Exploring Simple Assessment Methods for Lighting Quality with Architecture and Design Students

Architecture and design students are frequently required to establish suitable lighting conditions for the buildings and spaces they design as part of their studio courses. While lighting design guidelines are available, students find out quickly that lighting quality is a complex issue that cannot be assessed by simple equations or rules-of-thumb. Balancing the many and often contradictory aspects of energy efficiency and high quality lighting design is a complex undertaking not just for students. The work described in this paper is one result of an academic staff exchange between the Schools of Architecture in Copenhagen (Denmark) and Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). The authors explore two approaches to teaching students simple assessment methods that can contribute to making more informed decisions about the luminous environment and its quality. One approach deals with the assessment of luminance ratios in relation to computer work and presents in that context some results from an experiment undertaken to introduce the concept of luminance ratios and preferred luminance ranges to architecture students. In the other approach a Danish method for assessing the luminance distribution within a visual field is discussed. Students participating in the experiments began to understand how quantitative measures relate to qualitative experiences, a skill that is likely to be very useful in later architectural or design practice. Conference theme: (Lighting) Education