Remember no class on week 3. Wewill go for the "default" from the syllabus for this one:
• For week 3: Chapter 5 Daylight, Chapter 6 Incandescent Lamps, Chapter 7 Discharge Lamps, Chapter 8 Auxiliary Equipment
• For Week 4: Seating in performance spaces (web search, periodicals and library searches), Chapter 9 Light Control, Chapter 10 Photometrics
So there are 7 discussion points. No need to reproduce all the info from the text here each of you point out what you see as the highlights of each chapter. Also, you can and should seek out other sources of this information for comparison and contrast.
Remember to visit the blog often as I am looking for this to interactive discussion involving the whole class.
Here are some links that can help you:
http://www.illuminart.net
http://www.rsltg.com/
http://www.mts.net/~william5/
http://www.irwinseating.com/
http://www.livedesignonline.com/
Http://www.archlighting.com (both of these last two are periodicals in the Ai library as well)
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Another good link to help with lighting...
http://www.lightdirectory.com/
Chapter 5- Daylight
I love the beginning quote of this chapter " The goal of daylight is to provide visual variety with controlled brightness contrasts." Thinking about this as I read the chapter really helped me out. This chapter really helps you to figure out how you would want to position your windows in a room to where the light being emitted from the window (through daylight) can be most effectivley utilized. It goes on to talk about how you should design things being touched by the daylight, fenestraction, meaning the arrangement and proportioning of the windows themselves, shading for your windows and many other handy tools.
Sites that I found interesting that refer to daylight design:
http://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=4981
http://www.energydesignresources.com/category/daylighting/
Chapter 6- Incandescent Lamps
This chapter talks about the type of lamp most commonly found in residential spaces. Their currents are all conducted from their bases and then move into the bulb part. These incandescent lamps include a filament which is a length of tungsten wire. The reason tungsten is used is because of its high melting temperature. The chapter goes on to explain the light output of the lamps. During this quick section I learned an interesting fact: a watt is not a measure of light, but a measure of the power consumed. Lumens tell how much light a lamp emits. This chapter also has very helpful pictures, abbreveations and diagrams to help to explain the lamps.
Sites that I found intersing about incandescent lamps:
http://users.mis.net/~pthrush/lighting/glow.html
http://home.howstuffworks.com/light-bulb.htm
Chapter 7- Discharge Lamps
This chapter includes information on Fluroescent lamps because it is a low-pressure mercury arc dishcharge source. If you do not know what this means the book explains it in great detail on page 81. To continue it gives great easy-to-read diagrams of how the discharge lamps work. This chapter kept talking about T8, T5, T4 etc. lamps among others and so I found a site that helped to define it if anyone is curious:
http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/lightingAnswers/lat5/pc1.asp
Chapter 8- Auxiliary Equipment
This chapter consists of two categories: ballasts and transformers. All lamps, except incandescent ones, require a ballast. This chapter includes helpful formulas to calculate air-conditioning loads, ballast factors, ballast efficacy factors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_ballast
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer
Chapter 9- Light Control
This chapter includes different types of reflection on surfaces and perhaps how to help situations with glare. It shows diagrams that help to understand where reflection would come through the window and bounce off objects. This chapter refers to the law of reflection and beam control.
http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/refln/u13l1c.html
Chapter 10- Photometrics
This talks about the measurement of light and the fice terms that are most commonly used to quantify it: intensity, flux, illuminance, exitance, and luminance. This chapter discusses what is called the luminous intensity distribution curve. It is more adequatly explained here:
http://www.nyserda.org/sclp2/technicalguide/design/curve.asp
Again many formulas in this chapter that can be helpful in figuring all sorts of lighting situations such as the distance from the source to the target surface if you are inable to measure.
Beautiful Meryl. For the rest of the class: Avoid the use of "she said what I was going to say". Try to expand on what the first poster has offered. When you seek out other sources point out the highlights of them as Meryl has done with the chapters.
This is going to be great.
Off you go.
Since Meryl did such a great job at outlining each chapter in our reading I decided to pick one specific topic from our reading and do some further investigation. For this week I choose to do some research on day lighting.
To start I referenced the two sights Meryl posted as links: http://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=4981
This site was great at outlining the benefits of using day lighting in design. The author, Judy Theodorson, begins by stating some case by case studies where day lighting has benefited commercial spaces. In a retail study, Theodorson found that sales went up 40% when a use of natural light was incorporated into the design. Schools documented better test scores and workplaces have documented more productivity. Combined with the increasing benefits above, day light also is just a pure nutrient that the human body craves.
