20 January 2009
When a lighting designer arrange a lighting design concepts for an interior space, there are many things that should be consider such as character of that interior space, function of room, visual comfort, etc. Lighting designer consider not only a functional but also an aesthetic factors in harmony with interior design.
After design concept phase, lighting designer should determine some lighting design approach to execute his/her concept through light sources and interior lighting fixtures. The appropriate light sources and interior lighting fixtures will produce a visual condition that supporting interior design. Choosing light sources will determines light color, light intensity, efficiency (lumen per wattage), and functional life. Every light sources produces different light color rendering and have different efficiency. HID (high intensity discharge) lamps have good color rendering and moderate efficiency, on the other hand, HPS (high pressure sodium) lamps have worse color rendering but great efficiency.
Interior lighting fixtures are available in a wide variety of types, each intended to fulfil different lighting requirements and depends on interior design concept that designed by interior designer. The same light distributions can be achieved with different lighting fixtures.
Choosing interior lighting fixtures will determines some factors like:
1. light distribution
(direct light, indirect light, semi direct light, semi indirect light, and diffuse)
2. light pattern (according to its angle)
3. luminaire performance (according to fixtures design)
4. installation process and lighting maintenance
The choice depends on whether the fixtures are to be a design feature in their own right, or whether an integrative design approach is being followed. Compared to fixtures that are permanently mounted (particularly for recessed lamps) track-mounted fixtures offer a higher degree of flexibility and indeed moveable. When we choose ceilling recessed downlight or pendant downlight for an interior space, that will give some influences for the space. Ceilling recessed downlight create more spacious space and clean ceilling than pendant downlight, but no flexibility for its arrangement. In the other hand, pendant downlight make a space more tight and crowded. (infinity space)
06 December 2008
Lighting is a most important factor in architectural design. People have no ability to see architectural product or defining form and space without light. Lighting has ability to influence visual condition, with lighting intensity, lighting color, and light pattern in architecture, interior, or exterior.
In daytime, sunlight play important role to make a visual condition and give visual information about our surrounding. At night, artificial lighting have important role to make a good visual condition with light quality and quantity. To accomplishing lighting quantity, we need to know about lighting intensity standard for each room. Lumen method is one of part method that can use to calculate lighting quantity.
Whereas, lighting quality is one condition that lighting to be able to accomplishing human need. To make good visual condition, some approach is needed, like lighting design factors (intensity, color and pattern) and human visual perception. Perceptions of lighted settings are the result of the brain’s interpretation of physiological reactions to those lighted settings.
Visual perception can be used as a methodology to found some influences factor in architectural lighting design. To measure human perception for lighting quality, we can use semantic differential method, with some adjectives and its antonym (e.g. bright – dark, cheerful – dull, beautiful – ugly). (the infinity space)
