Designing Natural Atmosphere in Office Environment Through Daylight Responsive Dynamic Lighting

Abstract

Often the criteria for designing office lighting is to increase efficiency through a bright and evenly distributed lighting. Yet, research has found that this static lighting leads to an unstimulating, boring, and dull luminous environment that supports neither task focus, nor a pleasant atmosphere. The goal of this paper is to create a closer connection to a natural light environment by designing an office lighting that inspired by light as natural phenomenon creates a lively and more nature-based atmosphere. We developed a lighting design with focus on analysing the perceived atmosphere as a metric for a dynamic lighting design for a meeting room of a real estate company in Denmark. Through a mixed method approach, we explore the design factors that determine the desired natural atmosphere. Our design aims at enhancing the function of the meeting room as a formal space where negotiations are held by 1) presenting the identity of the company to the business partners; and 2) supporting employees’ sense of belonging to the company culture. As a result, our lighting design creates a lighting hierarchy in line with the architectural elements of the space, complementing daylight through electric lighting in a dynamic way, accounting for both sky-type and daylight inflow.