“The form of the Leaf House is unique. By day it resembles a strange hat or misshapen boat; by night a Jack O’ Lantern, glowing from within, its windows evoking the abstracted eyes and mouth of some Finnish folklore giant. Though the structure appears quirky and follyesque – modernism goes Moomin – it is far from haphazard.”

Viva-Lite partners Ad-Lux were responsible for the full-spectrum lights throughout the house and reported from the opening party that under the Viva Lite lamps the colors of the house are real and beautiful.

You can watch a video of the house here.

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1. Life on a Leaf – a total work of art
2. Viva-Lite Valkeakoski Housing Fair Video
3. One of the Best lighted Houses in Finland

The top 50 finalists in 2009 had some great ideas. Here is one that we liked – due to the nature of our business of course:
Bulb 2.0 is an energy-saving lamp which goes far beyond the traditional light bulb. Thus it becomes a modern element of design outshining the ordinary energy-saving lamp often perceived as unattractive.

To view all entries in the design competition, please click here…

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A special treat was one house lighted fully with VIVA-LITE and created by lighting designer Ilkka Pekanheimo from Ad-Lux:

About the Housing Fair:

The ca. 40 fair houses built on the verdant housing fair area in Valkeakoski form a multi-faceted combination. An extensible, unique house for a first home, a TV-house and a passive house with a vivid design are good examples of the extensive selection of houses. The fair includes houses built in both traditional and modern styles, one- and two-storey solutions, stone and wood houses – not to mention the latest trends and experimental building.

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1. At the Kuopio Housing Fair in Finland
2. Organic Goat Farm Lighted With Viva-Lite
3. Impressions From The Northern Light Fair

Many interesting topics were exchanged and it was also decided which new full spectrum lighting models and products shall become part of the future Viva-Lite product range. Have a look at the following photo impressions:

For more photo impressions and other pictures, please follow our flickr photo feed…

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Vero Excellence in Business Support Awards Finalist Viva-Lite has silently built a strong and loyal customer base with so-called “Full Spectrum Lights” – products aimed at solving typical effects caused by lack of natural light, often also referred to as “Winter Blues”.

Toby Ruckert and his partner Margit Brusda moved to Waiheke from Germany in 2003 and with them they brought ‘Viva-Lite’ – their light bulb producing company that specialises in full-spectrum lighting to assist businesses whose employees suffer from headaches, eyestrain and stress.

“People can get very low emotionally in the middle of winter due to the lack of natural light,” says Toby. “People feel entirely different working under these lights as they reduce tiredness and mood swings especially if it relates to the winter blues. But the lights also improve energy levels.”

The idea of Full Spectrum Lighting isn’t new. During the 20th century the US Navy was actively researching methods to combat diseases commonly appearing on submarines where no natural daylight exposure for the crew is available for many weeks – or even months. Ultimately NASA provided a solution by creating the first natural daylight simulating tubes with added UV output to help the crew stay healthy even without actual daylight access.

“In the US and northern Europe this technology has been known for quite some time and it’s starting to catch on here now. Everything really has started to happen this year.” say Toby and Margit. Margit who is also a Naturopath explains that small businesses can possibly reduce the number of sick days and increase staff satisfaction by simply changing their lighting. “Normal fluorescent tubes only have three colours and we try to bring in as much of the sun’s natural spectrum as possible. For people who get headaches in the office, this improves them.”

The therapeutic success for treating SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorders) with bright light therapy is well known, but few actually realize that by using a more natural lighting in the home or office, SAD could possibly be prevented in the first place. But it is not only the emotional lows in winter that drive people to buy Viva-Lite’s products: In dentistry, the printing as well as the retail industry, accurate colour reproduction is a key element for sales and customer satisfaction.

Recently Viva-Lite has been announced as a finalist in the Vero Excellence in Business Support Awards. “Initially, we were really surprised at being a finalist. We’ve been doing this for ten years, so it doesn’t feel like overnight success but we’ve done all the ground work and are very prepared to keep growing this business from New Zealand to the world.”

You can see VIVA-LITE lamps and products for yourself @ stand 148b on the Auckland Business Expo in Greenlane from 27th – 29th May 2009.

Click here to register yourself for the expo and get a free entry ticket with compliments of VIVA-LITE…

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Results are so good that other schools are getting interested in lighting in schools, says Arne Lowden. a researcher in a stress research institute in the Stockholm University.

In the darkest wintertime in two classrooms regular yellowish fluorescent lamps were changed to so called full spectrum fluorescent lamps. The classrooms were the students homeclassrooms so they had almost all their lessons there.

During the weeks of research was e.g. the melatonin level that controls sleep, measured. The levels become lower and the students were more alert. In the evening were the students more tired. When sleeping they didn´t move as much as earlier because their sleep was more effective.

Their classroom was perhaps a little darker than the average before the change of the lamps, but results show anyway that good lighting is essential for all students. More alert students can easier cope with school work, says Arne Lowden.
Students might need to ”fill” themselves with light in the morning when people are most sensitive to light. School often starts at 8 am and students often miss the important morning light.

Pupils in secondary school are not much outside during breaks either and during weekends they might sleep too long in the morning so they´ll miss a lot of light.

It´s not only young people who need good light. Bad light can make personal tired in every job has been realized more and more often in Sweden, Arne Lowden notices.

Johan Bergman notices the difference between his new and old classroom.
– In the old classroom was I often so tired during the lessons that I almost fell asleep. Here it´s totally different.
The difference can best be noticed when pupils move from classroom to another:
– The other classrooms feel so dark and depressive especially in the winter when it´s dark outside, says Elin Försborgen.

Arne Lowden. gets more and more inquiries from workplaces, especially those with rooms without windows.
– Our next project is Forsmark power plant with rooms without windows. The goal is to increase alertness in daytime
Even private persons are interested in lighting. Light therapy lamps for private use sell well, says Arne Lowden. who himself has one on his writing desk. There he sits in the morning and feels that bright light makes him more alert. He recommends light therapy lights especially for shift-workers. So far it is not sure if it helps against depression, established SBU, an institute that evaluates health care technologies in Sweden, last year. (AD-Lux: this is wrong information. There are lot of studies, which shows that light therapy helps against depression).

We need more research on this area. The indoor light is of more and more importance in our lives. In investigations we can see how sleeping difficulties and fatigue have become more common, and that is something we can fight with right kind of light, says Arne Lowden.

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1. Full-spectrum light in schools
2. How important are light fixtures in schools
3. Full-Spectrum Light (issue 11)