Lighting Design

The first lamp was invented around 70,000 BC. A hollow rock, shell or other natural found object was filled with moss or a similar material that was soaked with animal fat and ignited. Humans began imitating the natural shapes with manmade pottery, alabaster, and metal lamps. Wicks were later added to control the rate of burning. Around the 7th century BC, the Greeks began making terra cotta lamps to replace handheld torches. The word lamp is derived from the Greek word lampas, meaning torch.

Oil Lamps

In the 18th century, the central burner was invented, a major improvement in lamp design. The fuel source was now tightly enclosed in metal, and a adjustable metal tube was used to control the intensity of the fuel burning and intensity of the light. Around the same time, small glass chimneys were added to lamps to both protect the flame and control the flow of air to the flame. Ami Argand, a Swiss chemist is credited with first developing the principal of using an oil lamp with a hollow circular wick surrounded by a glass chimney in 1783.

Lighting Fuels

Early lighting fuels consisted of olive oil, beeswax, fish oil, whale oil, sesame oil, nut oil, and similar substances. These were the most commonly used fuels until the late 18th century. However, the ancient Chinese collected natural gas in skins that was used for illumination.

In 1859, drilling for petroleum oil began and the kerosene (a petroleum derivative) lamp grew popular, first introduced in 1853 in Germany. Coal and natural gas lamps were also becoming wide-spread. Coal gas was first used as a lighting fuel as early as 1784.

In 1792, the first commercial use of gas lighting began when William Murdoch used coal gas for lighting his house in Redruth, Cornwall. German inventor Freidrich Winzer (Winsor) was the first person to patent coal gas lighting in 1804 and a “thermolampe” using gas distilled from wood was patented in 1799. David Melville received the first U.S. gas light patent in 1810.Early in the 19th century, most cities in the United States and Europe had streets that were gaslight. Gas lighting for streets gave way to low pressure sodium and high pressure mercury lighting in the 1930s and the development of the electric lighting at the turn of the 19th century replaced gas lighting in homes.

Prior to the 1960s, the concept of illumination in architecture was not considered to be important by many architects or consulting engineers. This changed with the formation of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) in 1969, the current mission of which is “to serve the IALD worldwide membership by promoting the visible success of its members in practicing lighting design.” This created a new attitude towards the profession and raised the profile of architectural lighting design, one of the principal goals of the organization.

Approximately 20% of the electricity used in homes is dedicated to lighting. In commercial and retail applications, that number soars to over 40%. Fortunately, much of this energy can be saved. Balanced lighting design along with the proper use and control of daylight can create environments where people want to live, work, or play.

Our vision deteriorates dramatically through the normal aging process. Before age 65, we undergo optical changes, and after age 65, neural changes.

For the elderly, they focused on the needs of the aging eye by minimizing glare and attempting to create a diffuse and even glow throughout the space.

For those with circadian disorders, they provided a space, under the colorchanging lights in the great room, where those suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Advance Sleep Phase Syndrome (ASPS), Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS), and various forms of Alzheimer’s disease could be suffused with the sky-blue glow known to be particularly effective at affecting the circadian system and dealing with such disorders.For those needing response with minimal interaction, they provided the lighting automation laboratory in the dressing room, where various lighting control schemes, simulating lighting environments from restaurants to offices to daylight, could be implemented and tested, in the true spirit of a lighting laboratory. For those who are wheelchair-bound, they located all lighting controls at locations where no inbuilt structure blocks access; and they specified all control mounting heights as 40 inches from the floor.

For those who are wheelchair-bound or of shorter stature, they provided well-shielded, lensed luminaires to avoid glare when looking up into an under-cabinet light or pendant.In addition, for all occupants, they added elements intended to improve the general lighting; they added wayfinding elements, such as subtle “puck” night-lights, which bracket the paths to the bathrooms, and amber LEDs lighting the wall below grab bars to provide sufficient light to find your way into the bathroom but not so much that it startles you during the night. Although not part of this design, delineation of transition zones aids in orientation and helps prevent trips and falls. Since the garages were the homeowners’ principal point of entry, the students wanted to make them interesting and inviting, so they added artistic illumination in the multiple garages. They also added dramatic external lighting, intended to bathe the outside walls of the Universal Design Living.