Designing With Light

The Art, Science and Practice of Architectural Lighting Design

Jason Livingston

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781118740392
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Interior Design

A comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of lighting design

Designing With Light: The Art, Science, and Practice of Architectural Lighting Design is a comprehensive introduction to the intelligent use of lighting to define and enhance a space. The book explores all aspects of the process, including aesthetics, technology, and practicalities, in a clear, concise manner designed to provide the reader with a full working knowledge of lighting design. Color illustrations throughout demonstrate the real-world effects of the concepts presented, and the companion website offers video animations and exercises to better illuminate the art and science of lighting. The book addresses the considerations that should be a part of any designer's process, and provides thorough guidance on meeting the various demands with smarter design.

Lighting is an essential element of interior design, and despite its ubiquity, is difficult to truly master. A designer with a fundamental and conceptual understanding of light is empowered to create simple, typical spaces, or work intelligently with lighting consultants on more complex projects. Designing With Light contains special discussions on color, light, and health, as well as the latest information on energy efficient lighting, control systems, and other technologies. Topics include:

• Physics, psychology, and perception of light
• Current and future lighting technology
• Communication, documentation, and the design process
• Sustainability, daylighting, and energy efficiency

The book also contains an entire chapter on building and energy codes, as well as practical guidance on photometrics and calculations. Lighting can make or break an otherwise well-designed space, so designers need the background to be able to think intelligently about illumination factors during all stages of the process. With comprehensive coverage and thorough explanation, Designing With Light is a complete resource for students and professionals alike.

CHAPTER 1
The Lighting Design Profession

“Architecture is the correct and magnificent play of forms brought together in light.”

Le Corbusier

Without light there is no vision. Without light we cannot see the work of the architect, interior designer, and others who have contributed to creating a beautiful building. Add enough light to enable vision and we can see the shapes of the architecture and the colors of the materials, although perhaps not see them well. Add thoughtfully designed light, however, and it reveals the beauty of the architecture's forms and rhythms, and the subtle colors and textures of the materials. Light embraces and unifies the other elements of the space. Light directs our attention to important features and allows us to see our work with comfort and ease. It is the finishing touch on the overall experience that the owner and designers have sought to create. This is the work of a professional lighting designer.

The lighting designer Richard Kelly expressed this when he said, “Visual beauty is perceived by an interplay of . . . light. . . . It is therefore of first importance to plan lighting whether creating a new structure, altering an old or making existing conditions tolerable. By the judicious and artful control of [light] you can make an imagined water-color rendering become the real thing, become your idea of the beauty of architecture or decoration . . . light [can] make it easier to see, make surroundings safe and reassuring and stimulate the spirit. . . . To play with light is like playing with magic and is best done with a trained eye to recognize real and relative values, with experience and knowledge of physical techniques.”¹

Every building needs light, although not every building's design team will include a lighting designer. Some estimates suggest that less than 10 percent of construction or renovation design teams include a professional lighting designer. The reasons range from the owner's lack of understanding of what a lighting designer adds to a project to the architect's desire to keep fees low with the belief that other team members can take care of the lighting just as well as a lighting designer. The “others” who may provide some or all of the lighting design include the architect, interior designer, electrical engineer, electrical contractor, and lighting salesperson. While they each have something to contribute, lighting design is not their primary field, making it is more likely that they will not have the basic and continuing education of a professional lighting designer, that they will not be current with new technologies, and that they will not be skilled in the broadest range of lighting techniques.

These other professionals act as lighting designers because the practice of lighting is so young. The first independent lighting design firm opened in 1935. Compared to the centuries-old professions of architecture and interior design, specialists in light are new. However, as awareness of the importance of lighting increases, and as building codes place more requirements and restrictions on lighting, the need for knowledgeable, professional lighting designers is great and growing.

In this book we will be discussing lighting design as a distinct profession. We will look at the ways in which the lighting designer collaborates with the other design team members, develops the lighting requirements for a project, and applies tools and techniques to achieve a successful lighting design.

The Lighting Designer's Scope of Practice

A lighting designer is someone with the specialized education, knowledge, and experience to apply the art and science of lighting design to the places people occupy. The broad scope of the practice for lighting designers is generally agreed upon, although the details vary by project, organization, and contract requirements. Lighting designers, of course, must possess a great deal of knowledge and skill related to light and lighting, but they are expected to know so much more because their work must fulfill so many functions:

Provide light that is appropriate for visual tasks by:

• Identifying visual tasks that are to be performed
• Determining light levels that are typically required for the visual tasks
• Considering factors that suggest the light levels be higher or lower than typical, such as occupant's age, then selecting the project's target light level

Design light that supports the room's aesthetics or environment by:

• Providing light of the appropriate brightness and color
• Defining zones, boundaries, links, and/or separation among spaces
• Using lighting techniques to expand or contract the perceived size of a room, indicate activity levels, and influence overall impressions

Create visual interest within the space by:

• Revealing objects, materials, and surfaces selectively and appropriately
• Using variations in distribution to emphasize important room elements/areas and deemphasize unimportant ones
• Applying decorative lighting techniques and decorative fixtures to create additional visual variety

Conserve energy, environmental resources, and the client's money by:

• Integrating daylighting into the lighting design where appropriate
• Choosing energy efficient light sources and optically efficient fixtures
• Selecting fixtures and lamps that offer the best value by weighing cost, quality, and performance
• Including controls as part of the lighting design for an added layer of energy savings

Comply with building codes and energy usage regulations by:

• Understanding the applicable building code(s) and designing within their boundaries
• Collaborating with the design team to select the best energy conservation strategy to meet or exceed the limitations of the applicable energy code
• Choosing and locating fixtures to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and other relevant codes

A designer's contract with an architect, interior designer, or owner may have additional project-specific requirements, such as achieving target brightness levels for special applications. Likewise, a designer may limit the scope of work by excluding certain spaces (often spaces with low design requirements, such as stock rooms, loading docks, and electrical and mechanical rooms) or limiting attendance at meetings.

There are several professional organizations that have their own, slightly different, definitions for the role and responsibility of the professional lighting designer. For example, the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) cites the following tasks:

• Meet the illumination needs of the people who use the space
• Select cost-effective and energy-efficient products most appropriate for the project
• Create an innovative lighting solution that achieves the perfect balance of function and aesthetics
• Solve the unique lighting challenges of a wide range of interior and exterior environments
• Strengthen and enhance any space through creative, yet functional, lighting plans

Clearly, a lighting designer does so much more than just “light” spaces. The lighting designer is an equal member of the design team who uses his or her specialized knowledge to provide a design in light that meets the project's requirements while supporting and enhancing the work of the other design professionals.

Professional Lighting Design Credentials

Unlike architecture and engineering, lighting design is not a licensed profession. This is both good and bad. On one hand, it allows designers with a broad range of backgrounds, education, and experiences to enter the profession. On the other hand, it means that anyone can call themselves a lighting designer, regardless...