1. Blog Subject for Week 6: Residential and Commercial Lighting Design Systems
As usual research these system and compare your findings in the blog. Please share websites that you find on the blog to continue the concept of collaborative design.
Please remember to visit the blog multiple times throughout the week to respond to your classmates’ and my comments.
2. The reading assignments for Week 6 are:
A. The Theater of the Bauhaus
(the pages of this text as you know, are on your drop off).
B. Chapters 11 and 12 in Winchip’s Fundamentals of Lighting
3. Those of you in ID 1605, who are having trouble with your lighting fixture design assignment, put this project on hold. As discussed with some of you, we will meet at 12Noon before class next Monday to get the projects for both classes on track. Anyone taking ID 1605 and 1608 simultaneously is encouraged to attend this session.
4. Everyone should have decided on what type of client they are representing in their Island Getaway projects. Come to class prepared to use the information gleaned from chapters 11 and 12 to create the needed programming for this house. ID 1605 will fully realize the programming in relation to their final lighting design, ID 1608 will be only concentrating on the programming phase as research. We will continue our assignment of role-playing groups that we started on Week 2 to create this material. Remember that this exercise constitutes your midterm and we will work on it in class Week 6 and 7 with its final outcome turned in on Week 8.
5. Everyone should have a floor plan of the U-Theater drawn up by Week 6 with their own interpretation of a lobby space (which does not exist on your supplied template). You will need this to be able to create your RCP and Lighting floor plans for commercial lighting fixtures you will want to use in your public spaces. We will discuss choosing lighting fixtures in class next week.
6. There will be studio time in class to work on your projects and I will take this time to meet with groups and individuals on any of their class needs.
Feel free to e-mail me for clarification of any of the above:
todonnell@aii.edu
Off you go.
Thanks,
~T
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17 comments:
Regarding meeting with me outside of class time: If anyone needs me to, we can make arrangements any week to meet before or after class for one on one consultation.
That's for anyone who might need it.
Let me know.
~T
Chapters 11 & 12 were extremely informative. The seven phases of lighting design which include: (1) project planning, (2) comprehensive programming, (3) schematic design, (4) design development, (5) contract documentation, (6) contract administration, and (7) evaluation, as well as what each entails were reviewed. The programming section of the chapter offered some great examples of effective surveys & questionnaires as well as some techniques to field observation to ensure accurate approach & completion of step 2. As the book states, “The schematic design phase consists of analyzing the results obtained during the comprehensive programming stage and then developing initial design concepts for the interior illumination”. In the design development stage it is imperative that you be certain of your clients comprehension of the lighting design, the intended effect of the lighting on the environment, and appropriate operation and maintenance practices, as the next step involves legally binding documents. Under the contract administration step, Fundamentals of Lighting describes, “Contracts are used to initiate the construction phase of a project. A lighting designer prepares contracts with various individuals and businesses, including clients, manufacturers, supplier, fabricators, vendors, independent contractors, and craftspeople”. The final step which is post-occupancy evaluation may be one of the most important to follow through with. Communication with your client throughout the whole process is key, however, once your design is done it is important to follow up with your client 2-3 more times to make sure the design is working for them as it was intended. The book suggests that, “A follow-up after two years demonstrates a commitment to the integrity of the design and can lead to new work, because discussions will frequently revolve around the possibility of upgrades or new lighting systems”.
The diagrams in chapter 12, illustrating the universal symbols and abbreviations developed by the American Institute of Architects were particularly helpful in further understanding the RCP’s and the types of fixtures used within them. I remember first quarter having to do a RCP and asking repeatedly if the symbols I was using were correct, I was told not to worry about it (which is not in my nature), needless to say now I know they were not! I am eager to be able to incorporate these symbols into my drawings and know that they will be universally understood. I will most definitely be referring back to this chapter.
After having read the chapters I wanted to blog on some of the information that I found interesting or helpful to me while it was still fresh in my mind. I plan on doing some further research on Residential & Commercial lighting control systems and sharing my information later in the week!
-Nicole De Anda
In the process of researching lighting systems, I came across a video from GE's lighting website
are needed and what is the total wattage?
