4342 PRACTICAL ISSUES Lighting techniques

There are many different ways to illuminate a building: from behind or in front, from the side, or from above or

below. The job of the lighting designer is to develop the optimum lighting solution in line with the architects inten-

tion for every individual project. Apart from the way the luminaires are focussed, there are a number of other factors

that play a significant role: surface materials, the colour temperature of the light sources and coloured light.

Have you ever asked yourself any ofthe following questions: How doesone experience things visually?Why does a person sometimes likeor dislike an image of a building vie-wed at night? Why does the lightingof a building or object evoke emo-tion or inspiration, or make onethink on a deeper level? What is itabout the illumination of architec-ture after dark that causes a personto pause and take notice, or simplypass by without a second glance?

Most people are unaware of thecomplex visual process of experien-cing ones surroundings and byextension, architecture and archi-tectural structures or spaces.Lighting designers need to have aknowledge and understanding ofthis process to be able to experi-ence architecture in an intellectualway and create a lighting designconcept which will respond to thearchitecture and please the viewer.

When we see an architecturalstructure or space for the first time,we do not perceive the whole as acomplete image, but instead as animpression. First, we form a rough"sketch of the object, then, with themore we observe, we add additionaldetails to our image. We recreate,what we have observed a com-plete image of what we have seen.This process is common to all obser-vers. It is the process we perform inorder to experience any seen ob-ject. But what we see, what werecreate in our minds when obser-ving the same object, often varies.

The way in which optical imagesare interpreted depends on eachpersons unique previous experien-ces, which come together to formperception. We can say that the im-pression a particular architecturallighting design concept makes on aindividual depends not only on thedesign itself but to a great extent onthe individuals aesthetic sensibility,mentality, education, culture, andthe climate, location and environ-ment in which the architecture is found.

Humans are subject to moodchange; mood affects not only howwe feel, but also how we perceive.The same architecture combinedwith architectural lighting can affecta person differently, not only at dif-ferent times of day or night, but

from mood to mood. What is refer-red to as "good taste or "goodstyle does not really exist it isthe way a larger group of people experience an object. If they havesimilar opinions of the object underview, this may well be due to theireducation, professional backgro-unds, the society or time they livein, all of which have an influence ontheir personal view.

Professional lighting designers areaware of the above issues and thuscan concentrate on other elementsof the lighting design, such as tech-niques. Lighting design techniquesare powerful tools that can be usedto transform architecture. By usingappropriate techniques it is possibleto create an outstanding lighting de-sign concept or solution. That iswhy professional lighting designersuse their understanding of light toenhance the viewers emotional re-sponse to the object. The directionof light and how it is focussed, thequality of the architectural materialsused, the colour temperature of thelight source, and coloured light havean enormous impact on the night-time appearance of architecture.

Going back to nature and obser-ving sunlight and moonlight, we candiscover many similarities to popu-lar modern-day lighting designtechniques. Lighting designers haveobserved natural light in its manydifferent forms and adapted andtransformed methods of applyingelectric light to imitate this. The di-rection that light comes from mayappear to be elementary or even in-tuitive, but what non-specialists donot understand is that light direc-tion has a powerful affect on how apiece of architecture or an architec-tural space looks.

If we want to decrease visible sha-dows and minimize surface detailssuch as texture, we should use frontlighting light that falls on architec-tural elements more or less from theviewers position. Front lighting alsotends to minimize the apparent vo-lume and shape of a building. Agood use for front lighting is whenthe architectural structure or spacedoes not rely on depth and textureand if it comprises strong colours.This technique provides the mostinformation for the viewer whilebeing easy to implement.

Techniques for enhancement and visual changeUnderstanding the experience and effects of lighting design.

Text: Karolina M. Zielinska

Natural backlighting: the Manhattan

skyline viewed from the Jackie Ken-

nedy Reservoir, Central Park, New York

City/USA.

The negative side is that frontlighting can create architecture,which can look boring due to lossof volume and depth. Textures anddetails are minimized, architecturalobjects become flat with few sha-dows. Also, a front-lit object maylook too bright, and the backgroundtoo dark, creating unwanted sha-dows and uneven illumination.

