SGM-LCD is a recently established lighting consultancy and design practice led by Siobhan Gomes McNabb. Here, we discuss her international experiences, creative insights and exposure to such a fascinating element.
Light, according to Siobhan Gomes McNabb, is a misunderstood commodity. It moves from the natural to artificial realms at the flick of a switch and due to the convenience of our modern lifestyles, is often employed one-dimensionally as a means to illumination.
“Thoughtful lighting can communicate the activity, typology and aesthetic nature of a project”, she explains. “It enhances space, darkness, architectural features, elements, textures, colours and communicates the quality of a building.”
An innovative lighting consultant and designer across the hospitality, retail and residential sectors; McNabb initially worked as an architect at Zanghellini Holt Associates in Hong Kong, before a chance meeting in 2000 quickly altered the course of her young career. Excited by the latent talents apparent within her, Jonathan Court of Double Vision Lighting (formerly Linbeck Rausch) convinced McNabb to jump ship with a savvy offer and she soon became a project director at the internationally recognised firm.
Over the next four years, McNabb immersed herself in the city’s rapid business environment, while honing her creative processes along the way. She established commercial insights into the niche industry and “began to truly understand the power of light and its essence not only in architecture, but within our day-to-day lives”.
“My experience working overseas greatly impacted my appreciation of light”, says McNabb. Surrounded by new technologies and expansive budgets, the designer suggests that the Asian market offered elements of inspiration unattainable elsewhere. “I ultimately fell under a spell and realised where my true passion lay.”
In 2004, McNabb returned home to Melbourne and commenced a new consultancy role with Euroluce, where she deftly applied her commercial expertise across a range of projects for more than a decade. And while she worked alongside some of Australia’s finest architects and interior designers, McNabb’s passion for lighting also transpired into editorial work for several publications, along with a position on the board of the Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand.
A holistic practitioner of light, McNabb demonstrates that her skillset is a result of time and wisdom. Recently going solo to establish her own Brisbane-based consultancy and design practice, she is now in a position to provide diverse yet specialised advice not only to creatives and artists; but also to developers, end users and electrical engineers.
This, in many ways, shows that McNabb’s offering is unique from a service standpoint. With an astute understanding of the built environment, she is able to highlight the hidden potentials of light in any context.
“It’s always a missed opportunity when we don’t introduce lighting to enhance our lives”, states McNabb. “It plays such a magical role in our existence and inspires how we see the world.”
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Suitable for applications ranging from schools and retail outlets to computer rooms and X-ray suites, Palettone comes in two varieties and a choice of more than fifty colours.
Sub-Zero and Wolf’s prestigious Kitchen Design Contest (KDC) has celebrated the very best in kitchen innovation and aesthetics for three decades now. Recognising premier kitchen design professionals from around the globe, the KDC facilitates innovation, style and functionality that pushes boundaries.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
In the pursuit of an uplifting synergy between the inner world and the surrounding environment, internationally acclaimed Interior Architect and Designer Lorena Gaxiola transform the vibration of the auspicious number ‘8’ into mesmerising artistry alongside the Feltex design team, brought to you by GH Commercial.
Leading the charge for sustainable design, X+O and Nudie Jeans are both making a statement in Brisbane and doing it with creativity and innovation.
Caring for our mental health is paramount these days and architecture and design can lead the way as Hassell shows in its latest project in Queensland.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Esoteriko has embodied a new lease on beauty within Double Bay’s latest cosmetic clinic, overlayed with modern eclecticism.
Found within the verdant landscape of Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, Sona Reddy’s design for this authentic Andhra restaurant adeptly fuses textural rhythms with traditional materials.