Light and Sound Design Project

SOUND SKETCH

LIGHT MODEL

LIGHT SKETCH SERIES 4

LIGHT SKETCH SERIES 3

LIGHT SKETCH SERIES 2

This sketch is from the Gallery at Weatherspoon. This space is lit by a cool halogen light in a can fixture. This is placed to emphasize the subject in the space, with shadow greater highlighting the display.

This space is of GIA, a restaurant in Greensboro that utilizes many different types of lighting in their space, including focal, sparkle, as well as some ambient lighting. The focal lighting  is directed towards the tables as well as the work spaces in the kitchen and the bar. The sparkle lighting is from the chandeliers as decoration to add to the ambience. The ambient lighting is to help with the ease of egress as well as general comfort in the space.

This retail space is located in the Gap in Friendly Center. This space utilizes a combination of ambient and focal fluorescent lights. All lighting in this space are cooler tones, in hopes to highlight the clothing on display.

SKETCH SERIES 1: JOHN FLYNN’S PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF LIGHTING

Essay on the Impact of Light on Health (Chronobiology)

                The topic of Chronobiology brings a new understanding of the affects of light on the human physiological, mental, and behavioral state. We respond to a broad range of light spectra, intensities, and time patterns. Light sets an internal clock in our bodies that run on a 24-hour cycle that is said to regulate 10% of our genes, according to the New York Times article "In Eyes, a Clock Calibrated by Wavelengths of Light" by Laura Beil. Melatonin is a hormone in the body whose main function is to regulate night and day, sleep and awake cycles as they occur to the individual, as they regulate a variety of biological processes. Certain types of light actually suppress the production of melatonin in our systems (circadian rhythms), which cause a delay in our sleep cycles. Specifically the blue wave lengths found in LED lighting of the energy-efficient bulbs, as well as new electronic technology versus traditional florescent lighting. Oppositely studies show that LED and blue lights increase your memory and cognition. Your body is basically at high alert while it is at the same time frustrated because it is ready for rest. Light at night has been noted as a probable cause for certain types of cancers and carcinogens, as well as shift work, as it disrupts the biological clock.

                When considering light in the designs of our architecture and interiors, we should be thinking of the influence of light on health and behavior of the human mind. It is unhealthy to get unnatural light for extended periods throughout our lives. It has been discovered that this could be one of the many causes of degenerative disease and cancers. When applying lighting fixtures and blockage in healthcare facilities, we should be conscious of the circadian rhythms. The second article supports the idea of designers adapt to reduce the affects of blue and LED lighting to increase the circadian patterns. Thus healing the health problems that many shift workers. Light influences myriad physiological, mental, and behavioral responses beyond those of melatonin systems alone.

Light and Sound – Light Revealing Experience

The way that we experience light is tied to almost every single aspect of our lives. From the moment we wake up in the morning to the time we fall asleep at night, light plays a part in every second of every single day. Sunlight is what wakes most of us up in the morning, as it is a reminder to us that it is a brand new day. Our experience of light is what makes our world so familiar, or unfamiliar.

                Electrical lighting takes a part in the way we experience this life as well. It is sometimes distracting us from the way we experience night and day through the changing of the seasons. It can also affect our mood and psyche as well as our cultures as a whole. I know I am personally happier when the sun is shining brightly, than on a dim, cloudy, dreary day.

                In the article "Light Revealing Experience", Richard Kelly designated three types of light for design purposes: focal glow, ambient luminescence, and play of brilliance. I found it extremely poetic and interesting the way he describes the 3 types: "Focal glow is the campfire of all time... it commands attention and attracts interest.... ambient luminescence is a snowy morning in open country... Play of brilliance is Times Square at night... it is the Aurora Borealis...". This description assures that you can literally imagine what he means, and allows you to really feel his passion for what he was describing. His description truly, as said in the article, turns physical structures into places with deeper meaning.

                Light absolutely defines a place. It is what creates the feeling for the space being occupied. The color of the light flooding a room can make a room either feel warm or cold, inviting or uninviting. This can not only be determined by artificial lighting but the natural light that seeps through the openings of structures. Sitting in Gatewood studio all day keeps you awake and alert because you are overtaken by the amount of natural lighting, even on a cloudy day.

                The geographical location of a place directly affects the types of light you get at different times of the day throughout the year. For example, living on the east coast most of my life I am used to getting up to see the sunrise over the water, while on the west coast you see the sun fall. The brightest sunlight we see is at the peak of the morning, when the birds are still chirping. But on the west coast you get this light at different times of the day. Similar sun patters are found throughout the world, they are defined by the myriad patterns of the changing seasons.

                Similar to the connection between light and spirit of a place is light and culture. Many cultures are in a sense defined by the light and climate they experience. The Japanese are more custom to having shadows and darkness. Tanizaki describes in his book "And so it has come to be the beauty of a Japanese room depends on variation of shadows". Their necessity for shadow is a direct response to their extremely hot summer climates they have. They use paper paneled doors, called Shoji, which may emit light but naturally, does not block sound nor protect them from the bitter cold of the winter.

                Another culture that is defined by their response to light, are the Netherlands. Their windows take up so much of the wall space in their homes that you can see directly through to their back courtyards. Light is very valued in Dutch culture because of its such northern location, light equals heat.

                Light is also defined by the task that is demanded within the structure. Libraries for example need certain lighting to be able to read comfortably. Work desks and rooms need different types of lighting individually. Another interesting type of light to consider as it relates to task is a dark room. You need certain types of dim lighting to expose film properly.

                Light can also be used as a poetic tool in illustrating a room. It can change the way we thing or bring us away from the places we are, even to a place we may have been. Frank Lloyd Wright provided relationships between inside and out in some of his residential work.

                The interaction between light and climate has to do with the spirit of a place, as it relates to the thermal comfort, as well as culture, and the geographical location. Light and heat share a connection of thermal comfort. My parents home in Summerfield, North Carolina has vast windows in the front and back of the house that stretch two stories. Year round you can feel the heat from the light shining down through them. This article states that in the window, the genius loci is thus explained and focused. Through the interpretation of the window, we can further understand the architecture of different cultures, and how it is affected by the climate. Architects and designers are tasked with providing a balance of light both visually and physiologically.

                The visual effect of lighting can also mentally and physically warm a place up. In northern climates, flooding a room with lighting can instantly add a sense of heat and sparkle to an otherwise cold and dreary space. For a designer to appropriately achieve a comfortable visual effect, there must be a certain balance of natural and artificial lighting that is specific to the individual place.

                Lastly, light is directly associated with time. Beginning with the Mayans, whom created a yearly calendar based on the rotation of the sun. We associate time every day with daylight and night fall.  Certain geographical locations however, Alaska for example, experience certain times of the year with 24 hour sunlight. That is something I don't think I could get used to. I would literally stay up all night.