PHOTOS: Dook | WORDS: Mirelle Leyden
Lighting architect Anthony Tischhauser shows that it is possible to be light-hearted both in passion and in person.
Originally from Johannesburg, Anthony started out studying graphic design at the University of Cape Town. When he missed the point of a particular assignment, he came up with a layered sculptural experiment in light that was more like a building than a designed product, and soon realised that his real interest lay in architecture.
Armed with guts and ambition, Anthony left for the UK and – after a series of events that he ascribes to good fortune and trusting his intuition – he was accepted into London’s renowned Architectural Association School of Architecture. The rest is history and today Anthony finds himself with one foot in Zürich and the other in Johannesburg as part of the Paul Pamboukian and Associates Lighting Design team.
While working for Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava in Zürich (and publishing his Complete Works, Calatrava Bridges and Calatrava Public Buildings for Birkhäuser Publishers), Anthony became drawn to the intricate relationship between light and architecture.
‘Santiago has such an acute sense of structure, space and form. By elegantly deploying light, a colossal object like a bridge can appear seemingly weightless,’ Anthony explains.
Made of Light: The Art of Light and Architecture, which he co-authored with lighting architects Speirs and Major in London, was a product of his fascination with this subject matter. The book follows the evolution of artificial light sources and their application in lighting interior space.
While assisting on the 10th Sanlam SA Fashion Week publication, Anthony had a chance to familiarise himself with local fashion. This led to him collaborating with Paul Pamboukian Lighting Design and VISI on the Haute Lumiére Light Award.
‘Designers need to break new ground and challenge their preconceptions with regards to applying light. There is so much that hasn’t been done and this competition encourages designers to go where lighting has never been before.’
• Anthony Tischhauser: 011 880 2831, at@anthonytischhauser.ch
