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The psychology of light in a building

4/07/2014
     A seasoned lighting designer can visualize how a given lighting system will look and perform within a space. He also can predict how an observer will react to the system. This insight is gained with experience, of course, but certain basic relationships of light and space and the psyche are always present, and are worth mentioning. The first is the location of the plane of brightness, or the brightest surface in the space 

 
a room with a dark ceiling

 a room with a bright ceiling
    A ceiling left in shadow creates a secure, intimate, and relaxing ‘cave’ environment suitable for lounges and casual dining. High brightness on the ceiling creates the bright, efficient, working atmosphere desirable for offices, classrooms, and kitchens. Brightness on the vertical planes draws attention to the walls and expands the space visually, and is appropriate for art galleries, merchandising, and lobbies. Such facilities often also use variations of light intensity on the walls to accentuate a desired feature. 


    Variations of light intensity form areas of light and shadow, which are desirable if you are trying to create a ‘mood’ environment, rather than an evenly illuminated workplace. The interplay of light and shadow add variety to a space, and provide visual relief to an otherwise monotonous environment. Scallops on a wall from down lights, shadows on the ceiling from up lights, or highlights from accent lighting create areas of visual interest, and can draw attention to a desired area or object. 
    The designer must be careful not to overdo it, though, because too many lighting effects in one space have roughly the same visual effect that too many sidebars, colors, and font styles do to a magazine page: the original design intent is obscured or obliterated. It is always best to work with the architect from the outset of a project to get in tune with the flavor or mood that he or she is trying to create in a space. 
    Architectural features can be modeled through the use of shadows, as can objects within the space. A three-dimensional object lighted directly from in front will appear flat, but when lighted from an angle, will assume depth and roundness. We all remember the ‘Frankenstein flash’ from photography class, where the hand-held flash is placed beneath the chin of the subject. The resulting photo looks like a Boris Karloff publicity shot. This happens because of the striking contrast between the brightly lit and deeply shadowed facial features. The same effect can be achieved in architectural spaces through the use of up lights, down lights, and lighting from the side. 

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