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Lighting the Public Realm

Architectural and public realm lighting is valuable for a number of reasons; from emphasising features, adding ‘drama’, or creating a welcoming space, the right public realm lighting can transform an area or building. These are our top tips for public realm lighting;

Gabriel Square_LR

Quality of Light in Architectural Lighting

The visual effect of ‘architectural’ lighting is what makes it stand out from ‘functional’ lighting. The consistency of the luminaires used in inspired lighting is crucial to creating a stunning visual effect.

The ever-increasing presence of LED fittings, as well as the quality of LEDs constantly improving, allows a range of our products to have colour changing capabilities as well as dimming options to suit your schemes aesthetic.

LED Colour Quality

Colour categories are defined by the Standard MacAdam Elipse (SDCM), which means any LED colour that falls within an elipse on a colour scale, like the one below, would be the same.

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SCDM

For architectural lighting, an SDCM of 3 or below is ideal. The higher the SCDM, the more variation in colour quality.

The colour rendering index (CRI) also tells you how accurate a light source represents the true colour. Manufacturers test against a known colour source to determine the average accuracy of the represented colour.

The CRI is a scale of 0-100. For architectural lighting, you should never drop below a CRI value of less than 60. Ideally, you should opt for LEDs that reach at least 80 on the CRI scale where the rendering of colour is essential to the lighting design.

What is Colour Temperature?

The colour temperature (CCT) uses the Kelvin scale to represent how warm or cold a light source appears. A lower value, such as 2000K, looks warmer. The scale goes up to 6500K, which is very cold in terms of colour.

The material of a building will affect the choice of colour temperature an architectural lighting designer will use. Warm materials, such as brick, look best with lower Kelvin ratings. Harder, colder materials like marble fare better with cooler Kelvin ratings of 4000K or above. A mixed material building is best lit with a colour temperature between the two, around 3000K.

Understanding Optics

The optics of the luminaire determine how the light is transmitted into the environment around it.

For architectural lighting, a range of different distributions allows our lighting designers to choose the best option to highlight unique features on your building. For example, a narrow beam distribution is ideal for pillar highlights, while asymmetric beams emphasize the contours of a treeline.

Optics also determine the definition of a light source. This ranges from highly defined optics that reduce glare or light spill to diffused surface lighting for a welcoming and subtle effect. 

To Show or Not to Show Fittings?

The aesthetic of architectural lighting can be emphasised or minimised by the appearance of the light fitting as part of, or integrated into, the overall building design.

Subtle lighting with inground and recessed fittings can highlight the features on a building without the view being interrupted. Other times, the light fittings can finish the overall aesthetic, such as lit bollards on a public walkway to add style to the practical elements of public realm lighting.

Arcluce: Italian Made Design

The combination of quality colours, intensity, standardised appearance, and aesthetic fit makes public realm lighting a big challenge. That challenge is reduced when you use high-quality components from a reputed manufacturer.

Partnered with Arcluce for over 30 years, we bring the best of Italian design to our architectural and public realm lighting projects. Founded in 1989, we trust the high-quality products and creativity brought to us from one of the brightest lighting design studios across the world. 

From subtle ground lighting to strategically lit bollards, our range of high-quality options for public realm lighting means you’re sure to find the best solution for your architectural lighting design.

Browse our products online or call us on (0)1623 415900 to find out more.

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