The second site listed: http://www.energydesignresources.com/category/daylighting/
This site provided a much more in-depth research forum. The day lighting design guidelines section was especially informative. The section deals with the numerous usages of natural lighting system and integrates the many options and constraints involved when dealing with day lighting systems.
I found the sub-section entitled, day lighting in building design, to be very beneficial. This sub-section dealt with ways of optimizing the use of diffused day lighting systems to decrease energy use and become a LEED certified construction type. Sustainability has become a major concern in every area of design and finding ways to use less is what will eventually lead the future of design.
Also the sub-section entitled, Day Lighting Systems, helped to better understand the options available and ways to implement these options. First off, a designer must understand that much of the research done to establish these guidelines is very interpretational and highly depends on the site of the building, the size and shape of the building and the operational constraints of the building. Once this is understood the research and guidelines can then be integrated into specific design projects.
Also discussed in this sub-section was the ideals of lighting systems with and without shading. Systems that involve shading have already created diffuse light which is typically the type of day light that is optimal for an interior work place (or other place that involves task oriented needs). Yet day lighting without shading must find ways to diffuse the light in order to not create direct light, which can typically make tasks difficult. Ways of diffusing light:
DIFFUSE LIGHT-GUIDING SYSTEMS: redirect daylight to specific areas of the sky vault to the interior of the room.
DIRECT LIGHT-GUIDING SYSTEMS: send direct sunlight to the interior of the room without the secondary effects of glare and overheating
LIGHT SCATTERING/DIFFUSING SYSTEMS: used in skylights/top lights to produce even distribution
LIGHT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS: collect and send sunlight over long distances to the core of the building via fiber-optics or light pipes.
http://www.narm.org.uk/home/pdfs/brochure.pdf
I also found a great site that specialized in RoofLights. This site is out of the UK so many of the measurements have to be translated but its basic concepts are easy to understand. The company develops roofing systems that utilize daylighting and focus on lowering energy while optimizing a “better interior feel”. The site discusses the materials used in their products and the shapes that they can create. The site also discusses the benefits of a polycarbonate material which is a clear plastic that can be heated to gain the desired shape and it can also be recycled or reheated (which assists with sustainability).
The site also offers many diagrams, graphs and tables that show their products, needed lighting, legal requirements of lighting(based on UK guidelines) and thermal gains of natural lighting. It is certainly worth checking out.
In conclusion I would like to clarify a misconception that I had, which hopefully others might have run into too. “Daylight does not equal sunlight. Daylight is cool in color and temperature, and by definition, daylighting actually involves keeping direct sunlight out of buildings and bring diffuse light in.” - http://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=4981
MERYL ... I have enjoyed checking the sites that you have posted... excellent researching. The most difficult ideals discussed in our reading, for me, had to do with understanding photometrics and I couldn't get the link you posted to open. Maybe Tim or some else from class has some sites to check out on the topic to go along with our readings?
Maranda...
Better test scores if you include natural day lighting huh? That is pretty interesting. Maybe that is the problem at the art institute?
About the site that I posted, I am not really sure what happened and I forgot to save the page on my computer. I'm sorry about that. Here is another good one I found on just lighting in general, its wikipedia so I don't know how true it is but I thought it was interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighting
MERYL.....
Thanks for the response...
As far as the Art Institute goes, I did find some of the day lighting research comparable to the AI in terms of the atrium and the natural light that is used in the atrium. Also how some of the classrooms that are adjacent to the atrium benefit from this light as well. As the day lighting is diffused into these secondary classrooms (such as 118).
Taking note of how the lighting from the atrium effects 118 is a great case study. On gloomy days (such as last wed.) one can really experience the lack of that natural light, that you grow used to.
Chapter 9 - Light Control
As the chapter states, there are two purposes in lighting control. One is to direct light where it is wanted and the other is to block light from where it is unwanted. The control of light direction is acccomplished inthree ways:
Reflection is the return of light form a surface. Specular, semi-specular, and diffuse reflection are involved in light control. Specular reflection is where light hits a smooth, high polished surface and alters the direction without changing its form; this is ideal for when precise beam control is desired. Semi-specular reflection is where light hits irregular surfaces and spreads the reflection beam; these are often used as elements of sparkle. Diffuse reflection occurs when light strikes a rough or matte surface and the light is neutralized in the direction of the beam; in interiors this is often desirable for walls, ceilings, and work surfaces.