-Dimmer System
The next step would be to choose your dimmer system. The dimmers do all of the hard work in your system. The dimmers are given instructions from the console via control signals which are then relayed to the lighting fixtures using voltage and current. You will
select your dimmers based on the numbers you calculated from the fixture count and wattages. How many lights or channels are needed and what is the wattage for those
channels? If you have twenty-four lights you would like to dim individually, you would want
one or more dimmers which provide twenty-four dimmable channels. You can always choose a larger amount of channels for future growth of your facility.
Control System
The last step in deciding on a lighting system is selecting a control console. A control console is a product which communicates with a dimmer via control signals giving commands to control the light’s intensity. To decide which console is right for your
application, you will need to look at the number of needed channels or lights. The same concept used when selecting a dimmer applies here. If you have twenty-four lights youwould like to control individually, you would want a twenty-four channel control console.Again, you can always choose a controller with more channels for future growth of yourfacility."
This information came from a worship facility lighting guide..
http://www.lightronics.com/pdfs/lightingguide.pdf
*There are also a few diagrams which are very helpful when it thinking about a theater space!
Well thats it for now, Cassie
In doing some research on residential & commercial lighting control systems I came across a few interesting companies and websites.
Lutron (designbuild-network.com) was founded over 40 years ago and has emerged as one of the world leaders in residential and commercial lighting control technology.
They offer home lighting and dimming systems, complete range of lighting control products & energy efficient lighting control solutions. Some of the home lighting control possibilities include: Dining in, Movie time & Safe as houses. Office hours is offered under the commercial lighting control applications.
Milano Electric (milanoelectric.com) who often works with Lutron offer control systems such as:
HomeWorks
HomeWorks is one of the most advanced lighting control systems around. It offers flexible and powerful light control that is convenient and sophisticated. These lighting systems automatically adjust to light during different times of the day using a GRAFIK eye that allows you to control lighting anywhere inside or outside of the house.
Shades
Sunlight adds a comforting refreshing quality to any room. With Lutron, you can quickly and easily control sunlight to prevent harsh U/V rays from damaging expensive furnishings. With the touch of a button, you can automatically raise and lower shades to reduce heat buildup or add instant privacy.
RadioRA
RadioRa is the latest in wireless lighting control technology. The system uses radio frequency waves, so it can be retrofitted into any home without additional wiring. Its many advantages include the ability to pre-program the on/off settings and dimmer controls to both your interior and exterior lighting.
AuroRA
AuroRa is a wireless system that uses radio frequency to control the lighting in and around your home. This system arrives preprogrammed right out of the box therefore making it is easy to use and simple to install.
In addition to this they do custom landscape lighting and although unrelated to this class, floor warming (which is highly energy-efficient).
residential-landscape-lighting-design.com offered some additional information on lighting control systems and their effects as well as some related articles.
Look forward to seeing what every one else finds!
-Nicole
Good stuff you are finding. Imagine all the sources the class will have available to them after everyone has had the opportunity to post.
~T
I want to start off by saying how excited I was about all the information that was packed into chapter 11. Not only was the information about the lighting process awesome, having all of those tables at my fingertips is going to make life a little easier down the road. Some of the content was just common sense but when it is laid out there for you it helps connect the dots.
All of the info found so far is really good stuff! I did find one more company that has a plethora of information on their website. http://www.litetouch.com has an application ideas section that gives design situations(pent house, home theater, destination restaurant, convention center, family home, energy efficiency& yacht) and the best solution(with their “brilliant solutions,” of course.)This company also has step by step support on their website for all of their products.
Jacquelyn
In researching commercial lighting systems for the lobby addition, I found an option, as well as a different site that gives great tips for all aspects of layered lighting in commercial spaces…
Commercial Lighting Systems (how appropriate) had quite a few options, including outdoor lights (with a super cool looking bollard), some pendant and wall lighting options, and best of all they offer LEDs! What’s really great is that this website gives REAL photometric data for the lighting it advertises.
http://www.commercial-lighting.co.uk/
Illuminations Lighting is the site that offers invaluable tips regarding security, parking lot lighting, exterior lighting, architectural lighting, and landscape lighting. Although we are technically only lighting the interior portions of our lobbies, I still feel that these other topics are equally important in commercial lighting design, especially for future projects.
http://www.illuminationslighting.com/commercial_lighting_systems.htm
As far as the reading from Fundamentals goes, I found the programming to be slightly more helpful for me than it was during lighting 1, because the questions are already targeted to clients interested in building or enhancing commercial property. It certainly poses many important questions and requires serious thought and research to find lights that can fit all of the demanded properties. However, upon reading others’ blogs, it seems as though some of the more “difficult” issues, like transitional lighting, can be solved with some of the companies that were written about. I really appreciate the collaboration that is taking place.
