from the majority of the designers who will have interviewed, and I'm trying, with my experience, to make some changes, or I don't know that I'll be able to. It sounds very very challenging but also really beneficial for the future of how the industry is built around here, and also kind of always have the lighting designer in the table and being considered right.

Absolutely full credit to. Torea because both Chris and I are very, very experienced lighting consultants and so they've employed lighting people to run the specialist lighting department. So you know, I'm very excited that it comes with big responsibility.

You know, good, good lighting people running running their lighting department, and that should produce great results yeah that's a exciting David and really, like I think we are gonna have lots of different should produce great results. That's exciting, david, and really I think we are going to have lots of different communications with the VLD community connecting. I don't know, obviously this is very confidential right now, but as the project goes, we would love to have your input and your experience on that.

So this is really linked with the fact that how much do you know VLD community, which I think I know the answer because you're one of our thought leaders and would you like to say a little bit of what you do in the platform for the audience anything that I can, anything that I can, uh, lighting heroes, uh, lighting contributions, lighting questions, helping other people. I I genuinely feel we have a duty. A duty, that's how much I see it to pass our experience on and to help the next generations help young lighting designers and and even now I'm so busy in my day job but I still support lighting schools.

I still support the vld community. I still support architectural schools. I still support the VLD community. I still support architectural schools. This is amazing and you have to do it. You have to do it.

I think it's like a responsibility that we all have, apart from the support to the industries, also to the raising awareness about what you were saying before, the raising awareness about the importance of light and the role of the lighting designer. But this actually ties perfectly with my next question, which is what advice would you give to a young designer who is joining the industry or is already there, but in their first steps of their career? And you have been very important to my path when I started and how it has been evolved, so I would love you to share one advice to the audience.

I think, more than any other industry, that I know we are a family and there are people that will help you and really share their knowledge, really give you good advice. And it's to seek out mentors because, because you know, we know, we know the silhouette awards I I am so proud to have been and we are honored to have you as part of the, as part of the mentors in the community that we are building absolutely but I've always mentored you have always.

You have mentored me as well but you've mentored me, you know that's, that's, it's a.

It's a two-way.

It's a two-way communication and support and the interesting thing you know, let's talk about silhouette awards for a moment, because that takes young designers, introduces them to giants of our industry who will share their knowledge, show their experience, share their knowledge, share their experience, share their connections, help you solve your problems, and it's for six months. But how you get emotionally involved? How do you get someone back after six months?

I mean, I was a mentor to Dipali, To Dipali exactly.

And what we have now is the most beautiful Friendship collaborative friendship.

I think just to say about Silud Awards is that it's like the beginning, Like we bring two people together, an expert and a junior, like younger designer, to initiate that within six months, like a structured way, and then we give it to you guys to continue this relationship further. So I'm honored and grateful to know that you have this communication and this collaboration relationship. But I'm honored and grateful to know that you have this communication and this collaboration relationship.

But the interesting thing is, I'm sure when you started it you thought about the benefit to the young designer and that's applaudable, laudable, it's everything, but it's mutually rewarding.

Yeah.

You learn so much from their passion, from their, from their ideas and uh and, and sometimes the only difference between us is is time, you know, is, is, is experience, is connections, is it's, you know I'm like this really talks to to me on what you're saying.

So, yeah, thank you.

And how the mentors became a club and how the silhouettes became a club.

A family alumni, yeah, and this is what we are trying to create and actually this is what is going to happen. Just now we have some mentors here at the VLD community stand, ask them to come from year one, year two and year three and we are going to take a picture together. We're going to just connect for a few minutes as a community so I can see like lots of them here waiting for this moment. David, last question what drives David Gilbey to wake up in the morning?

I love what I do. Yeah, I love what I do. I did a Christmas message and you would not understand how busy I am. Yeah, I mean double, triple meetings, what I wouldn't say the curse of a light designer, but but uh, occupational hazard that we play out at night. So it's night and day and I sometimes have so much responsibility and I just keep smiling because I just remind myself that I love what I do.

How much you love, that's amazing.

I follow the light and that's enough for me. It's reflecting, you know.

I think it's like same with me, like I really love what I do and I feel that this is really transformable, to like it, transmittable, not transformed like giving the energy to to each other.

But you know, you know, when you meet someone like you I need to hold your hand for this when you meet someone like you and your career is going stellar, and very rightly so. Right, you are a powerful force in lighting, and I will say this one day you are a powerful force in lighting and I will say this One day, when people are talking about you in the same vein as Jonathan Spears and other greats of our industry, I will be able to say I knew, katya, when you were vulnerable and you were taking your first brave steps.

Oh, my God.

No, honestly, and that I loved you the moment I met you. Because of you, we share a passion, and I mean that.

Thank you. That's, I think, the most moving interview that we had. David, thank you so much. I want to say one last word.

Yes, please, one last word. Some people, everyone likes good friends and some people forget the important part of it. If you want good friends, be a good friend, and if you hang on to that, then your life and also. I'm so proud to be in this industry because I walk in the shadow of giants and you're one of them.

Oh my God, same for you. Honored, really Thank you so much for taking the time to be here with VLD community and well, the journey continues. There's so many things to do. Tomorrow, actually, david will be interviewing the whole VLD community team for the Lighting Heroes series that he's doing, so we're looking forward to this discussion as well. And stay tuned to the platform, because we are going to be sharing even more things of what David is doing in his current very, very, very important job. Thank you so much, thank you.

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