Archie ApaBAPS Hindu Mandir, Abu Dhabi
The first traditional Hindu stone temple in the Middle East, hand-carved stone, sacred geometry, and a once-in-a-generation level of public attention. I oversaw the implementation of its lighting system, in collaboration with the many stakeholders a project of this significance brings to the table.
What made it different
Most projects have a client and a consultant. This one had a community, a religious institution, architects, contractors, and authorities, each with a legitimate stake in how the building would be seen. Lighting a carved stone façade is unforgiving work: the stonework itself is the detail, so if the angles or intensities are off, centuries-old craftsmanship reads flat. The implementation phase meant holding the design intent steady through all of it, from coordination through to the systems working on the night it mattered.
On landmark cultural projects, the engineering is the easy part. The harder part is keeping every stakeholder aligned, because each one sees the building differently and the lighting has to work for all of them at once.