The architecture of light: architectural lighting design concepts and techniques. A textbook of procedures and practices for the architect, interior designer and lighting designer pdfdrive com

Figure 14.5 Light directed upward onto an overhang or ceiling creates an encompassing environment of light.
Figure 14.4 A lighted goal and a lighted surface are all that are needed to make a corridor attractive and functional.
UPLIGHT OVERHANGS AND CANOPIES
Walls and vertical surfaces aren’t the only surfaces that have a profound effect on our spaces. We can create a dominating presence and alter mood by washing light up onto the ceilings and canopies in our space. Lighting the ceiling overhead can make people feel safer, can expand space, and can lend a sense of
lightness to an environment. Using our lighting resources
in this manner can often deliver dramatic effect with very little light used.
SLOTS, COVES AND LIGHT SHELVES
The last two decades have truly seemed “the era of the recessed downlight”. Because of this trend we have gotten very used to the idea that scallops of light and pools of light are the proper shapes to add to our space. More and more, the geometry of contemporary architecture seems to pair better with linear planes of
light. Spaces that tend to become visually cluttered can be organized by applying light as large geometric statements.
Large clean geometric shapes of light lend our designs the same clean, efficient feeling as our contemporary architecture. Slots, coves, and light shelves are all examples of architectural features that can conceal light sources that create the large, glowing shapes that define our perception of brightness in a space.
Figure 14.6 Spaces usually treated with pools of light take on new feeling when lighted with lines and planes.
LIGHTING THROUGH GLASS
Lighting glass can be understood by recognizing that as a transparent material, we cannot light glass itself. Light directed toward glass either passes through or reflects directly back. Because of this property, if there is nothing to see beyond a piece of glass, the glass will simply act as a mirror. This has two important design consequences.
First, it is worth noting that luminaires placed close to windows tend to
reflect a direct image of the bright source right back at us. For this reason it is good practice to avoid placing interior luminaires right next to glass and windows. Secondly, it means that our best chance of drawing attention through glass is to create bright surfaces and objects beyond the glass. This leads us to light exterior features to draw attention through glass openings. It also leads us to wash light onto exterior eves and overhangs just beyond our windows.