Transmission of light through a material is affected by the reflections at each surface of the material and the absorption and redirection within the material(refraction). Transmission can be direct,spread, and diffuse.
Baffles and louves shield glare at normal viewing angles. Baffles provide shielding in one direction. For small apature luminaires, a baffles provides shielding in all directions. Louves are a series of baffles or shielding elements placed in a geometric pattern to provide sheilding in many directions. Shielding conceals the lamp and controls glare within a zone called the shielding angle.
This site contrast and compares lighting control applications for a private vs. open office areas.
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/procurement/eep_light_controls.html
Although we are not going to work on a residence in this class, I found the recommended footcandles for interior rooms for a home.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/home-lighting-fixtures-color-reflections.html
Maranda and Meryl,
Here are several links that discuss the areas you have been discussing:
http://www.illuminart.net/rr/docs/Articles/PLD_Basics/PLDbasics2.pdf
http://www.mts.net/~william5/library/illum.htm
http://www.mts.net/~william5/library/sources.htm
http://www.mts.net/~william5/library/epalight.htm
http://www.illuminart.net/rr/docs/Articles/PLD_Basics/PLDbasics5.pdf
http://www.illuminart.net/rr/docs/Articles/PLD_Basics/PLDbasics6.pdf
http://www.illuminart.net/rr/docs/Articles/PLD_Basics/PLDbasics7.pdf
http://www.illuminart.net/rr/docs/Articles/PLD_Basics/PLDbasics8.pdf
http://www.lithonia.com/Library/IESFiles/faq.asp
And especially this one:
http://www.bucknell.edu/x20304.xml
Good work!
After reading several of the websites that were offered, I think that there is no one point of lighting that is more important than another. But, I do think that natural lighting plays the biggest role in lighting when it comes to design. Natural lighting truly does transform a space, especially an office space. Even though people may dismiss the benefits of good ole sunshine, productivity is increased when sunshine is implemented to its fullest. After reading through the other chapters and the technicalitites of the different lamps and connections, even though its very detailed, I find it easier to understand how to use those lighting techniques than I do how to use natural lighting. Especially as an interior designer and coming into a space that already exists, the challenge would come not with picking and choosing artificial lighting, but how to change the existing frame to absorb natural light. Marandas research on the terms were very helpful in understanding the type of lighting.
I agree with Kristen on how hard it is to take an exisiting building and design it to use more natural lighting, especially when it wasn't built for that purpose to begin with. As Maranda quoted, "daylighting actually involves keeping direct sunlight out of buildings and bringing diffuse light in." I always thought that sunlight was what benefited people, not just the light itself. Hopefully one day, our school will be able to implement daylighting systems into our classrooms, such as the direct or diffuse light guiding systems Maranda mentioned :)
Speaking of daylighting systems,I found a few articles that talk about Fiber Optic lighting, which is supposed to be extremely energy efficient option. Here are the links:
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/246/
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/09/fiber_optics_ef.php
When designing a new building or a existing building daylight is one of the first things to consider.Where the windows are located can effect performance, psychological, economic,environmental and energy.By placing rooms like: restrooms, copy rooms, stairs, and elevators near the center of the building other rooms can be located near the outsides of the building.It is important to have the rooms where tasks are performed close to windows.Considering the
hierarchy of the spaces and which ones require more light or less light should be done when laying out a space.check out article at http://www.facilitiesnet.com/bom/article.asp?id=4267
I agree with what mary has said. I went on the site you posted and found it interesting. Before the first light bulb was made, buildings or homes were designed with the purpose of allowing daylight to fully light up a space. Candles and fire were merely the only sources of light at night. So as we can see in history, humans made use of nature to predict their lifestyles and the way they did things. Where as now since we do have electricity and other sources we do not rely on nature as much, which to me is kind of sad since nature plays a big role in all our lives since it surrounds us. As the article states " A good daylighting design can save up to 75 percent of the energy used for electric lighting in a building." It is a good thing though that now we are more aware of sustainability and are trying hard to make use of solar energy. It is also interesting in our book how they show us the different openings for windows to allow daylight in our designs. Every designer should consider the aspects of nature when building or designing a project.