For the Bauhaus reading, I must say that it wasn’t the easiest to get through, but I did find its content to be interesting. The correlation between the lighting for their project (Bauhaus) and ours (U-Theater) were invaluable in many ways. One part I really liked, from the section by Gropius, is the quote that describes how thorough and forward thinking a lighting designer should be so that the “keyboard for light and space” is flexible enough to adapt to any theater director’s vision. This is an extremely important element because of all the different events and costuming that can evolve on a stage in which lighting would have to be adjustable. Schlemmer goes on to discuss the costuming aspect and that of man being the “central” aspect of performances and the cohesiveness needed in order to achieve balance. The section written by Moholy-Nagy was perhaps my subconscious way of wanting my addition to resemble a likeness to the circus, but with a sophisticated flair, because it was a form of “historical theater” which brought much joy as well as design development in the early years. It is evident that the book on the Bauhaus was quite theoretical with a lot of passion and desire for good design poured into its pages. The book’s profound nature is inspiring in many ways and forces me, as a designer, to think and act on a different level when it comes to design development.
Chapter 11 was very informative and thorough in helping me to understand the whole programming process and make sure that I follow the "checklist" for the proposed client.
I remembered that in the Interior Design Illustrated, by Ching, that there is a whole section on programming and offers another good source for making sure all of the bases were covered.
Several of us attended a field trip to a lighting design firm on Wed. We learned a lot of info that I think would be beneficial to us for this class - for example, Jamie mentioned LED lighting to use in our lobby. At our field trip the speaker discussed T8 lighting that is as powerful, diverse, and has a broad spectrum of colors available, as opposed to LEDs which are limited to bright white with either blue, red, or green CRI.
I will bring in the handouts on Monday.
Good call Wendy, but LEDs are only limited to red, blue, green and white before you take into account color mixing. Check out this article-
http://livedesignonline.com/mag/led_lighting_demystified/index.html
Virtually any color can be created by mixing the primary colors of light: Red, Blue and Green.
In researching lighting systems, i came across many helpful and interesting websites, full of useful information. On the Digital Lighting Systems website, i found information on Architectural dimmers and lighting control systems. Their lighting control system is easy to install and can be used both in commercial and residential applications. Which is useful to know, that some of their products are universal.
Another website, i found to be interesting, was Lighting Universe. This website has everything from light fictures, parts for both residential, commercial and landscaping.
CEE-Commercial Lighting website was helpful because it had commercial lighting systems with full specifications sheets of their products and examples of where their products were being used at. They recently launched a new High-Performance Commercial Lighting System. Their main focus is to create items that enhance energy savings by evaluating opportunities to support efficient lighting technologies and practices.
Philips had the best information of all the websites that i researched. They are introducing licensing programs for LED-based luminares. Their Powercore technology makes LED lighting systems easy to install, operate and maintain.LED's are transforming the lighting industry. LED based illumination is considered by many to be the first breakthrough in lighting in over ten years. LED's must be intergrated into engineered systems that account for optics, high-efficency LED-drivers, thermal management and advanced power components. Powercore technology provides a means for bringing in power and and data managament directly with LED lighting fixtures.
All of these websites were helpful.
Starfield Controls is the leading provider of full-building digital lighting control systems for commercial and institutional applications such as office buildings, convention centers, hospitals and educational facilities. Starfield Controls services include:
1)fluorescent dimming
2)incandescent dimming
3)web-based personal lighting control
4)automatic daylighting
5)occupancy management
6)local and remote central lighting system management
7)energy management
8)integration of lighting with other building automation systems
You can also earn LEED points with these systems. There is a special page with LEED information for new construction, rennovations, existing structures, commercial applications, etc. They break each down into what kind of LEED credits can be earned, and how their services can help.
The website also has a full catalog which is downloadable, as well as, a product page with SPEC sheets.
I also attended the field trip to the lighting firm last week and found it very informative, and quite excited about how much I have learned about lighting thus far.
