Final Light Map

My partner Chelsea Green and I changed are light map background to a middle grey so that the reviewer could see the light better and to also get a better sense of how the light will glow in the space. We also added a legend to identify the different lights in the areas.

Another draft of my RCP

For this, I added in additional ceiling panels in the large classroom. The first row closet to the back wall is 8ft tall AFF, the middle row in 11ft AFF, and the last row is 14ft AFF. These panels are all below the acoustical tiled ceiling that is 15ft AFF. This gives the classroom a more dynamic and interesting look.

Trade Show

Class on October 30th was different from our usual class day. We attended a light and sound trade show up in 401. Four different companies came to talk to us about their products. Only one was a company that focused on acoustics. The common ground all three lighting companies was that the products were sustainable and were LED lights. One light that stood out the most for me was the TBAR LED lighting. What I thought to be most impressive for this light was that it was smaller than you typical troffer light. This light goes in between the acoustic tile grids and provides the same amount of light as a troffer. It was a great indirect diffused light, meaning that there was no harsh line showing where the light flow ended and it would not give off a glare. This type of lighting was great to see because this is the type of ambient lighting would be good to use in my circulation spaces as well as the classrooms.
One thing that I wish happened was for the representatives to look at our light maps. I feel like if they looked at what types of lights we wanted to put in and where, they could have given us more feedback on what light fixture would look best. Though I did get many pamphlets about the different lights that they offered, so advice would have been nice when pursuing the rest of the light project.

RCP Draft

Light Map and Lighting Project Brief

On October 30th we had a light map due and a lighting project brief due so that the sales representatives at the trade show could review our spaces and what we have planned for our spaces and suggest what light fixtures would work best. This was a group project and my partner was Chelsea Green.

You can reach our lighting project brief here.

This is our light map:

Sketch Series: Accessing Acoustics

For the sketch series we were to download a sound meter/decibel reader on your on your smartphones, for example Sound Meter Lite. Develop a sound map using the sound meter of any floor on the Gatewood Bulding, except the fourth floor. The floor plans are available on Canvas. Note the materials and textures, reverberation time, echo and their relation to the acoustical environment at different times of the day and week.  Annotate them on the floor plan.

The acoustic assessment took place on Tuesday around 5 pm. During this time, there were not many people around to raise the noise level. What we did notice from our assessment was that the sound was louder around the walls. The sound of the air was bouncing off the walls making it louder standing there than if you stood in the middle of the room. The north stair way was louder than the south stairway because you could hear the echo of the art students on the first and second floor rising up to the third floor where the decibel was taken. The areas shaded in blue on the floor plan were quieter than the rest because the noise of the air conditioning wasn’t as noticeable, therefore it was not bouncing off the walls. It was also quieter because there were no people in these areas to make noise. The areas shaded in red or purple were the loudest because there were people in the spaces to create noise. Especially in 2nd year’s studio space. Here they were louder and with the open concept of our space, the noise reverberated around this studio.

UNCG Theatrical Lighting Fieldtrip!

Today in class we took a field trip to UNCG's theatrical lighting room and theatre. Theatrical lighting designer Ken White spoke to us how theatrical lighting is different from interior design lighting. He said that his perfect lighting condition is a room that is completely dark with no natural light able to stream in, so that he can add and manipulate the lighting to create the mood he's trying to covey for the play without consideration to the actors on stage.
A dark room allows him to create contrast. What he is able to achieve is the brightest of bright, so bright it hurts, and the darkest of dark. Interior design lighting is the complete opposite of this. What we want is a room that provides lot of natural lighting so we can add minimal lighting to the room. Even when we put lights in, we still try to achieve the natural light look the the color temperature of light bulbs.
Another difference is, theatrical lighting is not permanent. Ken designs the light show, installs them, and then as soon as the performance is over, the lights are removed and then configured for the next show. Interior design lighting is more permanent. We plan where the lights go (done with an RCP), what types of effects we are trying to achieve, and in some cases what are we trying to show off (like in a museum).