Lighting itself is a very important aspect of design, not only to light up a space but also for the purpose of emotion or feeling it creates in each space with the use of color. Without light we cannot see color and therefore when choosing specific colors for areas or rooms, lighting should be highly considered. Light bulbs are what need to be looked at in order to portray color positively. Warm hues should make use of incandescent lights, and cool hues can make use of fluorescent lights since the whiteness of the fluorescent light allows the color to remain cool. Whereas the yellowness of the incandescent light allows warm colors to stay warm and give that sensual feeling.
Dimming is a great technique we can use in our designs since it allows us to control the lighting which also helps in creating a mood in a space.
To Mary's comment-
Placing the closed spaces such as restrooms and elevators towards the center of the space or building does free up the exterior for a more open plan and therefore take advantage of the natural lighting more efficently. A project that I did in Architectural Communications 3 was like this. It was a design firm with limited space and they needed to utilize the windows fr light and also the frame for placing walls apporiately. The restrooms, breakroom, and coffee room were allplaced in the center with open office spaces surrounding it. This allowed for every employee to have access to natural lighting for their drafting, which is very important.
After reading the article on the website http://www.facilitiesnet.com/bom/article.asp?id=4267 that Mary mentioned I found that a good day lighting design can save up to 75 percent of the energy used for electric lighting in a building. The entire building team has to be part of the design process from the beginning so things don’t go wrong with the day lighting in a building.
Auditorium Seating: week 4 discussion
“Auditorium design is one of the most complicated architectural tasks” (http://www.kfu.edu.sa/sjournal/eng/pdffiles/b7191.PDF).
The above website was full of fantastic information involving auditorium design and seating/stage planning considerations. From this article I was able to better conceptualize and bullet point the major concerns when developing my seating arrangement and stage design. The article summarizes the major aspects of auditorium design to include: Basic format, Seating arrangements, and Audience to stage relationship. Each of the listed topics are then explained per type usage.
So our first step in any auditorium design is figuring out what our auditorium’s main purpose will be, from here you can then base all decisions. Certainly we have discussed the main formats of an auditorium ( end stage, courtyard, horseshoe, fan shaped, and arena), yet laying out the seating for each can get a bit more complicated. The website details how to apply the various types of row formats and row geometry to your desired space. A key element to keep in mind is circulation and flow, especially when dealing with audience comfort. Questions a designer might ask themselves are “how long will my audience members be seated?” - “will they need easy access to exits throughout the entirety of the show?” - “how will I incorporate universal accessibility?”. Each of these questions will help you focus on the job at hand.
Some key aspects that will assist in the decision making process include: Row format (staggered or straight), Row geometry (curvilinear, rectilinear, double herringbone, or single herringbone), and/or Chair types/dimensions. There are two distinct types of chairs that are discussed in the article, Self-rising and Push-back. The push-back takes up less space, but the self-rising proves to be more comfortable for spectators. Also giving each seat more space can help with sightlines and spacing.
Another topic for consideration is Audience to stage relationship, which is the most important concept to understand when planning an auditorium space. When developing this relationship a designer must pay close attention to visual quality of the audience members and their sightlines. One major constraint when designing a performance space is fundamental human capability, what is the body actually capable of? What is the head movement range of a typical human? The head movement range determines the visual field of the house seating of an auditorium. Another key element is visual angles, what can be seen when the eye and the head are still? Each of these are shown with specific diagrams that illustrate the capabilities.
Once the article is finished presenting the information, it then concludes with a graph illustrating the best and worst formats of auditorium planning. Factors that are incorporated into the graph include: Stage visibility, horizontal viewing angles, vertical viewing angles, distance from stage, basic auditorium formatting, row formatting, row geometry, and audience to stage relationship.
I certainly recommend checking out this site. The information is presented in a very easy-to-understand approach, with diagrams and graphs.
There is a great deal of planning that goes into auditorium design and this article helps one to grasp the heavy technical information that surrounds visual needs and circulation needs of audience members and performers.
DANA…
Excellent points about lighting and the various hues that are displayed depending upon the type of lamp chosen for a space. Lighting can have an enormous effect on the hues that are incorporated into a space, they can either amplify or diminish hues depending on the type of lamp chosen. So when planning any color scheme a designer must always know that best way to control lighting also a bad color scheme might be able to become a good scheme with the application of the correction lighting implementation.
Another great point you had was adding dimmers. Sometimes this option is over looked, but it is a very easy and inexpensive way to control lighting amounts, especially if you are designing for a space that needs to be multifunctional.
-Maranda
I'm vey pleased with the research and blog interaction you all are doing. This what I had hoped this process would be like.