If we want to emphasize shapeand form or silhouette, to show ar-chitecture in a striking or unusualway backlighting is a good solu-tion. An object can be backlit by apoint source or by diffuse lighting.

Backlighting from a point source iswhen one or more bright point lightsources are placed behind an opa-que object to generate high con-trast, i.e. to emphasize the subjectas a silhouette. This effect providesa flattering halo of light, adds strongshadows, especially in landscapeprojects, and softens sharp edges.The down side of this technique isthe lack of detail on a dark subject.Also, the background may be toobright, and there must be adequatespace behind the object to place theluminaire. This is the most extremeform of backlighting, and the subjectshows no colour, detail or texture,only shape. Silhouettes are easyimages to process because they areinherently two dimensional.

Backlighting from a point sourcein nature happens in early morningor late afternoon on a sunny daywithout clouds. When an object isbetween the viewer and the sun,the light appears strong and harsh.This is the kind of lighting that cau-ses drivers to overly focus on an ob-ject to the exclusion of other objectsaround it.

Diffuse backlighting (light sourcewith a diffuser located behind an

Top lighting, downlighting. Side lighting, at an angle from aboveDiffuse uplighting.

Front lighting. Direct side lighting.Direct uplighting.

Back side lighting. Direct backlighting at an angle from above.Backlighting.

Neutral white (daylight) 3500 K

Warm white 2700 3000 K

Cool white 4000 K 4200 K

Phot

o: E

va Z

ielin

ska-

Mill

arPh

otos

: Ev

a Zi

elin

ska-

Mill

ar

Phot

os:

Eva

Ziel

insk

a-M

illar

4544 PRACTICAL ISSUES Lighting techniques

The disadvantage of this techni-que is the appearance of the ceilingin buildings top lighting creates anoptical illusion of a lower ceiling andcauses the ceiling to look darkerthan it actually is. Deep shadows aregenerated, especially on the facesof people present in such spaces.Shadows appear in eye socketswhile the tops of noses are brightlyilluminated.

One form of downlighting used inlandscape lighting is moonlighting.This can be achieved by placing awide-beam projector above in thetrees, or on the top of a building,and directing it downwards tocreate soft, ambient light. This tech-nique is designed to imitate moon-light; it casts shadows on the gro-und and makes for a very pleasantwalking environment.

Uplighting is the only unnaturaltechnique lighting designers use,and the use it to create drama. Thistechnique involves placing the lightsource beneath the object you wantto showcase and directing it up-wards. This technique will highlighta specific architectural element, suchas a wall, column, sculpture or tree,but generally will not provide asmuch ambient light as downlighting.

Grazing uses uplighting or down-lighting techniques to create an in-

teresting visual effect on verticalsurfaces such as walls, columns andvertical planes, highlighting the tex-ture of the material the object ismade of. The only difference is theposition of the light source (above,below or from the side). The lightsource is usually placed as close tothe vertical surface as possible todeepen the texture of the surface.This is achieved by focussing the luminaire so that the edge of thebeam skims across the surface, ca-sting little shadows produced by thetexture. The beam spread requireddepends on the size of the surfacebeing grazed.

Attention should always be paidto the characteristics of the materi-als of the object to be illuminated(see backlighting). Light works dif-ferently with different materials, andthe lighting designer should be fa-miliar with the various unique quali-ties of different materials. Reflec-tance (the percentage of light re-flected) plays a substantial role inthe appearance of a surface. Theexact same light source will lookcompletely different on a dark struc-ture than it does on a lighter, colou-red structure. More light bouncesoff lighter colours. Dark colours ab-sorb light; therefore, a higher levelof illuminance is needed to produce

object) is fairly easy to implementand it is the technique for viewingtranslucent objects. With this me-thod we can create partial silhouetteand a very-high-contrast image. Thedisadvantage is that the edges ofthe object may be fuzzy and spacemust be available behind the objectto position the luminaire.

