Let there be light: Conducive lighting for commercial spaces
Smart lighting creates depth and height, cosy spots, and draws attention to the most impressive areas. It is all about maintaining the balance between light and shade, and bringing new energy to the interior
Many times we have dined at different restaurants around the city, both fancy and fast cuisine establishments. But, we seldom stop to wonder why the lighting varies drastically among these restaurants.
Fast food outlets usually have bright, white lights whereas most high-end restaurants tend to have dimmed aesthetic lights.
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The bright light leaves customers feeling alert, providing them with greater stimulation. It can even help create faster turnover rates and a quicker flow of customers.
Conversely, dim lights enable customers to relax. People dining at dimly lit tables tend to eat at a slower pace and feel more content with their dining experience.
Besides residential spaces, lighting is a crucial element in every commercial space, be it a restaurant, office, retail shop or even a factory floor.
In corporate offices, energy should flow like water springs. Every feature of these spaces need to be designed in such a way so that they inspire and boost productivity. Right lighting can enable optimum functioning, satisfaction and a 'task-centric' atmosphere.
Interior lighting in a commercial space is trickier than residential space lighting, in the sense that a wide range of tasks has to be managed, and a sizable amount of people has to cater to that place. It has to have a perfect blend of functionality and aesthetics conducive to productivity.
The range of tasks can include a variety of nuanced architectural situations beginning with the facade, stretching to the entrance zone and foyer, circulation zones such as stairs and corridors, and multifunctional rooms and peripheral areas required for employees, workshops and archives.
Lighting is both art and science. Smart lighting creates depth and height, cosy spots, and draws attention to the most impressive areas. It is all about maintaining the balance between light and shade, and bringing new energy to the interior.
The importance of proper lighting
Light has a considerable influence on both our bodies and minds. The right quantities of daylight and artificial light helps maintain a healthy circadian rhythm.
Sufficient daylight and artificial light in an office space can improve satisfaction and efficiency, by generating a creative, dynamic and motivating environment.
"I think the best lighting type for commercial spaces is the LED lights with colour temperatures of 5000K or higher, to make it almost similar to natural daylight. Besides, LED lighting is considered a healthier choice, posing less threat of inducing migraine or sleeping disorder," said Ola Bara, a Palestine based architectural engineer.
However, even though LED lights appear to have a low initial cost, they have lower shelf life than fluorescent ones. As a result, often the lights burn out, and you have to change the entire unit.
A study by The New York Times reveals that children are more well-behaved and less frigid if the interior colour or lighting of their school is brighter and less intense.
Our body and hormones are synced with the cycle of sunlight. The sun shines the brightest in the morning and wanes with the twilight of dusk.
Our hormones secrete in a harmonious way with this natural phenomenon. We function most actively in the morning, and our energy level starts dropping gradually.
"Lighting in any commercial space should be done in combination with indirect sunlight. If the staffs are working daily for a minimum eight hours, they should not sit under the direct lighting throughout their shift. It will only trigger their hormonal imbalance that will impact on attention, concentration, modes, sleep cycle etc and reduce their productivity," said Sadia Alam, a Dhaka-based architect who is currently majoring in lighting design at the University College London.
Besides, we are accustomed to having the sun around us in an indirect way. We see its presence everywhere without even looking at the source directly.
Lighting in commercial spaces should be done in the same manner, hiding the source and maintaining uniformity. This is why decorative lights are relatively less used in commercial spaces, as these lights are too distracting.
However, commercial lighting may initially be expensive, but they are designed to be longer-lasting, better built and have better energy-saving potential than lights meant for other settings.
Types of lighting
Essentially, designers use three types of lighting to create style and functionality - ambient lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting.
General or Ambient Lighting: These are simply used to make an interior space visible. They provide general lighting for a space and are sometimes used to refer to natural or existing light.
Think of general/ambient lighting as natural light combined with light coming from installations in the room. This type of lighting is suitable for meeting rooms, reception areas, etc.
Task Lighting: Task lighting is directed lighting toward a specific area to give more detail to the interior objects, and to provide safe passage.
Any hands-on work or task that requires a high degree of detailing such as sewing, drawing, and writing, should have task lighting - enough to make flaws in canvas and clothing visible.
Accent Lighting: Accent lighting is generally used to focus light on a particular area or object in order to highlight the things that you want people to notice.
It creates dramatic points by highlighting artwork, photo frames, entrance, plants, and textured walls. Accent lighting can bring warmth and a cosy feeling if the lighting is done in the right manner.
Things to consider
Different areas of a commercial space serve different purposes. So lighting should be curated accordingly and sensibly to enable and boost work-flow productivity.
For example, if the commercial space is a retail shop, presenting products with bad lighting will negatively impact customers' purchasing proclivities. Lighting may be used to deceive customers and encourage them to buy some products. The type of lighting used greatly impacts the perception of product quality.
"When displaying red meat, it is better to use light with white colour to highlight the freshness of the meat. On the other hand, using light with a slight yellow colour will be best to showcase cheese and bread, as it will highlight its crust and fresh look," said Walaa Kord, an interior designer who is currently doing her masters in World Heritage Management and Conservation.
While planning the lighting setup for any shop, Walaa strongly considers the products that will be displayed and the people who will visit the space.
"If I am designing a shop for eye-glasses, where there will be an abundance of mirrors to see the samples, I need to be aware that direct lights or strong lighting may affect the vision of the customers," she said, adding, "If the space I am designing is to be used by children, the lighting inside that place should consider their sensitivity,"
Lighting always works in conjunction. The effectiveness of lighting depends on other interior design factors like colour palettes, room size and layout, headspace availability, fabric choices, and furniture selection.
Lighting designers also need to consider daylight integrations, surface characteristics, spatial perceptions and human ergonomics.