Here is the link to Starfield Controls (I forgot to include it in the last post):
http://www.starfieldcorp.com/index.html
The New York Energy $martSM Small Commercial Lighting Program promotes effective, energy-efficient lighting solutions that result in better lit spaces, which allow people to see more easily and cost less to operate: The Right Lights.
SCLP helps lighting contractors, product distributors, lighting designers and specifiers, and other lighting decision-makers design and implement these lighting improvements in small commercial spaces. SCLP provides lighting professionals with tools and resources to leverage the principals of effective, energy-efficient lighting design as a profitable business strategy.
SCLP promotes The Right Light to building owners and operators and small business owners in New York State as a way to help them reduce their operating costs, stay competitive, and help improve the environment. Better Lighting, Better Business.
The Right Light—effective, energy-efficient lighting—can save 20 to 30 percent on your electric bills. Maintenance costs are lower,because
these lights last longer than traditional ones. And,installation costs are less than you might think. Some businesses recoup their lighting investment
in less than one year. The Right Light makes your space look better.
Effective, energy-efficient lighting creates a more pleasant office environment by reducing glare on computer screens, providing appropriate task and
overhead lighting, and producing a warm yet bright light that makes employees feel comfortable and
productive. It also improves retail
spaces by creating a welcoming environment and allowing customers to see the merchandise better.
Recent studies show that effective, energy-efficient
lighting can increase sales in retail stores by up to
35 percent, bringing out the best in products. When customers enjoy the store environment and can see the merchandise well, they stay in the store longer and buy more. In an office space, employees who have appropriate light levels and reduced glare on computer screens are more efficient. Employees concerned with detailed work, or who are selecting or matching colors also benefit from the brightness and accurate color of effective, energy-efficient light.
I thought this company really covered the basic needs on the many diffrent issues that businesses have with there lighting.
I know that the company Lutron was already mentioned above, but I found this demo of the coolest dimmer system that I have ever seen. When I get rich and famous, I will have nothing but these in my house. And because they start at $197, the rich part will be a necessity. All joking aside, though, this goes to show that being sustainable doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice style. Because the system is built upon LED technology, it's power usage is negligible for the amount of impact that it delivers.
There is already a lot of good info packed into this blog. But I was able to find something I felt was interesting enough to blog about. Heat sensing lighting. I was unable to find a good enough link. There are a lot of patents out there but no real sites to give good info on how it works. I was able to find one light though!
It is at DWR and is designed by the people who made the lava lamp. I have used this light for my Island Getaway design.
http://www.dwr.com/product/categories/lighting/table/airswitch-1-lamp.do
Before looking into specific research topics I thought it might be interesting to note some of my thoughts prior to conducting formal research. In regards to the subject of residential lighting systems, you have the opportunity to focus your design on a limited group of individuals and know their specific requirements whereas in commercial lighting design, a more universal design approach should be taken as the users will probably vary throughout the day and from day to day. Universal design refers to the design of products and environments to be usable by all people regardless of age of disability to the greatest extent possible.
A really great website for custom residential lighting is http://www.litetouch.com/. I think that someone mentioned this one before. I watched the informative video and it was interesting the points that they hit on. Specifically, how lighting can provide safety and peace of mind. Also, something that hit me was the ability to dim the lights over a set amount of time. The situation that they used to make the point was of a little girl who was afraid of the dark and the system would dim over 30 minutes so she wouldn’t notice it. “Works every time!”
A commercial lighting company that I LOVE is Swarovski Contemporary Lighting. (http://business.swarovski.com/lighting/Content.Node/index1.php ) I will absolutely use this lighting. It is mostly decorative but has a whimsical appeal.
An important point made in regards to lighting design “It is never too early to hire a lighting designer, but it can be too late.” That is from illuminationslighting.com, who has some great things to think about specifically pertaining to commercial design.
I am a person who loves lists. I have a notebook for each of the lives that I live (school, work, and mom/wife) in which I make to-do lists. I write and rewrite them so I don’t forget something important. So I relate to the programming very well. It is a way to substantiate you actions.
I also enjoyed all the useful charts in the chapters. I aslo cane across a good web site .
www.phantomlighting.com which shows how there products work and emit light in a space.They will be featured in the 2009 Light Fair International for their product of Phantom Contour Projectors ,which Hard Rock Cafe uses. Most products used are LED ,halogen ,and other sustainable products.
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