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 17.3 A light map example of an entire floor of a residence.
Figure 17.4 A light map example of an elevation of a central bar area in a casino.
Our design process should always revolve around a dimensional understanding of our environments as a whole. A recommended practice is to commit to is pinning up, displaying, and surrounding oneself with all that can be known about the program, surfaces forms and spaces of a project before starting to design lighting for it. Being surrounded by visual representations of material concept boards, elevations, section, plans and dimensional models allows the designer to render lighting ideas in all dimensions and to understand the ramifications of lighting decisions and concepts.
CREATING LIGHT MAPS
The most basic form of a light map is simply whatever architectural or environmental information the designer has available with lighting graphics applied on top. After we have exhausted all of the information we have available and have made light maps of all of the elevations, sections and perspectives, we set our sights on creating a light mapped plan. The light mapped plan can be based on a floor plan, furniture plan or ceiling plan. This simple, graphic tool will help to communicate light ideas and will serve as a roadmap when we move
forward and lay out our lighting equipment. When we go to solve lighting challenges and identify locations and types of luminaires, a good, light-mapped plan will solve itself. In an ideal design world, there is time enough to create light maps to address separately each of the Five Layers of Light that we have identified.
The Keys to Success in Creating a Light Map:
Think only in terms of light. Don’t worry about practicality, constructibility, luminaire location, or even the luminaire itself.
Think about the quality of light and where it goes
Focus on surfaces and objects and how they receive light.
Adding to the Impact of a Light Map
When we set out to translate lighting information on plan in two dimensions, it is imperative that we keep our mind open and our ideas fresh. We can add rendering techniques like additional colors and patterns to represent different lighting techniques. It is often helpful to graphically distinguish between directional accent lighting, diffuse lighting, light cast up onto ceilings and lids, as well as variation in desired color casts. Figure 17.5 illustrates a few ideas for ways to represent lighting. It is often helpful to create a legend on the light map that helps translate the different applications of light.
Figure 17.5 an example of a legend (left) used to clarify colors and patterns used on a light map (right).
With these simple tools: A yellow pencil, an orange pencil, and some imaginative patterns, a designer can translate a wealth of lighting concepts in plan.
As one can see from the preceding figures, the goal is to truly represent
light where it ends up. More to the point, we represent the surfaces that receive the light. Our Light Map plan becomes a map of specific “lighting events,” one specific lighting concept after another clearly identified.