Kemal Güravşar / Promete Engineering

Could you tell us briefly about yourself?

I graduated from Ankara State Architecture and Engineering Academy in 1977. I worked as a construction site engineer at İller Bankası Energy Department until 1979, at Taşkızak Shipyard due to military service between 1979-1980, and in a private company between 1980-1983. We have been continuing our project work at Promete Project Engineering since 1983. Currently, I and company partner Emrah Güravşar are working to move our company forward. We are one of the most established companies in Ankara. Our company provides services such as Electrical Application Projects (including infrastructure) and consultancy. Since the project is labor-based, the negativities we will encounter do not bother us much. It makes us happy to see the completion of the work done. In addition, the fact that companies that do not have the same quality are in competition makes us very uncomfortable.

What do you think is the importance of light in our lives?

Nowadays, there are many lighting elements, the important thing is to choose the right lighting elements and design them correctly. People's comfort should be at the forefront in interior lighting and safety in outdoor lighting.

What should be considered when designing lighting?

When designing lighting, we attach great importance to the selection of fixtures. Since we provide engineering services, visuality alone is not enough. That's why the suitability and technical proficiency of the lighting fixtures we choose are very important to us. Is the lighting performance of the fixture good? Can it be used for a long time? Does it harm the environment? Is the energy performance good? We design by paying attention to issues such as: After our luminaire selection, we get suggestions from the architects. They see the suitability and aesthetics of the building better through the eyes of the architect and can direct us to better choices.

If we were to tell you about the past and present of lighting, would you give us a comparison?

Lighting used to be done irregularly and with high energy consumption. Now, with the development of technology, more accurate applications can be made with calculations closer to reality, and serious energy savings can be made thanks to LED technology.

Should aesthetics or functionality be at the forefront in lighting?

Aesthetics and functionality should also be at the forefront in lighting. Among the fixtures whose functionality we find sufficient, we, together with the architect, select the aesthetic ones according to their suitability for the structure. That's why the projects we design result in a structure that is both aesthetic and functional.

How do you evaluate LED technology?

The conventional system was inefficient in terms of energy consumption and lifespan. Although it varies depending on the structure of the building, if a building is designed with LED fixtures, the average payback period compared to conventional lighting systems is 3 years. This is of great importance in public affairs. In addition, since it is more advantageous than conventional fixtures in terms of harmful rays, the use of LED fixtures is of great importance in places such as schools and museums.

The place and importance of lighting in architecture and urban design?

The most important element that makes an architecture stand out is lighting. The most important element in urban design is architecture. Architecture determines the style of a building and we highlight it with good lighting. If the architectural design and lighting design are good, beautiful things always come out.