Lighting in Design Q3 2021

Ed Space

A s with much else, the way we illuminate the spaces we inhabit is set to change along with our changed priorities since the arrival of the pan- demic. Pre-existing trends in workplace wellbeing, sustainability and online communication will ac- celerate, while new uses of retail spaces, public space and even the home will emerge. The design of lighting will have to respond to these shifts so that it plays a key role in articulating our new built environment. Here are a number of ways lighting could change post-COVID. • Workplace lighting will get creative: This will be a megatrend in offices. Progressive employers will invest in their interiors, and statement lighting, to foster loyalty, belonging and community. Expect more boutique style interiors, food and beverage areas and meeting rooms. • There will be more emphasis on light qual i ty: A trend before the pandemic, the move to higher quality lighting – low glare, low flicker, higher colour rendering – will accelerate as wellbeing in workplaces becomes paramount. • Concept stores will drive retail lighting: Concept and ‘brand experience’ stores will increasingly be seen. These store-as- showroom spaces typically eschew rows of spotlights in favour of embedded lighting in light boxes, fixtures, tension-fabric units and display cabinets. • Expect more personal ised control in offices: The lighting industry has been talking about personalised lighting for years, but it looks set to have its moment thanks to affordable technology, the advent of private working spaces and a desire to lure employees back to the workplace. • Lights will be made to circular principles: Increased concern for the environment post- pandemic will see more lighting equipment begin to bemade to circular economy principles. • Upper-room disinfection lights will be a thing: UV-C lamps – mounted above people’s heads and shielded from sight – will increasingly be used to kill airborne viruses. But just how big this market this turns out to be, when everyone has had a vaccine, remains to be seen.

• IoT lighting will, eventually, arrive: The future, we once once told, is lights connected to the cloud as part of the ‘Internet of Things’. That has not happened. However, the technology is becoming more accessible – and cheaper – so there is an inevitability that it will arrive in some form. • Say goodbye to blanket uniform lighting: In offices, expect to see more meeting rooms and the introduction of quiet places where people can concentrate. These will require different lighting approaches, leading to a more complex product matrix. • Catering for the desktop-to-laptop trend: At one time, the lighting industry was obsessed with reflections on desktop computer screens. No longer. More and more employees will migrate to laptop use, which should allow more design freedom, but we will still have to be mindful of glare. • Pendant lightingwill increasingly appear in workplaces: Pendants and other decorative- style lights – once the preserve of the boutique hotel – will increasingly appear in workplaces as we move from rows of desks with employees emailing each other to collaboration, team building and ‘knowledge sharing’ spaces. • Visual balance will move up the agenda: Avoiding substantial changes in light levels as occupants move from one space to another, or indeed across the same open-plan space, will become an increasingly important consideration of lighting design as part of the light quality agenda. • Forget human-centric lights; think colour tuning : Daunted by the science, many lighting designers, consultants and clients are reluctant to apply human-centric principles. However, colour tuning light, which mimics dynamic daylight, will prove a more popular way to give employees a more natural light. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed everything. Its impact on global wellness and the economy has forced organisations in every industry – including our own – to flex and evolve, both in real-time and in the long-term.The well-known proverb, ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ could not be more apt at this time.

Editor: Gregg Cocking (lighting@crown.co.za) • Advertising manager: Carin Hannay (carinh@crown.co.za) Layout: Katlego Montsho • Circulation: Karen Smith Cover: Jan Mouton Learning Centre/TV3 Architects Published by Crown Publications (Pty) Ltd PO Box 140, Bedfordview, 2008 - Tel: +27 (0)11 622 4770 Fax: +27 (0)11 615 6108 - Website: www.crown.co.za ABC 2020: 4 242• Printed by: Tandym Print All issues of Lighting in Design can be viewed on our website. Visit www.lightingindesignmagazine.co.za

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LiD Q3 - 2021