Transmitting the qualities of thesurface of an object can have anenormous impact. Luminance levelsvary depending on the type of sur-face the light is being transmittedthrough. Translucent materials scat-ter the light that passes throughthem. Images of objects betweenthe translucent material and the lightsource can be seen, but not clearly.

Backlit objects that are translu-cent, such as frosted glass, wax pa-per, plastic or metal mesh will ap-pear almost mystical, emanatingtheir own luminosity. This techniqueimparts mood, is dramatic and veryabstract.

Diffuse backlighting in nature is inevidence on overcast days, whenclouds diffuse the sun. This produ-ces a broad soft light source thatwraps around objects and elimina-tes shadows. Diffuse light occurs atother times as well, at dawn, dusk,in a fog or when light radiatesthrough falling snow.

Side lighting is a very useful tech-nique. It occurs when light fallsmainly on one side of an architectu-ral object. Side lighting increasesthe sense of dimension, depth, volume, shape, texture and pattern,and gives rise to shadows that arevisible from the viewers positionand emphasize the details and tex-ture of the illuminated surface.

Side lighting works well when youhave objects of varying textures ondifferent planes. Side lighting sculptsa three-dimensional object. It canalso separate the subject from thebackground. This technique may betoo severe for some objects, creatingcontrasts that are too stark (toobright and/or too dark). Natural sidelighting occurs early in the morningor late in the day. When the sun islow in the sky it sidelights scenes andadds interesting textures to surfaces.

Top lighting, or downlighting, islight that comes from more or lessoverhead and selectively illuminatesobjects and defines their impor-tance. This situation in the naturalenvironment may occur outdoors atnoon. Inside buildings where ceilinglights predominate, light is directeddownwards onto an area or subject.This lighting technique is very effi-cient for illuminating horizontal sur-faces.

Uplighting technique, involving placing the light at the bottom of an object and

shining up at the focal point, highlights architectural wall-like elements.

Project: The Sculpture, Ashod Marina/IL

Lighting design: Roland Zeev Friedmann, Topaz Ldt.

Diffuse backlighting is used to impart and add dramatic elements to architecture.

Translucent backlit walls appear almost mystical, emanating their own luminosity.

Project: Rodin Museum, Seoul/ROK

Lighting design: Thompson + Sears Lighting

Side lighting: This lighting treatment for the building entrance increases percep-

tion of its dimension, underlines the texture of the wall surface and creates diffe-

rent architectural planes

Project: The Mexican Embassy, Berlin/D

Lighting design: Francisco Serrano

Backlighting: Light sources are placed behind the opaque columns to emphasize

their shapes as a silhouette. The columns show no colour, detail or texture.

Project: Porte de Bourgogne in Bordeaux/F

Lighting design: Sylvie Sieg

the same effect. Surface finishes affect both the quantitative and thesubjective aspects of light.

Projecting coloured images andgraphics onto vertical or horizontalsurfaces is a type of front lightingwhich one sees increasingly fre-quently. Unfortunately, it is oftenapplied without rhyme or reason.The architecture is used as a deco-rative element or a screen surface.The decision to apply this techniqueshould be linked to the context ofthe site. Many times work of thiskind is viewed as light art ratherthan architectural lighting design. Ifwe highlight certain buildings orcomplexes to define the skyline of acity, to create modern landmarks orbuildings and objects which helpplace the architecture or person incontext by night it may be regar-ded as a form of architecturallighting design. This techniqueshould always be applied with care.

The optimum surface to projectimages on is a light coloured, mattesurface. Darker surfaces are likely toabsorb much of the light and will,therefore, be less effective. Somedarker paints may have special re-flective qualities and may be suita-ble to project images onto. Gene-rally, matte or textured surfaces pro-duce better results than shiny

surfaces. Certain building materialsare particularly suitable to projectimages onto: plaster, painted walls,concrete and aggregate, brushedmetals, brick, and light toned wood.Glass, mirrors, and high gloss metalsare less suitable.

