64 FOCUS
AS IN MANY other fields, the degree of disruption in lighting in the past 20-30 years has been transformative. Arguably it is now as much an electronics industry as it is about illumination. Technology has clearly provided much of the impetus for change – creating controllability, interactivity, programmability, miniaturisation – but the shift has also been driven by a greater understanding of the human relationship with light.
We now know there is such a thing as non-visual light that affects our body clocks and therefore our wellbeing. We know that dynamism and colour temperature are important factors in this respect. Te influence of biophilia on design thinking feeds into this complex area of health and wellbeing. We have probably always known, at least instinctively, that light also has a powerful
psychological effect but have signally failed to apply it in many spaces, especially commercial ones, until recent years.
Technology is still throwing up future possibilities – LiFi (now including the use of infrared), where lighting is used as a data conduit; potential alternative sources to the omnipotent LED (laser?) – and remains the bedrock for improved lighting quality and decreased energy use.
Te following pages look at what we can expect to see in lighting design over the next five or so years: the impact of climate change, the possibilities offered by AI and AR, and the role of light and media not only to entertain and delight with interactive installations, but more profoundly – and potentially controversially – to affect and manipulate human behaviour.
Five things that will change lighting design
Iain Macrae looks at what will have the
most impact on lighting over the next five years
FIVE KEY INFLUENCES ON LIGHTING
1 Climate change 2 Circular economy 3 Artificial intelligence 4 Health and wellbeing 5 Augmented reality
IN MY CAREER I have always tried to have an eye on the future. Tings that would change the market, the technology, or the application of light. I’m also a technophile, evidenced by my office, awash with gadgets, some of which even work. Te following are some thoughts on the big things yet to come in lighting design. Some might sound obvious, but I wonder if everyone has fully considered the implications they will have on their career or business.
Let us start with the obvious one. Climate change is set to significantly influence lighting design. Lighting in cities alone accounts for more than 19% of the world’s energy use so there is an urgency to reduce its impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Yes, there are other especially important factors apart from energy in lighting, but we should accept that climate change is a challenge and that designers and lighting designers will have to play a part in the solution.
While some parts of the world still burn carbon fuels to provide light, here in this developed nation a regular arrangement of luminaires producing 500 lux, wall to wall, should already have had its day. Yet most schemes today are still ignoring this fact and repeating this design mistake. Te formula of ambient, task and accent lighting as set out in lighting guides is so easy to employ – and produces much better quality lit environments – yet commercial lighting schemes are dominated by regular array fit-outs. Link light to the idea of renewable energy for a moment. Solar systems get more efficient each year. Batteries are going through their own revolution, including some pretty non-conventional types. With DC power being what is needed for LEDs, and DC power able to be generated on or close to most buildings, is it not time we seriously revamped building electrical design to incorporate low-carbon energy and lighting?
Climate change offers other challenges too, especially ever more extreme weather events. External lighting will have to be more robust if it is going to survive. And we still cling to the feeling that more light means greater safety and the need to use urban spaces 24-7.
We also need to rely more on daylight, but it is still often overlooked in architecture and lighting design. Te issue of sustainability leads us to the second of my five impacts on lighting design: circularity. Te circular economy emphasises resource efficiency and waste reduction, and is set to significantly affect lighting design and luminaire manufacture. But the buzz phrase of today must become more of a reality. Te current standard of living insisted on by the leading nations means there are not enough resources for all, or even for us to continue for long. We all face a challenge to change the market mindset away from its focus on cost and towards design that also includes sustainability.
Tat means designers specifying circular products and it means manufacturers changing business models from mass manufacture to recycle and reuse. We must encourage the design of right-to-repair and resource-efficient lighting systems. Tis reduces energy consumption but also minimises the need for frequent replacements, thereby conserving resources.
It will require another change in mindset. Tat change will be needed in clients who should expect circular products, specifiers and designers who will have to evaluate and support circularity, installers who will have to return or even repair products, and manufacturers who are, of course, key to the cause. Teirs will be the hardest battle of all, to move from a high-volume product lifecycle, to one of lower output and a more specialist repair and refurbishment business. Lighting as a service will be the norm, not the realm of a few. Competition
TANAPAT LEK.JIW /
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141
