The Importance of Architectural Lighting

Whether it is a commercial or residential space, proper lighting is essential. It plays a critical role in providing not only visibility but also ambiance. You can control how people feel and perceive their surroundings with the proper lighting. Sufficient lighting can even enhance dull or empty spaces. Investing in appropriate architectural lighting is essential, especially in areas that need it. The reasons why you must take lighting in your commercial or residential spaces are:    

Importance of Architectural Lighting    

Lighting can affect many things, especially the thinking and feelings of humans. You must consider different factors when designing the lighting of your commercial and residential buildings to ensure that you benefit from them. Here are some insights to remember when designing your commercial or residential buildings with the proper lighting.    

• Architectural lighting can make a tiny area look larger than it is.    
• Add a bit of life to your outdoor spaces with the proper utilization of fixtures around the landscape. A well-lit pathway does wonders for your property’s curb appeal.    
• When it comes to architectural lighting, you can trust that these architects consider alternative energy sources. Some things that these experts use to ensure an energy-efficient building would be dimmers and even human-centric lights.    
• You can create an appealing view with the proper lighting if you place it in the right areas.    
• Proper lighting is also essential to ensure that important locations in your building are visible immediately. Important sites can include fire exits, stairwells, and fire extinguishers, and even quickly locate internal components behind your general-purpose access doors and panels.    

These are some advantages you can get when you entrust the lighting design of your property to architects. While you will always have control over the whole thing, it would be better to leave the lighting and fixtures to experts who can ensure your money’s worth.    

Three Key Aspects of Architectural Lighting    

To have the proper architectural lighting in residential and commercial spaces, one must always remember the three critical aspects of architectural lighting. It will ensure a balance between your property’s lighting design and overall architectural design. Here are the three key elements to consider:    

#1 Aesthetic    

This aspect focuses on the emotional impact the lighting and design will have on the people. In other words, you can even consider the aesthetic as the place’s ambiance. What are you trying to make your customers or tenants feel when they enter your building? You must prioritize this aspect, especially in retail locations. You can also see the difference between exterior and interior lighting roles.    

#2 Function    

After aesthetics, you need to focus on the functionality of these lighting fixtures and designs. While you would want the lighting to awe, you should also ensure it does what it is to increase visibility. An adequately lit area can help make occupants feel safe. It is essential to provide this feeling to the public, especially when navigating your commercial space. You will also reduce accidents in your area, which will benefit you greatly.    

#3 Energy Efficiency    

One final aspect you should consider regarding your architectural lighting design is its environmental impact. Today, more and more people are choosing environmentally friendly alternatives for their commercial and residential buildings. While choosing solar panels is a good idea, you should not solely focus on that as it can be expensive.    

One easy and cheaper way to ensure that you are doing the environment a favor is to ensure that most of your property’s light reaches its target and function. It will ensure that there will be less wasted light. One way you can easily do this is to choose LEDs instead of fluorescent lighting.    

Let Light and Architecture Work Together    

You must know and understand the main categories of buildings and what each of them tries to accomplish when it comes to lighting.    

Public Buildings    

The first group you should keep in mind is public buildings. These include:    

• Sports arenas    
• Libraries    
• Hospitals    

These buildings focus on providing the proper light for the different tasks and events you hold in those areas. For example, in sports areas, you may notice that the lighting mainly focuses on providing light to the players so they can play properly and safely. Lighting also ensures that the spectators can see what is going on, despite being far away from the field. Lighting plays an important role, too, when spectators go to and from their seats.    

Like libraries and hospitals, the functions of the occupants within these buildings depend heavily on proper lighting. You will need adequate lighting to read in a library, navigate the rows of bookshelves, and find the one you need. In hospitals, the whole function heavily depends on proper lighting, which is why even their hallways and bathrooms have appropriate lighting when you visit hospitals.    

Official Buildings    

Another group of buildings you should keep in mind are official buildings. It includes warehouses and office or government buildings. These facilities have a large energy consumption, so they need to be wise regarding the lighting design of these buildings. When it’s structures like these, there is an emphasis on the importance of the energy-efficiency and sustainable lighting alternatives.    

Specialized Buildings

This third and final group is called specialized buildings. These are museums, casinos, theaters, and anything of the like. These types of buildings rely on the atmosphere and ambiance of the place. Imagine yourself going to a theater and museum; you might notice that the lighting isn’t much and isn’t too harsh. You might need to see the intention of these lighting fixtures and why they are in specific places around you. It is to ensure that you feel and experience something before you know the play or the art lining up on the walls.    

Knowing how the lighting design will affect your building, both aesthetically and functionally, will help ensure that you provide the proper design. When you still feel hesitant about lighting design, asking an architect for their advice will help you save money and get the most out of your building.