Sketch Series 2

Restaurant - Jimmy Johns

The lighting in this space consists of red pendant lights with incandescent lamps over the tables, track lighting in the higher part of the ceiling with halogen lamps, recessed can lighting around the kitchen area with halogen lamps, and fixtures in the kitchen with fluorescent lamps. The kitchen area in this space is lit with intense luminance and is the brightest area in the restaurant and then the surrounding dining area is darker with moderate luminance. This lighting pattern creates a slightly more intimate atmosphere because your attention is drawn to the brightly light kitchen space and away from the tables which gives the people at the tables more privacy. From the back of the restaurant, facing the front, there is a glare from the windows that stretch across the whole front of the space that leads you to the exit once you are done eating. I think that the space could do without the track lighting higher up in the ceiling because it doesn't seem to be doing much for the space. Aside from that the lighting in the space seems successful for a restaurant. There is not any inappropriate glare in the space and the lighting in the space seems to fit the purpose, which is that they want you to come in, eat, and leave so that they can serve more customers. 

Jimmy Johns

Retail Store - Sister's Jewelry

In this space there is track lighting with halogen MR-16 lamps, and fixtures along the wall and in the ceiling with fluorescent lamps. The strongest luminance in the space is directed on the display cases using the track lighting. For a retail/jewelry store this pattern of lighting makes sense because you want the emphasis in the space to be on the purchasable merchandise. There are not any places of intense glare or brightness within the space and the space is appropriately lit. The track lighting illuminating the displays is a good lighting decision because in a retail space where you want people to come in and buy things. You want to make sure that the merchandise stands out. 

Sister's Jewelry

Gallery - Weatherspoon Art Museum

In this space there is only track lighting with halogen lamps in various places around the space. The stark white walls and glossy floor combined with the intense lighting creates a lot of glare and brightness within the space. There is intense luminance within the space, especially around each piece of artwork. The bright lighting around each piece of artwork helps them to stand out but with the bland white walls it makes the space seem very harsh and it is hard to be in this space for a very long time. If the lighting needs to be this bright then I think that the walls should be painted another color besides white because it creates too much glare and not enough contrast. 

Weatherspoon Art Museum Gallery

Sketch Series 1

The space that I chose to sketch periodically for the light module of this class is the living and dining room area of my apartment. From the same viewpoint each time I sketched the space once on August 30th, September 8th, September 12th, and October 3rd. I also sketched the space throughout the day on September 29th. As the seasons changed the light entering the space became less harsh and created more of a glow in the space rather than the contrast created by the sunlight in the space during the summer months. On September 29th when I observed light in the space throughout the day I realized that the room is brightest around three o'clock in the afternoon when the sun is right outside the windows. At this time of the day the natural light entering the space is too harsh to have the blinds open. There are more shadows in the living room area of the space throughout the day, which makes more sense because all of the windows in the room are in the dining area. The color in the space shows up best around one o'clock in the afternoon because the sunlight is not direct enough to wash out the color, instead it brightens the colors within the space and makes them clearer. The natural light works best in this space from twelve noon to two o'clock in the afternoon but from three to around six o'clock the sunlight in the space is too overpowering to be in the room without lowering the blinds.

August 30th at 1 pm

September 8th at 1 pm

September 12th at 1 pm

September 29th at 10 am

September 29th at 1 pm

September 29th at 4 pm

October 3rd at 1 pm

Light Box: The Mixing of Light

For this light box assignment we had to form groups of four or less. My group members were Cory Odell, Kelsey Walker, and Matt Weikert. We designed a lighting experience for our 12'x12'x12' space by using different colored lights and manipulating the areas they could flood into to create different colors of light. The model was a 1'=1" scale model of a triangular space with three tabs placed to focus all of the lights into a white triangle on the base that reflected the triangular viewport in the top of the box. The tabs also allowed for each pair of colors to cross each other and create a new color. The final products has two corners of green, blue, and red but then in between those corners are yellow, magenta, and cyan. Then where all of the colors meet in the middle forms a white triangle. 

The mixing of light

The lighting effect

Interior of the light box

The poster

Scavenger Hunt: Illuminance, Reflectance, and Transmittance

Illuminance (in fc)

