Winter Wonder Lights By Mark Chai

This December, the Center for Architecture on Fort Street Mall is pleased to present Winter Wonderlights, a lamp installation by local artist and designer Mark Chai.

Through his handcrafted light fixtures, Mark invites us to look at Christmas lighting in a different way. Rather than relying on mass-produced decorations, he transforms locally found and reclaimed materials into unique objects of light. His work reminds us that celebrating the holidays can also be an opportunity to be creative, resourceful, and thoughtful about the materials we use.

Mark's inspiration comes from simple but meaningful experiences: childhood memories of campfires glowing on the beach, moonlight filtering through palm leaves, and the careful craftsmanship of building a wooden fence in Japan. These moments continue to shape his understanding of light, shadow, materials, and the relationship between objects and people.

For Mark, a lamp is more than an object that illuminates a space. It is something that can create curiosity, invite interaction, and change the way we experience our surroundings.

Alongside the installation, we invite you to join us for a panel discussion moderated by Wendy Meguro, Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture. The conversation will bring together three different perspectives on how Honolulu has experienced and continues to think about light.

Mark Chai, the featured artist, will share his creative process and the ideas behind his handcrafted light fixtures, including how memories, imagination, and reclaimed materials inform his work.

DeSoto Brown, historian at the Bishop Museum, will take us back through Honolulu's history of illumination, from candles and natural gas to oil and electricity. He will also share childhood memories of Christmas along Fort Street Mall and introduce us to Reddy Kilowatt, the cartoon character created in 1926 to promote the growing use of electricity. These stories offer a glimpse into a time when electricity represented progress, possibility, and a new way of celebrating Christmas.

Rick Chong, electrical engineer and lighting designer, will bring a technical perspective to the conversation. Drawing from his professional experience and personal memories of Honolulu, he will explore how lighting technology has evolved and how we can make more thoughtful choices about illuminating our homes, buildings, and public spaces. Rick holds a Master of Science in Illumination and is Lighting Certified by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

Together, these perspectives invite us to look beyond simply making our city brighter. They encourage us to ask: What kind of light do we really need?

How can we celebrate, remember, and illuminate our city while being mindful of energy, our island environment, and the resources around us?

Perhaps the future of lighting is not about having more light, but about using light more thoughtfully.