Ngā Kōrero o Paparahi—David Skelley
Alum David Skelley proves lighting is more than function—it connects people, reflects culture, and shapes how we live.
Lighting designer David Skelley’s most formative experience at the School of Architecture was a simple drawing exercise—draw an object, any object. This focused him on form, texture, and reflection, which plays a part in his everyday world as a lighting designer.
“As we understand the world around us predominantly by sight, and light is the medium by which we see, I see lighting as facilitating our connection to the world and people around us,” says David. An early job as an architect in New York City exposed him to the field of lighting design, and saw him open a business as a lighting designer when he moved to Australia in 1991.
He established DJCoalition, his lighting design business, when there was only one other lighting designer in Australia. He says over the past 35 years, there has been significant evolution in the field, with scientists discovering how light perception impacts people’s health.
“The biggest event in the lighting field has been the discovery of the ganglion cells in the eye which regulate our natural life rhythms, proving that light not only facilitates vision, but also regulates our physical and emotional wellness,” says David.
This reinforced his view that lighting design is necessarily people centric. “Lighting facilitates our connection to the world and people around us,” he explains.
Studying architecture also saw David learn to consider vernacular design—how to create designs appropriate to culture and location. “Key drivers in my work are now reflection of local place, interpretation of local culture, and working with local skills and technologies.”
Professor Helen Tippett was influential in his final years of study at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. “I have found that building a team around me has enabled better results than if I worked alone. Through Helen’s teaching I understood the necessity of professional organisational management and the commercial realities of running a practice.”
David says that a design degree opens your mind. “When you are studying it is good to explore different ways of thinking and generating ‘crazy’ solutions that push the project brief.” If students can, he recommends travelling mid-degree, as it exposes them to different ways of thinking.
“Travel has bought me exposure to the rich diversities of culture and thought around our world, and this continually provides me with defining moments and design insights.”
Aotearoa’s future can be shaped by creative design if we let it, says David. “Design is not an added burden of cost on a project—it is the investment in creating an outcome that is more likely to be successful. When comparing Aotearoa to other countries DJCoalition works in, I believe the role of creative and interpretative design is currently undervalued when compared with more practical aspects of design such as engineering and technology.
“Creative design will help Aotearoa define its built identity as being unique and confident.”