What Is Architectural Lighting?

By Author: snehaldesai
Total Articles: 97
Comment this article

When light is used to enhance the architectural details and improve the experience of space, it is known as architectural lighting.



The lighting of a building lets people admire its beauty even though the lighting may be natural or artificial. It helps to create an experience for those who occupy it. The lighting draws attention to the colour, texture and forms of space and helps architecture achieve its purpose.



The purpose of architectural lighting



Architectural lighting is for heightening the function and providing a medium for a particular mood. For example, you may want a focused light to read in bed, but you prefer a generally relaxed and cosy ambience in your bedroom.



To bring a substantial balance between lighting and architecture, we need to know about three key aspects:



Aesthetics - It refers to the impact that the balance between architecture and lighting will have on the emotion ...
... of the occupants. To a large extent, It depends on the type of use the building has- residential, commercial or historical? Aesthetics is especially important for retail outlets. The exterior lighting should be able to attract consumers to go inside. Once inside, the interior should be able to keep the consumers engaged.
Function- The primary purpose of lighting is to make us see. The architects must decide on what they want to highlight and what they want to achieve. The lighting should make the occupants feel safe and secure in navigating a room or building. They should be able to perform certain functions like task lights for reading or preparing a meal.
Efficiency- In today's age of sustainable development and green buildings, energy-efficient lighting is most important. The target should be to create a breathtaking design with the least wastage of light. For example, there is less wastage in LED lights than in fluorescents.



The Different Building Categories



It is important to know the different categories of buildings and what type of lighting it requires. The categories are:



Public buildings - the sports arenas, hospitals, libraries etc. These buildings are more concerned with providing lighting solutions for different tasks and other types of events; like in a library, the readers need to have proper light levels to read, write and find books on shelves. They would need proper lighting to navigate through the library.
Official buildings- warehouses and office buildings. Efficiency is their primary concern as they have huge energy consumption.
Specialized buildings- museums, theatres, casinos etc. They are concerned with the appearance and the atmosphere created.



Forms of architectural lighting



There are three forms:



Cove- located in a ledge, shelf or recess in high walls, the lights bounce back from the ceiling or upper wall.
Soffit - located in the Cornish or soffit, the light radiates downwards and washes the walls with light.
Valance - located in wood metal or glass valence, it is mounted above the window or high walls. These lights bounce both upward and downwards.



Talk to a John Cullen Architectural Lighting expert for more details.