Human Factors Recognised in New Lighting Guide

Inside Arkwright House
Arkwright House, Manchester

Electrical Engineer Gabriela takes a look at the updated SLL Lighting Handbook and its renewed focus on wellbeing through lighting design.

The SSL Lighting Handbook

The new edition of the SLL Lighting Handbook was published at the end of last year, so I have been using it for several months now. The handbook complements the SLL Code of Lighting and supplies more information for every level of knowledge and understanding.

This new guide emphasises more human-centric design which puts users’ needs, desires and abilities at the centre of the development process. This emphasis is laid out in the introduction: ”All artificial lighting is installed because of the needs of people. Whether those needs relate to work, rest or play, people must be at the heart of lighting design.”.

This is a welcome change as recently I’ve noticed some people forgetting the definition of lighting and purpose of lighting design. I am happy to see that the new guide focuses not only on how to effectively light a space, but how lighting affects human wellbeing.

Human-Centric Design

The first step in lighting design is to identify the use of each area, relevant standards and legal documentation. Lighting design is not just about light fittings and looking nice, it’s about creating a safe environment which facilitates any given task.

Working in a range of sectors it has become clear to me that each area needs to be carefully considered based on the occupants and their specific activities. Sensory or physical disabilities, including the needs of the elderly, must be taken into consideration. The handbook highlights that every activity and every person is different; so whilst its guides are a solid starting point, there are many environments which will require a more creative and custom approach. 

For example, the recommended lighting level in a recreation area is 300 lux, but the actual level of illumination required will depend on the occupants and their anticipated levels of activity. You would have a different configuration in student accommodation compared with say, a care home.

In order to create solutions which fit people’s lives, we must understand their needs and perceptions of each environment, including managing the transition between areas with different levels of lighting. Daylight is of course an important factor to consider, including taking care of our eyes through glare control. The refurbishment of Arkwright House in Manchester (pictured above) is an excellent example of lighting design which utilises daylight at its core.

Circadian Lighting

Where daylight is not available, lighting designs can compensate for this in a range of ways. Thanks to recent scientific advancements we know that the brain relies on external signals from the day / night cycle to regulate our biological clock. For those who spend the majority of their time indoors, circadian lighting systems can improve productivity by mimicking the change in natural light throughout the day. A dynamic LED lighting system can produce artificial “sunsets” and “sunrises” through a gradual change in colour and intensity, with cool light throughout the day and warmer tones near dawn and twilight.

Form Meets Function

Whilst lighting design should primarily be functional, its potential for shaping user experience should not be underestimated.

Re-designing the outdoor space around The Oast House pub in Manchester, innovative external lighting helped create “the best beer garden in the world”, whilst also being highly functional.

the oast house pub and beer garden in crown square

The lighting it integrated into two key areas: the concrete steps which encircle the pub and the overhead canopies which provide shelter from the elements.

Luminaires within the canopy provide functional lighting to the seating areas. Coupled with the external heaters, this allows the space to be used into the early hours all year round. Robust linear fixtures blend into the lines of the canopy and highlight the lines of the feature steelwork structure, whilst the highly efficient LED lighting is an incredibly tough solution, perfectly suited to the environment.

Accent lighting around the perimeter steps bring a further dimension to the space. Again, high efficiency LED lighting is used to subtly makes the entire space feel lighter, drawing the eye away from darker areas which the canopy lighting cannot reach. Completely concealed within the concrete steps, the luminaries are protected from the heavy traffic and the vigorous cleaning routines operated by the Oast House.

Good lighting design should be as individual as the people who use it. Creativity is important, as is utilising the latest innovations and scientific evidence to continuously improve our designs. As an electrical engineer the SLL handbook is invaluable to me, and I continue to get a lot of use out of the new edition.

 

To mark INWED22, we spoke with some of our women engineers about what made them decide to be engineers, and how their careers are developing with CWC:

ellie schofield, building performance engineer

Ellie Schofield

Building Performance Engineer

Time at CWC:

2 years, 11 months

Was engineering presented to you as career option in school / college?

No, engineering was not presented as an option to study at my school and the careers available in the sector were not discussed. I was influenced by a family member and a tutor at college that engineering / construction could be a rewarding career, and then became very interested in sustainability within construction whilst at college.

What’s your favourite part of your job?

My favourite part about my job role is feeling like I can make a difference. Due to the negative impacts of global warming at the moment, we work closely with clients to reduce CO2 emissions, which will, in the long run, have a positive impact on the environment.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learnt during your studies and career so far?

My most valuable lesson so far has been to do what I want to do, without the influence of others. For example, I didn’t have any friends studying a construction or engineering-based course when I started my studies, but did it anyway as I knew it was what I wanted to do as a career.

What do you think puts women and girls off engineering / construction?

I don’t believe females are necessarily put of the idea of working in the industry, but they are not given advice on the opportunities in the same way that males are. Therefore, I think this leads to many females not having the confidence to go for an education or job role within the sector.

What do you think the industry can do recruit more women?

I believe the industry should aim to work more closely with schools, to ensure that children understand the roles within the construction and engineering sector, so girls know from a young age they can take an engineering career path.

What advice would you give to girls considering a career in the construction industry / engineering?

The advice I would give is that females can be successful in the construction / engineering industry, it does not matter what gender you are. If you are interested and willing to learn, anyone can build a good career.

jessica seddon, cad / revit technician

Jessica Seddon

CAD / REVIT Technician

Time at CWC:

3 years, 10 months

Was engineering presented to you as career option in school / college?

In all honesty, it wasn’t. It was something I looked into myself along with other similar roles such as architecture. In high school student were also pushed strongly towards university, with apprenticeships and work-based learning routes really downplayed. They unfortunately had a reputation of being only for ‘naughty’ or ‘less intelligent’ students, which is completely incorrect!

I imagine things have improved since 2012 when I left school. I really think that if we want to bring more women into the industry that’s where it starts. At that age when students are thinking about their careers, we need to help then identify the best way to get there.

How have you developed in your current role?

For the past two years I’ve been steadily managing the CAD/RVT/BIM workload within our Liverpool office. I am progressing away from the standard expectations of my role as a technician and more into a lead/management role, which I have been enjoying a lot.

For me it has felt like the natural progression of my career path. I enjoy the challenge and balancing the changing workload. I want to help develop and improve processes and understanding, for myself and the business as a whole. I am passionate about what I do, and I want that passion to translate into the quality of end product CWC puts out there.

What role do you think digital engineering will play in the future of the construction industry?

I really think that Revit and the process of BIM is still being underutilized industry wide. The potential is there for truly collaborative design and I hope to see everyone across the construction industry invest a lot more resources into understanding it.

I feel in our industry that communication can be lacking between different parties involved in a project, and that slows things down. This is where I think Revit and the 3D Collaborative design process can be utilized to its fullest. I’d like to see more projects using cloud based services such as BIM360, where all disciplines feed their model information into one central file.

This level of collaboration does pose its own unique challenges, and it is very different from the standard information releases used across the industry at present. But it has so many advantages, and if used correctly it helps the 3D modelling process to aid pre-emptive design, helping to eliminate problems that could arise in the construction phase early on.

To me, this is what Revit should be used for. It’s a fantastic bit of software that is so much more than just 3D coordination and making nice looking renders for presentations.

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