0-10 fc - (8.8 fc) 4th year studio space kitchenette 

10-20 fc - (11.7 fc) 4th floor studio space

20-30 fc - (20.6 fc) 3rd year studio pin-up wall

30-40 fc - (36.2 fc) computer lab table

40-50 fc - (48.4 fc) room 204 pin-up wall

50-60 fc - (53.2 fc) 4th floor critique room

60-100 fc - (76.1 fc) 3rd year studio windows

>100 fc - (163.8 fc) desk lamp on desk surface

Reflectance

0-20% - 1.4/31.4 = 4% monitor cover in room 204

20-40% - 9/30.2 = 30% desk surfaces in room 204

40-60% - 11.4/19.7 = 58% metal window frame in room 204

60-80% - 11.8/18.2 = 65% white board in room 204

80-100% - 19/20.2 = 94% bathroom mirror 

Transmittance

0-20% - 0.3/242 = 0% shades in room 204

20-40% - 12.7/44.5 = 28.5% sketchbook paper under lamp

40-60% - 13.2/31.2 = 42% monitor cover in room 204

60-80% - 540/710 = 76% light box surface

80-100% - 23/24.9 = 92% window in door to room 204

Impact of Light on Health

        Lighting plays a very important role in the lives of human beings and our happiness and well-being. Based on the readings it seems as though we have a set schedule about what lighting we can be exposed to at what time of day and if that schedule is tampered with it can have damaging effects on our health. However, though good design it is possible to minimize these harmful effects by considering site planning, building orientation, architectural openings, shading and screening systems, and electrical lighting systems. There should be some kind of system in order to help with the health issues that people who work night shifts face because they are at work all night and then sleep during the day, which damages their circadian rhythm. I think that close attention should be paid to both the natural lighting entering a space as well as the artificial light within the space because they are both equally important to our well-being. Research has shown that the interruption to our circadian rhythm is not only harmful to our sleep but has also been found to contribute to a number of diseases. It has been proven that blue emitting lights have the ability to keep us more awake and alert throughout the day by suppressing the production of melatonin, which is the chemical in our brain that makes us sleepy. The only downside to this is that if you are staying up late with the lights on you are damaging your circadian rhythm by delaying the production of melatonin that would usually be released and make you go to sleep at that time. Being exposed to these lights late at night has been shown to cause weight gain and breast cancer. Hopefully we can find a health balance to keep us safer, especially in this day and age.  

Light Revealing Experience

    Light affects how we see things, how we experience things, and how we feel about spaces and places. I grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina where the springs are clear and colorful, the summers are bright and humid, the fall is cloudy and crisp, and the winters are cold and gloomy. When I was younger our house was surrounded by a lot of trees that the light would filter though and create spotlights on the ground that would dance in the breeze. In the winter after all of the leaves fell away all that was left was the skeleton-like shadows of the trees and you could see across the landscape better without the leaves to get in the way. However, eventually the trees started to be cut down and new developments started going up and although the trees remain the affects are not quite as drastic as they once were.

       As I grew older I developed a love for travel and the experiences that new places had to offer. I’ve traveled to almost all of the 50 United States, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean and every place has its own feel and will leave you with a unique experience. In the Caribbean and Mexico the bright sun reflects off the water and the sand while there is little opportunity for shade with the sparsely placed palm trees. In Alaska the sky can be overcast and rainy with only the reflection of the gray clouds on the water and then on sunny days the sun glimmers on the water, the glaciers, and though the trees. While visiting my brother in the Great Smoky Mountains the mornings were foggy and gray and gave the light and the air a hazy appearance. When I traveled to San Francisco, California the cool, clear climate made the feel of the city cheery and exciting. Then there were places out west like Arizona where the air was so hot and humid and it made the landscape seem so bright it was hard to look at without sunglasses or squinting.

       One thing that I have noticed is that the more temperature comfortable climates seemed to have just the right amount of light to make the landscapes seem clear and colorful. Whereas the places where it was too cold or too hot and humid often the light was either too much to where it was hard to bear the sunlight or not enough to where you felt sleepy from lack of serotonin. Another thing that I have noticed over the years is I much prefer natural light over artificial light. In order to feel comfortable in a place or space I always need at least some natural sunlight or I start getting uncomfortable or just sleepy. So it’s safe to say I could probably never live in Alaska in the winter where the sun does not rise for thirty days or in a city where there is a lot of dreary cloudy weather. I think that having clear, pleasant, sunny weather makes any experience more comfortable and more fun. 

Class Exercise: John Flynn's Psychological Aspects of Lighting - A Scavenger Hunt

UNCG Library Tower

This space has very dimly lit with small amounts of natural light that makes this space feel tense and unpleasant. There is uniform, overhead, dim, artificial lighting and some peripheral natural lighting. The problems with the dim lighting in this space are accentuated by what natural lighting is there by creating a lot of high contrast. This natural light really exposes the surfaces that it touches and over powers what little artificial light there is in the space. It also creates stark shadows in the areas that neither lighting really reaches. I think that this combination of the small amount of natural light combined with the dim, patterned, artificial lighting that makes this space feel so uncomfortable.

EUC/Library Tunnel

This space's lighting gives it a relaxed and pleasant feel. The overhead, non-uniform, bright artificial lighting as well as a lot of bright illuminating natural light. With so much light from both artificial and natural sources this space is very well lit and there is a lot of lighting but not to the point where it becomes overbearing. The darker colors used in this space also help to allow the space to be brighter without looking washed out. The lighting in this space is comfortable enough that you would be able to read, do homework, or just relax comfortably in this space.