Category: LIGHTING

DESIGNING FOR SPAS, HEALTH AND WELLNESS

2/6/2018

Considerations when designing a space for a health, wellness and relaxation:

Comfort
Materials & Finishes
Lighting
Colour
The floor plan

COMFORT
When designing a space for a wellness facility whether it is a spa, clinic, gym or gathering place the first thing that the user will notice is their comfort level. Is the lighting pleasing and relaxing, is the temperature comfortable, is there sufficient way-finding, does it smell nice, is there loud noises or comforting sounds. All these sensory experiences will have an impact on the user creating a pleasant or unpleasant experience. The entrance should be inviting and calming. Water features create a visual and audio sensory effect that evokes nature and induce relaxation. Indirect dim lighting along with natural materials will aid in creating a relaxing environment. Plants and natural materials like stone and wood will bring a connection with nature.

MATERIALS
The use of materials is important to create a healthy space for healing, relaxation and wellness. First and foremost the materials and finishes must be non-toxic. No off gassing or toxic fumes. The materials should have natural properties, look and feel. Finishes can be rustic or sleek and modern but they should not interfere or compete with the users requirement for relaxation to promote healing. Sound is important so surfaces should be softened with rugs or fabric panels to reduce noise vibration. Natural stone looks excellent and creates a natural look and feel. Polished stone will create louder spaces. If the space is large, split faced stone can deflect sound within the space. Precious stones and crystals can add hidden meaning.

LIGHTING
Lighting is so important to add emphasis in areas of importance and to create soothing and relaxing spaces where needed. Indirect lighting is an effective way to create a nice ambience while still illuminating the space as required for functionality. Accent lighting can be used to emphasize the materials and finishes. Signage should be well lit.

Lanterns can create soft lighting and play with shadows which can make a space feel more comfortable and intimate. Lighting can create a focal point and interest on an otherwise plain surface.

COLOUR
If the space is a gym or activity area, brighter colour or coloured lighting can energize the space. Colours can be effective and invoking emotion and therefore creating energy.

PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOUR WHEEL

THE FLOOR PLAN & WAYFINDING
Confusion creates stress. The space should be easy navigate. Planning and signage are key to create simplicity for the user to experience the space. Whether small or large the plan can be centred upon a hub, for example a relaxation area, or it can be successional spaces. As long as the flow is consistent and is not confusing. There is nothing worse then getting lost in a twisting hallway with too many doors. The plan should be intuitive and thoughtful. Waiting and relaxation areas should be quiet and not adjacent to busy spaces. If possible a separation between staff areas and public areas creates more of a stress free atmosphere for guests.

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Lighting: Mood, function or feature

3/12/2016

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Lighting is one of the most important elements to creating exceptional interiors. Lighting can be used functionally to create a bright interior, as a tool to enhance or accentuate certain areas of interest or it can be concealed and indirect to create a mood in a space. Lastly lighting can be used as a feature itself in the space in the form of decorative pieces or even as an art piece. Below are a few of my favourite ways to use lighting:

Architectural Down & Up Lighting

Using lighting from above or below can create a feature accent on a certain item or architectural element in the space.
The picture on the left is taken from the Museum of Islamic art in Doha, Qatar. Downlight's are used in the shelving unit to light each item on didplay enhancing the shiny characteristics of the metal plates.
The image on the right shows a way to utilize uplighting to accentuate the roundness & height of a column to become a feature in the space.
When choosing lighting for these types of applications it is important to think about functionality and application. For instance, the uplights next to the column are inset within a granite base at a certain distance to create a beam of light washing far up the column. It is important also to think about the intensity and colour temperature to ensure it is not overpowered by the other lighting in the space.

Decorative Lighting

Decorative lighting creates a feature within a space, to add interest and playfulness or to enhance the mood and ambience. In some cases the light fixture becomes a work of art (or the light that it makes). Above you have two examples of this. The photo on the left is from Yahya-Group. A traditional metal moroccan lantern, executed to the highest quality. The hand sawn metal creates a stunning pattern of light on the surrounding surfaces.
The photo on the right is Zaha Hadid's Swarm light fixture. It is composed of 16,000 black crystals hanging in harmony to form a geometric shape, The fixture is static but creates movement and interest, it does not actually have an internal light source but can be lit from above.

This is Daniel Liebeskinds' Ice Chandelier for Lasvit. This fixture also does not appear to have an internal light source but is comprised of several hand blown glass pieces grouped together to appear as ice crystals.

Indirect Lighting

Indirect lighting refers to light sources that are concealed, the effect in the space being only the ambient light from the source. This can be done using LED strip lights which are easy to use and come in a variety of sizes, types, and colours and are extremely energy efficient. Commercial LED strip lighting usually comes with a transformer which could range in size. Colour temperature is important when using concealed lighting to see how the light will interact with the surrounding surfaces. Colour temperature refers to the colour of the light. Warm lighting, which appears more orange has a colour temperature of less than 3000K. Cooler temperature lighting appears as more of a blue light and is 400-4500K.

Energy Efficient Lighting

This is an LED lamp that can be used in place of a typical incandescent bulb-from Vetica

A typical LED strip light measuring 15mm x 15mm

Most light fixtures nowadays can use LED lighting or can be retrofit to use LED bulbs. Even older chandeliers or MR16 fixtures that use a typical incandescent or halogen light bulb can be fitted with LED bulbs, saving on energy.

Benefits of using LED fixtures are:

Linear applications, such as under cabinet lighting, where bulbs/light sources with thin profiles are needed
LEDs can use up to 75 percent less energy than incandescents.
LEDs last up to 25 times longer than incandescent and halogen light sources
Small LED chips allow for more compact, design-forward fixtures, as well as the illumination in tight areas.
Cooler to the touch.

Many people feel that the quality of light coming from an LED bulb feels less natural as it tends to be on the cooler _side of the spectrum, however LED manufactures produce the light sources on both sides of the Kelvin scale to provide warmer more orange lighting and cooler more blue lighting.

Nothing can replace the quality of a warm incandescent light bulb with a traditional filament but a company called Buster and Punch have created the world's first designer LED light bulb that attempts to do just that."These patented white fins allow ambient light to diffuse through the sides of the bulb and reflect down the centre of the pipe, where it exits as a spot light," said the designers.

Researchers at MIT have developed a prototype for an energy efficient incandescent bulb which could rival LEDs. Breakthrough developments in lighting are happening all the time and this field is growing quickly and is definitely something to keep an eye on to see new developments.

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DESIGNING FOR SPAS, HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Lighting: Mood, function or feature

Architectural Down & Up Lighting

Decorative Lighting

Indirect Lighting

Energy Efficient Lighting

ALISON BRANDT

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