One of the skills we often apply in our projects is lighting engineering: the study of the effects of natural and artificial light in the interior and exterior areas of buildings.
All usable spaces need light, in different quantities and qualities depending on the characteristics of the place to be lit, the regulations in force and the needs dictated by the client. Appropriate lighting not only influences physiological well-being and circadian rhythms, but is also essential to enable effective and accurate visual tasks to be performed. For example, proper lighting in the workplace ensures safety, creates a comfortable working environment and ultimately also increases worker productivity.
We take care of calculating not only illuminance levels, but also the colour rendering of the sources and the colour temperature; we study the control and management of light by means of Building Automation systems; we check the ‘dimming’ characteristics of the luminaires: in short, it’s not just turning a light bulb on and off! This is an in-depth study involving designers, customers and luminaire manufacturers.
We address all types of buildings and environments: historic buildings, modern constructions, public parks, office, production and residential buildings. With our lighting design, we ensure optimal lighting quality and the enhancement of artistic aspects, e.g. facades, by appropriately choosing luminaire types according to architectural characteristics, their photometric curves and also the cost of the luminaires.
But what skills are needed to produce a good lighting design? The answer to this question is not so obvious, because interdisciplinary skills are required for a good result. The lighting designer deals not only with the technical aspects of lighting, but also with physiological and psychological aspects, ergonomics and perception, even sensations and feelings.
The lighting designer must know the products on the market, he must know how they work, he must know how to install them, he must know the regulations and apply them, but above all, he must intuit the customer’s expectations, conceive the optimal configuration and consequently define the technical solution. Last but not least, he has to deal with increasingly stringent energy regulations, and find the right balance between the expectations of obtaining adequate light levels and comfort with the need to reduce energy consumption.
At Dabster Engineering, we believe that in the design phase it is essential to rely on expert lighting designers, professional, technical and artistic figures who allow the client to obtain an excellent quality and cost-effective result.
Alessandro Bartolozzi