Lighting in the office space is an issue that is often assigned secondary importance, limiting its role almost exclusively to aesthetics. Meanwhile, it has a direct impact on ergonomics, atmosphere, as well as employee comfort and productivity, not to mention the impact on the aesthetics of the office space.
Daylight – still an absolute “must have”
Daylight is the main factor supporting the natural circadian rhythm of humans. Ensuring the right amount of it in the workplace translates into improved efficiency, reduces eye fatigue and has a positive effect on overall well-being. It is also important that a large amount of natural light in the office space significantly reduces energy consumption.
Workplace lighting is regulated by relevant standards and regulations Health and safety – says Anna Branicka, Leading Architect at Design Anatomy. In the light of these regulations, it is necessary to provide natural lighting for each workstation for a permanent work station of more than 4 hours. Studies show that employees with access to natural light are 15% more productive and experience less eye strain. It is also worth noting that the Daylight Factor index, which describes how well natural light reaches the interior of a building, is one of the criteria for BRREAM certification. All this means that nowadays, when designing offices, the aim is to maximize access to natural light.
Functionality and comfort
In most offices, the comfort of daylight cannot be ensured, so more and less commonly available solutions come to the rescue, which can also be helpful in ensuring healthy and comfortable working conditions. The choice of light colour and intensity should primarily take into account the type of tasks performed by employees and the time of their implementation.
The selection of optimal lighting requires a skilful combination of several types of light, such as general, task and decorative lighting – says Magdalena Kluba, Senior Team Leader, Interior Design Department at Iliard Architecture & Interior Design. It is important to provide the right amount of light at the worker’s workstation, which can prevent eye strain and improve concentration and productivity. The choice of light color is also important. Lighting that is too cold can cause a feeling of coldness and distance, while lighting that is too warm can reduce concentration. Neutral light, with a color temperature between 4000K and 5000K, is ideal, providing comfort and adequate brightness of the space.
Due to the diverse needs of employees, the time of day or the amount of daylight resulting from a given season of the year, the most commonly used solution in office spaces is the implementation of systems that allow for the regulation of the color and intensity of light. As Anna Branicka notes: Adjustable office lighting offers a wide range of adaptability options to meet a wide range of needs. We are eager to reach for solutions that allow us to change the color temperature, thus referring to the natural change in the color of natural light, which calms or stimulates the body. The solutions should be intuitive and easy to use, and allow users to individually adjust the lighting conditions at their workstations. Improperly selected or placed lighting can cause both physical discomfort (eye pain, tearing) and mental discomfort (drowsiness, irritability or fatigue).
Properly designed lighting carries an important aspect, which is shaping the atmosphere in the office space, which directly affects both the well-being of employees and the perception of the workplace itself.
Properly selected light can make the office be perceived as friendly, modern, dynamic, or on the contrary – calm and conducive to concentration – says Magdalena Kluba. Na przykład, oświetlenie z możliwością regulacji intensywności pozwala na dostosowanie nastroju przestrzeni do pory dnia czy charakteru spotkania. Coraz popularniejsze są również biura, które korzystają z dynamicznych systemów oświetleniowych, symulujących naturalny cykl światła dziennego – od ciepłego światła poranka po chłodniejsze odcienie popołudnia, co pozytywnie wpływa na rytm pracy i samopoczucie pracowników.
The latest technical solutions allow the lamps to be used for one more function: influencing the acoustics of rooms. When designing the office in Olivia Centre for Just Join IT, Design Anatomy used lamps with increased acoustic parameters, which, combined with spray acoustic plaster, ceilings with appropriate parameters, as well as panels hung over workstations, allowed for a significant reduction in the level of noise and reverberation in the rooms.
Design and style
When talking about lighting in office spaces, its aesthetic function cannot be overlooked. The right choice of lighting is able to create a space that, in addition to the aforementioned improvement in efficiency and well-being, is attractive to the eye and in which you simply want to be. For this purpose, architects use a number of treatments and types of lighting systems.
Interior designers more and more often put emphasis on the appropriate selection of lighting fixtures, which not only provide appropriate working conditions, but also complement the whole,” says Anna Branicka. Lampy, jako elementy dekoracyjne, mogą być wykonane z różnorodnych materiałów, które dodatkowo wzbogacają estetykę wnętrza. W nowoczesnych biurach często spotykamy oświetlenie wykonane z metalu, szkła, betonu czy drewna. Każdy z tych materiałów wnosi do przestrzeni inną energię – metal i szkło dodają wnętrzu industrialnego, nowoczesnego charakteru, podczas gdy drewno i tkaniny mogą ocieplić przestrzeń i nadać jej bardziej organiczny, naturalny wygląd. Warto również pamiętać, że odpowiednio dobrane oświetlenie może subtelnie nawiązywać do stylu wnętrza – od minimalistycznych, geometrycznych form, przez klasyczne, eleganckie żyrandole, aż po ekstrawaganckie, artystyczne instalacje.
Magdalena Kluba also draws attention to the important role of additional lighting: An important complement to the interior can be spot lighting – directional lights, such as table or floor lamps, allowing for more precise illumination of specific work areas. It adds coziness to the interior and creates a more personal atmosphere. Currently, LED technologies have also become a standard in offices, not only because of their energy efficiency, but also because of their ability to adapt to various needs. LED lamps allow you to create interesting visual effects, such as hidden light sources that optically enlarge the space, or colorful accents that introduce dynamics to the interior.
Trends in office lighting
Modern offices are increasingly focusing on an innovative approach to lighting, which is designed to both improve working conditions and emphasize the unique character of the space. Currently, three strengthening trends can be observed on the office market. As Magdalena Kluba notes: Human-Centric Lighting are lighting systems that adjust the color and intensity of light to the natural biological rhythms of humans. This type of lighting supports employee productivity, improves their well-being and affects better sleep. At the same time, in the era of increasing environmental awareness, lighting is becoming an important element of sustainable office design. Energy-saving technologies such as LED, as well as the use of natural daylight through large glazing, are becoming standard. A popular trend is also the integration of lighting with smart building systems, which automatically adjust the intensity of light depending on the amount of natural light.
Mateusz Szczeciński, architect at Design Anatomy, also draws attention to the ever-growing popularity of the DALI (Digital Additive Lighting Interface) system, which was created in cooperation with companies such as m.in. Philips, Helvar, Osram and Tridonic at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The main advantage of DALI is the central management of the lighting of the space, along with the integration with natural light to save energy. The system increases safety and convenience, but also enables the detection of the presence of people and allows for the integration of lighting with other building systems, including BMS. Thanks to the wide possibilities of individual adjustment of lighting parameters to the requirements and preferences of the user, it gives the possibility of freely arranging lighting scenes depending on the needs. This means that we can have several lighting options prepared in one room – strong light for a meeting at the top, dimmed light for presentations on a projector or atmospheric light for watching movies or relaxing in free time.
