2018 CONTENT IN ENGLISH 87 ing layer, and a final hanging layer that generated densi- ties of greys and shadows. The composition of the grays and the respect for not altering the color of the food was very important in the project. For this reason the color temperature chosen was 4000oK, with high chromatic reproduction. In every project with RCR, light and materiality go hand in hand, they are part of a whole. ESiC: For the design of Lagares Showroom, Arctec3 won the prestigious award “Premio IALD” for Excel- lence. One of the judges praised your work saying that lighting had created “a new art form” in this space, used to show bathroom fixtures. Is lighting a new art form per se? In your opinion, what is the power and significance of light? MG: Lagares Showroom is a fond memory; it brought us an important prize from the lighting world. Light has al- ways been an art form, depending on how it’s conceived and applied; as such it’s subject to evolution. At this time, with the development of technologies and the profes- sionals that master them, this statement is more accurate than ever and we can experience spaces of higher quality and ones that allow a better visual experience through light. In my view, what the judges valued was the subtle application of light in a simple concept, clear and precise, and in a space where a composition of lights and shadows was created to communicate a product. Considering the type of space where it was realized and its relation to the architectural proposal, it can definitely be considered an artistic and innovative lighting communication proposal. Light has the power of making us feel good in our living spaces; it can also create experiences of perception that can move us with emotions. The subtle play of light and shadow has the power to continuously bring us closer to beauty. Light has an inherent meaning and at the same time it is whatever we want it to be according to our experi- ences and acquired culture. Light manifests architecture and it makes us perceive spaces. The importance of light in art can be appreciated in the work of Turrell or Olafur Eliasson, in concerts and theater plays to communicate the artist’s emotions. It is also evident in architectural lighting, where it’s used as marketing communication and branding in retail, restoration, hotel chains or simply, expressing our own private spaces. ESiC: How would you describe the experience of work- ing closely with a studio such as RCR? You could al- most say that you understand each other as if you were one... MG: Our experience with RCR is very rewarding; we value them at a personal level and as architects for the experi- ence they have accumulated. Their proposals are innova- tive and full of content; they value materiality as well as immateriality in the designs they propose. In my opinion, their architecture has soul and a special essence; they cre- ate places of close experiences. Light is an important part of this equation, it would be difficult to achieve the bal- ance in matter of their designs without light or lighting. To design a good lighting project or to communicate ar- chitecture it is key to understand it and to assume the in- tentions of the architect as your own through the lighting. From this standpoint, good chemistry and understanding is generated and it provides us with the opportunity to work for a common goal as if both studios were “one”. ESiC: As a lighting professional and ex-president of the Professional Association of Lighting Designers (APDI), how has the role of the designers changed in the past years? MG: The role of the lighting designer has been growing since 1994, when it was unknown, and even though it’s not totally established, it is starting to be demanded by architects and clients. This is a big step and we owe it to the efforts of APDI and its constant support of the devel- opment of the culture of light in our country, to the mas- ters and courses taught in the various universities, home of the new professionals and where knowledge about lighting is promoted, and above all, to the good work done by the lighting designers; with their quality projects they are sowing the profession. ESiC: In what project are you working at the moment? MG: At this time, I am working in a project for a film li- brary in Mexico City, jointly with Toyo Ito Architects, where light has an important role conceptually and the culture of cinema is ever present. In a few months, the greatest permanent media matrix executed in a facade in Mexico, for the Manacar building of the architect Teodoro González de León, will be launched. It is a monochromatic project, subtle and very respectful of the environment. We are collaborating with RCR Architects in the new win- eries “Cavas del Castell de Peralda in Girona, an interest- ing project were, once again, we work natural light and artificial light to create different atmospheres related to the world of oenology. In addition, I am preparing new art pieces with light from the collection “Llumversació” for a new exhibition that I am hoping can be done before 2018 ends, which keeps me motivated. “The subtle play of light and shadow has the power to continuously bring us closer to beauty.” “In every project with RCR, light and materiality go hand in hand, they are part of a whole.” CARMINA BURANA: LIGHTING AS A SECOND MUSIC SCORE The cloister of the Uclés Monastery in La Mancha, was the stage of an excit- ing musical performance where light- ing design played a leading role. The creation of an infinite space that would complement the music, also infinite; the dialogue between the lights and the projected images, and the importance of coordinating the times of the light with those of the music were the main challenges. This is how a town of artists managed to turn the wheel of fortune in their favor, the same wheel to which Carmen Burana dedicates one of the its famous goliard poems. Uclés is a town in Castilla La Mancha with a population of barely 200 inhabitants. Among its permanent and temporary residents there are various personalities from the national art and design world. In one of their habitual gatherings at the “Taberna de Perico”, the hostel busi- nessman, Fernando Nuñez Rebolo, challenged the artists assembled there: he wanted to put together a great op- era concert as a gift for his parents and the town. At that point, designer David Perez and illustrator Ana Yedros, both residents of Uclés, clinked their glasses and joined in the initiative. Even Perico, de tavern owner, came out from behind the bar and boasted that if there was ever a concert he would personally fill everybody’s glasses with wine. But, would they be able to turn the inn-keeper’s dream into a great show? After choosing the emblematic cloister of the Monastery of Uclés as stage, the composer and orchestra conductor Luis Carlos Izquierdo, proposed for the music an adapta-