BUILDING SCIENCE 2A

BUILDING SCIENCE 2A

Lecture 2: Light in Architecture

Lawrence Ogunsanya

lawrencesanya@yahoo.com
 DESIGNING WITH LIGHT
• Light plays a central role in the design of a visual
environment.
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• The architecture, people and objects are all made visible

by the lighting.

• Light influences our well-being, the aesthetic effect and

the mood of a room or area.

• It is light that first enables “what you see”.

Our perception of architecture will be influenced by light:
– Light defines zones and boundaries,
– Light expands and accentuates rooms,
– Light creates links and delineates one area from another.
 PROPERTIES AND SOURCES OF
LIGHT
• Light travels almost unimaginably fast and far.
• Light carries energy and information.
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• Light travels in straight lines.

• Light bounces and bends when it comes in contact with
objects.
• Light has color.
• Light has different intensities, it can be bright or dim.
• Shadows are formed when light is blocked by an object
• Visible light is only a small part of the electromagnetic
spectrum; the other parts are invisible to the human eye
but not necessarily the eyes of other animals.
 ELECTRIC LIGHT

• The process of making light with heat is called

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incandescence.
• Incandescent bulbs generate light when
electricity passes through a thin piece of
metal wire called a filament.
• The filament heats up and
gives off light.
 ELECTRICAL LIGHT

• The other common kind of electric light is the fluorescent

bulb.
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 Fluorescent bulbs
convert electricity
directly to light
without generating a
lot of heat.
 Fluorescent bulbs
use high-voltage
electricity to
energize atoms of
gas that fill the bulb.
 LIGHT CARRIES POWER & ENERGY

• Light is a form of energy that travels.

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• The intensity of light is the amount of energy

per second falling on a surface.
• Most light sources distribute their light
equally in all directions, making a spherical
pattern.
• Because light spreads out in a sphere, the
intensity decreases the farther you get from
the source.
 INTENSITY OF LIGHT

• The intensity of light from a small source follows an inverse

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square law because its intensity diminishes as the square of

the distance.
 LIGHT CARRIES INFORMATION

• The fiber-optic networks you read about are

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pipelines for information carried by light.

 LIGHT CARRIES INFORMATION

• In some cities, a
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fiber-optic cable
comes directly into
homes and
apartments
carrying telephone,
television, and
Internet signals.
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A
FIBRE OPTIC CABLES
 SPEED OF LIGHT

• The speed at which light travels through air is

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approximately 300 million meters per second.

• Light travels almost a million times faster than
sound.
 LIGHT RELFECTION

• When light moves through a material it travels in straight

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lines.
• When light rays travel from one material to another, the rays
may reflect.
• The light that appears to bounce off the surface of an object
is shown by a reflected ray.
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A LIGHT REFLECTION
 LIGHT REFRACTION

• The light that bends as it crosses a surface

into a material refracts and is shown as a
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refracted ray.
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A LIGHT REFRACTION
 COLOUR AND VISION

• When all the colors of the rainbow are combined, we do not

see any particular color.
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• We see light without any color.

• We call this combination of all the colors of light "white
light".
 LIGHT DESIGN, PLANNING AND PROCESS
• The basis for every lighting concept is an analysis of the
project…
– the tasks, the lighting design is expected to fulfill,
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– the conditions and special features of a space or work

surface.
• A quantitative design concept: Stipulates the standards laid
down for a specific task.
– standards will dictate how much light is needed,
– the degree of glare limitation,
– the source color and color rendering.
• When it comes to qualitative planning:
-it is necessary to gain as much information as possible about
the environment to be illuminated,
- how it is used
- who will use it and the style of the architecture.
 LIGHT DESIGN, PLANNING AND PROCESS

•As the design phase progresses, decisions are made

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regarding:
– the lamps and fixtures to be used
– the arrangement and installation of the fixtures
– any required electrical and control devices
• Lighting layouts (the plan) can be determined by the choice
of a light fixture or could be the criteria for fixture selection.
• Lighting design process should be seen as a “back and forth”
check in which developed solutions are repeatedly compared
to the predetermined goals and requirements.
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A LIGHTING LAYOUT
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TYPES OF LIGHTING
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TYPES OF LIGHTING
 LIGHTING APPLICATIONS

•LIGHTING CAN BE USED IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS

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• Forming Functional Space

•Defining Spatial borders
•Task Lighting
•Ambient Lighting
•Accent Lighting
•Decorative Lighting
 FORMING FUNCTIONAL SPACE
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•Distinct contrasts between individual zones and their

surroundings remove them from their spatial context
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A DEFINING SPATIAL BORDERS
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A TASK LIGHTING

•The secondary source of light in a room should be some type of task

lighting.
•In a kitchen, this often means pendant lights, recessed lights, track lights,
or under cabinet lights.
•In a bedroom, living room or home office, this means light fixtures such as
table lamps or desk lamps.
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A AMBIENT LIGHTING

•Among the most commonly forgotten part of a good lighting scheme is the
use of ambient lighting.
•Ambient lighting is lighting that is used to produce a warm glow in the
room. Ambient lighting can be done using a number of light fixtures,
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A ACCENT LIGHTING

•This type of light is meant to accent a specific element of the

home.
•This could mean an architectural element, such as an arched
doorway or a fireplace.
•It could also mean a piece of artwork such as a painting or even a
sculptural piece.
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A DECORATIVE LIGHTING

•Decorative lighting serves no purpose other than to be decorative.

•It is a part of the overall design scheme of the room, rather than
part of the lighting scheme.
•Despite this, decorative light fixtures still play an important role in
interior and exterior designs.
DECORATIVE LIGHTING
BUILDING SCIENCE 2A

Questions