In the 1970s, Kan spent his early career as an architect working for Sir Norman Foster on Hong Kong HQ of HSBC and SAPA. He also worked for Nicholas Grimshaw and Terry Farrell on public housing. He then went to Milan to pursue a career as a designer and had a brief stint as a 3D designer for the fashion house Fiorucci. He was denied a job for Flos Lighting, so he went back to London to start his own company SKK Lighting in 1979 in Belsize Village NW London. He has been Managing Director since then. In the 1990s SKK moved to Islington and settled in Soho, London.[5]
After his initial success in the early 1980s, Shiu-Kay sold his design to some major clients (e.g., House of Fraser, Habitat, and IKEA). When he started his architectural lighting department in 1982, this proved to be equally as successful as his "soft option" products. Some of his projects include, for example, the St Anne Shopping Centre, BT, AA, BA, Next, and Oasis.[5] He has also consulted and designed for the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and renowned musicians from bands like U2 and Coldplay. He has been involved in lighting diverse objects (e.g., hotels, stores, restaurants, factories, national monuments) and very special birthday parties, such as Margaret Thatcher’s. He is also known for his work on the Memorial Gate on Constitutional Hill in London. Erected in honour of the Commonwealth soldiers who lost their lives in World War II, the gate presented a challenge to Shiu-Kay.[6]
In 1983, he won the Philips lighting award on PL lamps.[citation needed]
WorkEdit
After making a successful start as an architect, Shiu-Kay turned his attention to designing lights. In the 1980s, he has designed a new generation of paper lanterns, which vary from the original globe shapes originally introduced by Isamu Noguchi in the 1950s. His designs are made of tissue paper and some of silk, whereas the originals are made of rice paper.[7]
The garbage architectural design of a conservatory built of secondary wastes of tin cans, cardboard and Watney beer crates, caused a lot of attention from the press and Shiu-Kay appeared on Blue Peter, presented by John Noakes and Percy Thrower.[5]
Lighting designEdit
In Milan, Kan became heavily influenced by the style of Milanese and developed a strong interest in the designer lighting company. His first design was the "Kite Light" which he designed while working with Mark Sutton Vane. This proved to be a very successful design and was sold to the Conran Shop, which motivated Shiu-Kay on to take up lighting design full-time.[5]
ReferencesEdit
^Julian Bicknell, Liz Mcquiston. Design for Need, The Social Contribution of Design, 2014. p. 148
^Martin Pawley (1982). Building for tomorrow: putting waste to work. Sierra Club Books. ISBN0-87156-324-X p.129.
^Jeremy Myerson. International lighting design. 1996.
^ abcdefAbout Shiu-Kay Kan 28 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. at www.skk.net. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
^When a light shines… By Smriti Daniel. In: Sundaytimes 06.04.09
^Paul Rainford (1993). "Go with the glow". In: Design (London, England). Design Council (UK). ISSN 0011-9245.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shiu-Kay Kan.
SKK lighting website
August 25, 2023
shiu, hong, kong, 1949, british, architect, industrial, designer, lighting, designer, after, making, successful, start, architect, 1980s, turned, attention, designing, lights, sold, design, some, clients, house, fraser, habitat, ikea, born1949occupation, archi. Shiu Kay Kan Hong Kong 1949 1 is a British architect industrial designer and lighting designer 2 3 4 After making a successful start as an architect in the 1980s he turned his attention to designing lights He has sold his design to some clients e g House of Fraser Habitat or IKEA 5 Shiu Kay KanBorn1949Occupation s architect and designer Contents 1 Biography 2 Work 2 1 Garbage architecture 2 2 Lighting design 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditShiu Kay was born in Hong Kong before moving to Edinburgh and studied at Telford College of Arts and Technology In 1969 he went to the Polytechnic of Central London now University of Westminster to study architecture In 1974 he wrote his thesis paper on building architecture out of waste and in 1976 he received his RIBA qualification 5 In the 1970s Kan spent his early career as an architect working for Sir Norman Foster on Hong Kong HQ of HSBC and SAPA He also worked for Nicholas Grimshaw and Terry Farrell on public housing He then went to Milan to pursue a career as a designer and had a brief stint as a 3D designer for the fashion house Fiorucci He was denied a job for Flos Lighting so he went back to London to start his own company SKK Lighting in 1979 in Belsize Village NW London He has been Managing Director since then In the 1990s SKK moved to Islington and settled in Soho London 5 After his initial success in the early 1980s Shiu Kay sold his design to some major clients e g House of Fraser Habitat and IKEA When he started his architectural lighting department in 1982 this proved to be equally as successful as his soft option products Some of his projects include for example the St Anne Shopping Centre BT AA BA Next and Oasis 5 He has also consulted and designed for the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and renowned musicians from bands like U2 and Coldplay He has been involved in lighting diverse objects e g hotels stores restaurants factories national monuments and very special birthday parties such as Margaret Thatcher s He is also known for his work on the Memorial Gate on Constitutional Hill in London Erected in honour of the Commonwealth soldiers who lost their lives in World War II the gate presented a challenge to Shiu Kay 6 In 1983 he won the Philips lighting award on PL lamps citation needed Work EditAfter making a successful start as an architect Shiu Kay turned his attention to designing lights In the 1980s he has designed a new generation of paper lanterns which vary from the original globe shapes originally introduced by Isamu Noguchi in the 1950s His designs are made of tissue paper and some of silk whereas the originals are made of rice paper 7 SKK at Frankfurt Messe Germany 1998 Garbage architecture Edit In the 1970s Kan went to study garbage architecture at the Architectural Association in Bedford Square London under Martin Pawley and subsequently won a scholarship to go to a seminar at the Tallahassee University in Florida USA The garbage architectural design of a conservatory built of secondary wastes of tin cans cardboard and Watney beer crates caused a lot of attention from the press and Shiu Kay appeared on Blue Peter presented by John Noakes and Percy Thrower 5 Lighting design Edit In Milan Kan became heavily influenced by the style of Milanese and developed a strong interest in the designer lighting company His first design was the Kite Light which he designed while working with Mark Sutton Vane This proved to be a very successful design and was sold to the Conran Shop which motivated Shiu Kay on to take up lighting design full time 5 References Edit Julian Bicknell Liz Mcquiston Design for Need The Social Contribution of Design 2014 p 148 Martin Pawley 1982 Building for tomorrow putting waste to work Sierra Club Books ISBN 0 87156 324 X p 129 Jeremy Myerson International lighting design 1996 T Conran Lamps and Lighting 2012 p 76 a b c d e f About Shiu Kay Kan Archived 28 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine at www skk net Retrieved 16 May 2009 When a light shines By Smriti Daniel In Sundaytimes 06 04 09 Paul Rainford 1993 Go with the glow In Design London England Design Council UK ISSN 0011 9245 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shiu Kay Kan SKK lighting website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shiu Kay Kan amp oldid 1150451091, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
