Minimise light, maximise visual delight

In a time when artificial lighting prevails in urban settings, Kirtee Siingh, Design Principal at Kirtee and Assoc., is leading a movement towards responsible and sustainable lighting practices. His philosophy, “Minimise Light, Maximise Visual Delight,” is transforming how cities and areas integrate illumination while advocating for the harmony of light and darkness.

Kirtee’s path into lighting design is profoundly personal. As a child, regular power outages forced him to navigate darkness on his own, an experience that initially sparked fear but gradually developed into a deep fascination with lighting and an appreciation for darkness. While his friends were absorbed in video games, Siingh devoted his teenage years to learning about electrical circuits and experimenting with lighting. Although he initially ventured into mathematics and an MBA viewed as traditional career choices at that time — his love for lighting ultimately guided him back to his genuine passion in 2010.

That year, he initiated a lighting supply division within a prominent real estate group (Kalpataru), establishing the groundwork for what is now ARKAYA. However, fuelled by a stronger desire to design, explore, and innovate with lighting—along with the glaring absence of excellent lighting practices in India—Kirtee moved beyond the supply and business aspects, establishing his independent lighting design practice in 2012. To enhance his skills, he obtained a master’s degree in architectural lighting design from the Faculty of Art, Architecture, and Design at Hochschule Wismar, Germany. His expertise is further substantiated by his certification as a European Lighting Expert in Exterior and Interior Lighting from the Swiss Lighting Association.

Kirtee and Assoc. serves as a platform promoting the extensive influence of lighting on well-being and the environment. Excessive artificial light disrupts sleep patterns, disturbs ecosystems, and alienates city inhabitants from vital natural darkness. Numerous urban dwellers have never witnessed a genuinely starlit sky because of excessive light pollution. This urgent reality propels Siingh’s mission of “One planet to save, one planet to light,” ensuring that lighting transcends mere illumination to restore equilibrium. The firm characterises itself as ‘Lighting and Darkness Designers,’ valuing both components equally to enrich human perception and spatial experience.

As urban spaces progress, the demand for responsible lighting solutions becomes more crucial. Kirtee’s method challenges traditional measurements like lux level calculations, instead prioritising human needs, visual perception, spatial experience, environmental accountability and sustainable design methods for future generations.

Explore more through Kirtee and Assoc’s website here