element 03 | lighting
A windowless room or a space with minimal lighting appears dull and apathetic. Similar to seasonal affective disorder, people get depressed due to the lacking of sunlight during winter (NHS Choices 2015). On the contrary, a space with overexposed artificial lighting is harsh and clinical, thus increases tension and disrupts our attention to focus.
The incorporation of maximum natural lighting in offices results in happier workers, less absenteeism, and fewer illnesses, because it encourages engagement among workers and increases productivity (Jensen, A. 2015). Hence, daylight has become a prominent aspect in spatial design.
| 22, 23, 24 |
Sensual, luminous lighting elevates users’ experience and causes them to dwell in the saturation of light, instead of just walking pass. Cinimod Studio (2012) designed ‘Walk the Light’ in the tunnel entering V&A Museum with luminous LED lighting diffuses from red, purple and then blue. As visitors move through the tunnel, a band of white light on top follows their movement.
| 25, 26 |
United Visual Artists created an installation Momentum, which carefully choreographed sequence of light, sound and movement in the Barbican Centre. The twelve pendulums that activate light and sound as they swing, drawings attention to the curved space, and messing visitors’ perception of time and physical space (Barbican Centre, 2014). In the dark room, the pendulum lights sway slowly in circular manner, controlling our movement through the curved space. Visitors slow down to match the speed of lighting.
by Matt Clark, 2014
(Brown, M. 2014))
"We hope it will make people aware of how much we take for granted, how we filter information aurally, physically [and] visually pretty much all the time to make sense of the world around us. We're almost on autopilot all the time."