Good job.
Despite all the good that daylight does to not only the look of the interior of buildings, and boosting the moods of the people inside there is one downfall, reduced insulation value. Windows, as we know, are very different from the walls that keep the heat in during the winter, and out during the summer. I read in an article that windows should not exceed 15% of the wall area, unless the building is designed specifically for the use of passive solar heating. However, after continuing research, I found what was called a “Low-E” which means “low emittance” window that is used for the purpose of lose of heat or to keep heat out. With the “Low-E” window there are two things that are considered, U-factor and the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient. Basically the U-factor measure how well the window insulates and the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient well the window keeps out heat. The lower in both measures the better. I also found that tubular skylights can be put in place to provide natural lighting while minimizing the size of the opening in the ceiling. A tubular skylight is a roof-mounted light collector that reflects light through a tube (hence the name), with a reflective interior coating. The tube leads the sunlight to a diffuser lens on the interior of the ceiling that spreads light evenly throughout the room (pretty cool huh?).
Maranda the website that you left was very insightful. It really broke down the areas to consider when creating a performance space. The seating arrangemnets weren't really hard for me to get a grasp on. It's the acoustics and the lighting arrangements that are more maticulous to place. In my design I went with a continental seating just because I felt it enhanced the seating arrangement and the performance experience. One thing that takes more time to design is considering the sightlines of the seats. When the seating is directly in front of the stage the sightlines are pretty simple, but, like in my theatre design I have balconies and I discovered that to be a harder task to figure out that first expected because those balconies can only come so close to the stage before you lose sight, fortunately for me sound is more important in my theatre than sight.
When it comes to lighting, I think that lights that are capable of being dimmed are most utilized. Depending on the purpose of your theatre will determine their validity, but I think no matter what type of theatre it is light dimmers will always be used. I only make that comment because thats what I found most useful in my design. I think that seating space is what I focused most on, thats why i went with the continental design. I was just recently in the ice palace and the seating in there was awful to me. My knees were pretty much up against the chair in front of me, so that inspired me to really consider the comfort of the audience.
maranda, that website you left is very helpful! Thank you so much! i was planning on using my theater for concerts/music events and the website really helped me decide on how to plan my seating, as well as keeping in mind the acoustics of the space. One thing i had a little trouble with was how to incorporate the ADA seating/areas in the theater. Sightlines play a huge role, at least for me, because my theater is a concert space. Since most people in concerts stand throughout the show, i need to have an area where people in wheelchairs won't be blocked from seeing the stage, but still have easy access to the doors. Did anyone else have this problem?
As I was doing my research for the commercial lighting, I found this very interesting website I would like to share with everyone. The website is http://courses.eco-structure.com/book/print/2
This website is on Creating Sustainable Commercial Interiors. It mentions everything necessary to create sustainable interiors and I found it very interesting. The points mentioned are The Benefits of Sustainable Design, Economic Benefits, Creating Value for Owners, Increased Productivity, Environmental Benefits, Reduced Environmental Burden, Enhanced Indoor Air Quality, Improved Lighting Quality, Lower Levels of Noise Pollution, Reduced Resource Consumption and Waste, and LEED Promotes Sustainable Design. All the points mentioned are very important for us future interior designers because not only does this website talk about lighting but about the whole of sustainable design.
As for the lighting part of the website, they say "indirect lighting is the best choice, preferred by 80% of office workers". It mentions that "indirect lighting offers the best long-term, cost-effective solution for owners". It also goes on mentioning the ceiling reflectivity and the importance of glare control and the color rendering index. Therefore the website mentions that "The key (in commecial design is) to avoid simply designing a brighter space without the value of energy savings." Please visit the website since it is very useful for all of us.
The website that dana mentioned was very informative about sustainable lighting. You can even sighn up to recieve a free newsletter.
I did enjoy the chapter on daylighting the most becasue I find it intriguing the way simple natural light can be transformed to fit your space. I know daylighting is not always sufficient; I checked out some of the sites that fellow classmates listed. I like the sites that Beenita posted about the fiber optic energy saving lights. The first site has some awesome modern daylighting systems.
along the lines of maranda's first post, (how sales went up 40% in that retail study) I found this quote from the treehugger.com website: "Grocery chain Albertson's ran a trial showing that the lights can reduce energy consumption in freezers. It will now test EFO (efficient fiber optics) to light seafood, wine, vegetables and other products. Traditional lights melt ice and can change the flavor of wine."
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