Proceedings of: Workshop on Improving Building Design for Persons with Low Vision

Influences of Artificial Lighting

[Artificial lighting] can be very influential in the way we behave within the environment, giving us spatial clues. And I’ll show a few quick examples.

Behavior within the Environment (slide 2)

This is a breakout area from an office space. The client, Lifetime Entertainment, wanted to create a very interactive, more casual environment for the office space, let people do more teaming in the space, and the lighting helps to transform that office environment into a more casual space.

Perception of the Environment (slide 3)

It can change our perception of the environment. This is a completely below-grade executive conference center. The prime objective with this project was [to light the space] so that you do not feel like you’re below grade, that you get some sense of brightness; not really emulating daylight but [giving] some sense of volume.

Sense of Well-Being (slide 4)

It can influence our sense of well-being. It can, in creating entry areas for this spa and making the space feel very inviting.

Visual Comfort (slide 5)

It also can influence our visual comfort in terms of seating area, reception area, having people feel like they want to go into the space and sit in the space and have the space feel comfortable.

Navigation throughout the Environment (slide 6)

It also can assist with our navigation through that space. This is a back-lit translucent wall, which is actually the base of the escalator going into the below-grade conference center, so that you don’t feel like you’re going down into the basement of the space. So as you’re entering the space, you’re looking at illuminated surfaces.

Productivity (slide 7)

It can influence our productivity, although, as in earlier discussions, that hasn’t really been substantiated with scientific studies. But if you create a comfortable environment for the people who are occupying it, I don’t see how it can’t influence productivity.

Safety (slide 8)

It also can influence our sense of safety and wanting to go into a space and having it feel welcome.

Basis of Lighting Design (slide 9)

Having said that, I think it’s really critical that the lighting design has to be developed in concert with the requirements of the occupants. It is so critical to understand who’s in that space and what their needs are. We were just talking about something that may seem very fundamental, like office lighting. We would certainly provide a very different environment for a law firm than we would for a creative media client. It’s very important to understand what’s happening in the space.

We were just recently awarded a new project. There were three other lighting design firms involved in the interview process. The feedback I received was first of all everybody was equally qualified in terms of their basic experience and the fees were all very similar. But they said that I was the only one who really addressed what their needs were and wanted to understand how they work. The first thing we do when we get a new project is look at their existing facilities, see what they’re doing, and try to make sure that the lighting really supports their business and their culture.

It’s also important to understand the requirements of the owner. If they’re really focused on trying to streamline their capital operating expenses, they’re going to be trying to minimize different types of lamps on the project, so that they can really look at their maintenance and controls, and how the space will operate.

Involvement in the architectural and interior design is so important very early in the process, so that we can really integrate the lighting into the space, not have it look like it’s an afterthought.

There’s nothing worse than getting a blank RTP and the job is going out in two days, and they say, here, design the lighting. Well, what’s happening in the space? I need the furniture plan. I need to understand what’s going on in the space.

It’s not, you know, putting dots on a drawing or putting lines on the drawing. It’s really thinking three dimensionally and what’s happening in that space. That really influences the whole perception of glare in the space, the issues of contrast, and making sure that we are providing the appropriate --

I know everybody’s probably tired of hearing about the energy code, but it’s the law and we all have to abide by it. Is the law flawed? I think it’s certainly flawed and it really needs a lot of reevaluation, and this is certainly influencing the way that we design.

Trends in Lighting Design (slides 10 and 11)

A lot has been already mentioned about the drive toward sustainability. And sustainability is not a bad thing. I think it’s a good thing, but it needs to be implemented thoughtfully, making sure that we’re not compromising any quality-of-life issues [while] providing a sustainable environment.

There is a drive to improving color rendition [in] the lamps that we have available. We do have very good color rendering qualities, and so that’s been a tremendous plus in the lighting industry in terms of having things rendered and people rendered much more accurately.

What is very detrimental right now, and in some ways it’s a good thing, physical bulb size and shape [of lamps are] getting much smaller. [These bulbs and lamps help in terms of trying to reduce energy consumption but they create a tremendous glare bomb with these small lamps. They really need to be controlled carefully, and we really need to make sure that the luminaires that they’re going into are thought about in terms of controlling that glare.

Approach to Lighting Design (slide 12)

So some of the things that we really need to consider are making sure that we have [consistent levels] of lighting in circulation zones, with the exception of major intersections or decision points, [where] actually increasing the lighting levels can assist with the Wayfinding process.

As I mentioned yesterday, task illumination [is] such a critical component in space, giving people control over their environment.

And we’ve been talking about the transition zones again. Now, it’s very regulated in tunnels, when you’re driving. It’s not thought about in terms of architectural spaces [but] it’s very important for pedestrians walking through.

Vertical illumination is an important tool in defining a space and assisting with Wayfinding and just how your sense of comfort is in the space. If you’re in a space and you’re looking up constantly at a darker wall surface, it really creates a lot of difficulties with your eye transitioning in terms of the lighting.