THE IMPACT OF LIGHTING ON EMPLOYEES IN THE 21ST CENTURY WORKPLACE
Abby Buchmann, Rutvik Date, Abigail Zohner, Vibhavari Jani Department of Interior Architecture and Product Design, College of Architecture Planning and Design
APDesign Student Research Symposium, 9 November 2013
ABSTRACT “The impact of lighting on productivity, aesthetics, and general human well-being should not be underestimated. We conduct our lives under artificial lighting most of our waking hours. Proper design layout is critical.� -Paul Vrabel, lighting energy efficiency expert with ICF Consulting (2003). Designers must understand specific use of lighting and its effects on the physical, psychological and emotional well-being of employees, especially concerning creativity and productivity.
HYPOTHESIS The lighting design in an office environment has substantial impact on the employees’ physical, psycological and emotional well-being and productivity. Natural and artificial daylighting should be well balanced and used efficiently.
IESNA Lighting Handbook. (Photographer). (2004). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/crsng-nserc/ NR24-4-2004-eng.pdf
METHODOLOGY Phase One: Qualitative Methods • Reviewed and analyzed published research • Studied several precedents • New York Times Building • Statoil Regional & International Offices • The Yellow Building
DATA ANALYSIS LIGHT LEVELS CONCENTRATION HEALTH & MOOD GLARE
ILLUMINATION PARAMETERS
DATA ANALYSIS LIGHT LEVELS
DATA ANALYSIS LIGHT LEVELS
LIGHTING COMFORT LEVELS
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIRECT AND INDIRECT LIGHTING SCHEMES
DATA ANALYSIS CONCENTRATION
CONTRAST
DATA ANALYSIS HEALTH & MOOD SMART DAYLIGHTING DESIGN
GRAPHIC 3
Transparent partition top allows daylight to penetrate into the rest of the office.
ELECTRONIC BALLAST
GRAPHIC 2 MAGNETIC BALLAST
Headaches are twice as frequent with low frequency magnetic ballasts.
DATA ANALYSIS GLARE PROBLEMATIC SOURCE/TASK/EYE GEOMETRY
CONTRAST
GLARE
PRECEDENT STUDIES NEW YORK TIMES BUILDING LOCATION: New York City, New York DESIGNED BY: Renzo Piano INTERIORS BY: Gensler LIGHTING BY: OVI Inc. YEAR: 2007 • Ceramic rod faux-facade screen • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory daylighting analysis
PRECEDENT STUDIES STATOIL REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL OFFICES LOCATION: Fornebu, Bærum, Norway DESIGNED BY: a-lab INTERIORS BY: a-lab + Momentum Arkitekter YEAR: 2012 • Five stacking modules face different directions • Extreme Nordic daylight hours • Center atrium provides maximum sunlight to the main space
PRECEDENT STUDIES THE YELLOW BUILDING LOCATION: London, UK DESIGNED BY: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris LIGHTING BY: Norman Disney & Young Light YEAR: 2008 • Flexibile gallery lighting • Office lighting designed to 300 lux • Top floor design studio employs artificial ambient lighting • Full-height curtain wall glazing
METHODOLOGY Phase Two: Qualitative • Observe employees in an open office environment • Intended location: 360 Architecture, Kansas City, Missouri • Divide the office into zones based on the amount of natural and artificial light, measured in footcandles. • Observe and record the employees’ tendencies to migrate to each predetermined zone. Quantitative methods • Distribute a standardized survey to assess preferences in lighting conditions at individual work stations. • Distribute an identical survey to employees in a fixed office environment to ensure our data is diverse. • Intended location: Kansas State University’s Hale Library private offices. In the future, to expand our research, we will observe and survey a larger variety of corporate office environments.
DESIGN LESSONS LEARNED Details of lighting fixtures and placement of the luminaires; More research on the LEED requirements and how they were determined; Lighting is a personal preference; difficult to determine an ideal lighting scenario; General consensus as to how much and what types of lighting should be utilized.
FINDINGS & CONCLUSIONS Lighting does in fact affect the physical, psychological and emotional well-being of the employees in a corporate office environment, especially concerning creativity and productivity. Light levels, lamp type, daylight and artificial lighting percentages, color index, and placement of the light fixtures play important roles in the comfort and consequently the well-being of the workers. At this point, findings indicate that the original hypothesis stating that poor design and layout of lighting affects the health and mood of the staff is correct. This is ongoing research and the authors will conduct experiments to test this hypothesis further.
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