In our visual environment, thecolours we see depend on thecolour temperature of the light inwhich the world around us is seen,and the colour reflected by the ob-ject to our eyes. Colour temperatureis a simplified way to characterizethe spectral properties of a lightsource. Technically the colour oflight is determined by how mucheach point on the spectral curvecontributes to its output. This valueis useful for specifying the right types of lamps for an architecturallighting design. Low colour tempe-rature implies warmer (more yel-low/red) light while high colourtemperature implies a colder (moreblue) light. Daylight has a rather lowcolour temperature near dawn, anda higher one during the day.

Lighting designers tend to high-light the materials used by selectinga colour temperature that relates tothe aesthetic associations we havein our heads. Materials such as lime-stone, brick and wood are renderedas warm, while frosted glass, con-

crete and metal can look cool. Inlandscape lighting the proper solu-tion is often to apply a cool colourtemperature for soft landscape ele-ments since this correlates with hu-man feelings towards cool moon-light, and a warmer colour tempera-ture for hard landscape elements asa reference to candles and open fires.

Colour to most people has alwaysbeen highly symbolic. There arecolours which have a special mea-ning or which we reserve for defi-nite purposes and special occasions.Correctly used, coloured light mayexpress the architectural characterof a building or an object.

The quality of light is much moreimportant than is generally recogni-zed. We know that it is not the amount of light that always matters.Light is of decisive importance in ex-periencing architecture.

The same architecture can bemade to give very different spatialimpressions by changing the posi-tion of the light source, its colourtemperature and colour. Light canmake an architectural object seemlighter or heavier than it is. It can bemade to appear larger or smaller,near or distant, cool or warm. Lightis a powerful means of expressionfor a lighting designer.

Uplighting technique using magenta

and cyan coloured light.

Project: Apollo Victoria Theatre

London/UK

Lighting design: Hoare Lea Lighting

Phot

os:

Hoa

re L

ea L

ight

ing

Phot

o: V

ince

nt L

agan

ier

Phot

o: K

ai P

iipp

o

46

There are a few issues that shouldbe addressed before beginningworking on a project: Should alighting design concept follow an ar-chitectural approach? Should therebe understanding of the architectsdesign? Should a concept be sepa-rate from the architectural idea more in flow with the times we livein? The answer may not be self-evident.

As far as it is possible, an analysismust be made to understand whythe building was designed for a par-ticular functional purpose and howit was attuned to the entire conceptand rhythm of certain era, specialarchitectural style, and context ofplace. We must be aware of texturaleffects, discover why certaincolours were used because every-thing was done for a reason.

Our job as professional lightingdesigners is to respond to the aboveissues, recognize how light mightshape architecture and use the pro-per language and techniques oflight to communicate with the vie-wer. We should not take a rhetoricalapproach with our designs. Weshould feel free to present new vi-sual ideas and interpretations, butonly when we have a strong reasonand understanding for doing so.

The more understanding we haveof the language of light, the morefreedom we have to convey archi-tecture in the manner we want. Weshould find our vocabulary and language in lighting design with thegoal of creating interesting lightingsolutions and to enable richer expe-riences of architecture by night.

Point-like backlighting: This lighting approach will simplify an

architectural scene by emphasizing the subjects silhouette and

reducing the texture of the used material.

Project: Staten Island Memorial, New York City/USA

Lighting design: Fisher Marantz Stone

Natural backlighting: The sun

shines through translucent

orange material.

Project: Christo and Jeanne-

Claude - The Gates Installa-

tion in Central Park, New York

City/USA 2005

Colour projection onto water creates a modern landmark and

provides orientation in the environment by night.

Project: Waterfall in Norrkping/S

Lighting design: Michael Hallbert

Phot

o:

ke E

:son

Phot

o: B

rian

Mos

bach

er

Phot

o: A

dam

Dud

ko

M A R K ET L I G H T I N Gprofessional design

PPLLDD

A supplement to

Daylight and artificial light

SSiitteeccoo mmaakkeess ffoorr ooppttiimmuumm lliigghhttiinngg ccoonnddiittiioonnss IGUZZINIModern solution for a traditional setting

PRODUCTSNew products and time-tested favourites