May. 06, 2024
Lights & Lighting
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Linear Suspended Lighting. Image Courtesy of Alcon Lighting
Lighting plays a crucial role in architecture: to allow users to see, safely inhabit spaces, and carry out their daily activities. But its power has long exceeded these basic functions. Technological advances and new design trends have led to greater innovation and creativity. Contemporary lighting design has the ability to completely transform a room, impacting visual comfort and setting the tone by defining volumes, drawing attention to texture and enhancing colors.
Lighting can also determine shape and size perception. For instance, in a particularly small room, extra lighting reflecting off light-colored walls will help the space appear larger. Similarly, light has been proven to affect mood, concentration, and overall well-being. An adequately illuminated environment is associated with warmth and improved energy levels. Conversely, poor lighting can cause health issues, including headaches, eyestrain, and even depression.
Lighting—both residential and commercial—becomes one of the most important elements to consider when designing interiors. This implies that it must be addressed early and be well-thought-out to achieve the desired effect, depending on the type of space. It should encourage productivity in the workspace and create a welcoming effect in a home’s entrance. Architecture and lighting must strengthen one another and work as two co-dependent parts of one integrated experience.
As Norman Foster once said, “Architecture is an expression of values.” It tells a story, and architectural lighting plays a significant role in conveying that story, often bringing it to life. Architectural lighting design can be similar to general lighting design, but they are not the same. The former focuses on architecture, while the latter considers ergonomic or functional aspects—anything that improves one’s ability to live, work, function, relax, or play—to ensure light is optimally used and distributed.
Architectural lighting showcases and accentuates certain design elements to foster, establish, or emphasize a building’s aesthetic, history, and purpose. It is the intersection of art (architecture), design, and technology (lighting). Other fields also come into play, including physics, engineering, and the psychological and physiological effects of light.
In commercial applications, such as offices, stores, or educational settings, there are many options available on the market, making choosing the right fixture a complex decision. Today’s commercial LED lighting requires a deep understanding of smart lighting systems and controls. This includes keeping up with innovative products that, thanks to LED lighting technological progress and versatility, allow architects and designers to achieve more creative designs. For example, highlighting architectural features without visually revealing the fixture.
Some of the most common applications of architectural lighting are cove lighting, uplighting, linear recessed, surface, and suspension lighting. To explore their qualities and inspire architects and designers, below we present these through a selection of projects that use Alcon Lighting products.
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Mounted to a ceiling or a wall, cove lighting casts a soft glow to highlight certain design features, including crown molding or walls. It is best used as ambient accent lighting, often designed to wash a wall or ceiling while the LED light is tucked away into a built-in cove, hiding the light source. The resulting aesthetic is sleek, modern, and ideal for many commercial applications.
Uplighting is a form of indirect lighting that showcases structural ceiling features, such as steel beams. It refers to any fixture that directs light upwards, minimizing glare and enhancing the feel and space of a room by highlighting any distinctive ceiling infrastructure. Especially in interior applications, the system reduces ceiling dark spots and shadows, creating environments that are comfortable and appealing.
Linear recessed lights offer clean, straight lines of high-CRI LED lighting in continuous runs of any length, with seamless connections from ceiling to wall. Commonly found in workspaces, these lights create dynamic environments fostering creativity, productivity, and alertness. Available in standard or custom lengths, the system can create any linear design recessed into the ceiling, wall, or floor, accentuating modern interiors or providing balanced general lighting.
Surface and suspended lighting are versatile and adaptable to various applications. For example, a West Hollywood fitness studio used linear LED surface lighting to simulate traveling through the galaxy. The linear system thus becomes an architectural element capable of differentiating spaces and creating a unique, elevated experience.
To learn more about architectural lighting systems, visit Alcon Lighting’s website or explore our product catalog.
Want more information on LED lighting solutions for Architecture & Landscape? Feel free to contact us.
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