Week #6 - Irvine Spectrum - Kirk Crockett

 I visited the Irvine Spectrum this evening for a site specific analysis. I hate the Irvine Spectrum, and I recently watched the original Blade Runner, so you may find these facts have influenced my analysis. The Spectrum, which might be one of the most popular public spaces in the country, is a sprawling complex of shops and entertainment in the heart of Orange County. I walked in assuming the lighting design would lend itself to the idea of community, comfort, and general positivity that would make people comfortable in a crowded and busy are. What I started to notice seemed a little dissonant to me. 

The architecture of the Irvine Spectrum is quite grand, but also seemingly religious. It looks like a massive Spanish Villa, with colorful adobe textile works, stone statues and grand fountains with integrated stone structures. A lot of the fixtures are very decorative brass sconces, as pictured. The one thing I found a little odd was the use of some very daunting lighting placement. Most accent fixtures were placed in the floor or below architectural designs, giving them a very ominous glow. There was also a lot of silhouetting on statues and plants. All around very mysterious. It felt like the buildings were subtly trying to prove their power over the crowds below. It reminds me of old art-deco designs in the older sections of Los Angeles, or an old silent sci-fi film. Of course there were other aspects, like hundreds of feet of string lights spanning like stars over some of the alleyways. More and more common from the newer, larger stores are massive LED screens that broadcast advertisements, and light entire courtyards. This is especially prevalent outside the Regal multiplex, where two massive screen throw several hundred feet and reflect off the opposing restaurants. The overall feeling of the Irvine Spectrum's lighting plan is that it worships itself as a testament to its own influence and power in the area.

I had been to the Regal Theater one or two times since the massive renovations that finished a few years ago. The old, tan and red focused, nostalgic Hollywood design was replaced with a space age auditorium. It looks like the lair of a Star Wars Villain. The space features a full ring of LED screens that consistently loop advertisements for upcoming films or affiliated businesses. The floor and walls are glossy imitations of black marble that reflect colored fluorescent accents that ring the walls. I think the goal of the design was to transfer movie-goers into a world as glamorous, modern and captivating as the films they might be going to see, in which case it absolutely succeeds. Walking into the space is almost overwhelming.

Next, I walked across the complex where I found the Apple Store. The store moved from its old location to a new plaza where every store is a giant glass cube. The shops looked like zoos or terrariums for space age technologically advanced civilization. This description perfectly fits the dystopic, Kubrickian design of the Apple Store. Apple has always had a very glossy, clean cut design in their products, marketing and locations. The corporate retail stores are no different. The whole ceiling is an incredibly diffused, probably LED or fluorescent that floods the whole space. The only variation is towards the accessory wall, where bright incandescent imitators highlight products on the shelves. While I think it serves the purpose the designers were going for, probably to conform to Apple's design standard, I feel like standing in there too long would give me a headache.