I think that I would really like the new renovated hall because they still kept old materials and cleaned them. I like the feel of old buildings that feel clean and new on the inside. I would love to see the hall for myself one day because Anthony Irons says that after it was renovated, the philosophy was to create "a continuous visual experience." I want my city hall to have that same feeling everywhere you turn and look. I love the skylight idea and how the building only has to keep one type of light bulb since all the lighting is different but at the same time is uniform.
2. What types of lighting were discussed and how can it help the Chatham County City Hall project?
There were lots of types of lighting discussed including natural sunlight, direct light, indirect light, uplighting, downlighting, tungsten-halogen lamps, accent lights, LED, ambient, task and downlighting. I would really like to research Peerless lighting more because they do lighting a different way. They design an indirect fixture to add direct lighting that is projected beneath the fixture. They have uplight that is balanced with the addition of controlled downlight. I like the idea of this so that there is not a bunch of hard light of direct lighting everywhere. Its softens the room without having a lot of glares and harsh shadows.
3. What seemed to be the largest dissatisfaction with the office types and how would that affect the City Hall?
The largest dissatisfaction with the office types is that with the open office, most employes complained about the noise level. Having a high noise level while working makes it hard to focus and causes distractions. There is little privacy and I think that every employee wants to have some sense of privacy no matter where they work. I will definitely keep in mind about how to lay out my offices when designing the city hall.
4. Is the courthouse appropriate for a dominant daylight system? Explain.
I think the courthouse is appropriate for dominant daylighting, but I do think there will be areas that will not have window/natural lighting access just because of what has to be crammed into the small building. The windows in the courthouse are definitely large enough to cover a large amount of space, but for the interior rooms with no windows I will have to use some kind of artificial lighting.
5. What are the benefits of daylighting?
The benefits of daylighting are that it helps to keep everyones mood up and there is also health benefits to having daylight throughout your day. It also helps you to see better with your eyes. It doesn't strain your eyes as much unless you are facing the sun.
6. Do codes matter for lighting design?
Yes, codes do matter for lighting design but they are not strict.
7. Is lighting objective or subjective? Explain
I think lighting is both objective and subjective because I believe an experience has to be both. In a well designed space, the lighting has to look like it was meant to be in the space and also make light that makes you feel good for that type of space. If the light made you feel good, but the light fixture itself looked horrible then I don't think you could feel good about the light in that space in general only because it looks bad even if it makes you feel good.
8. How does the information in the articles apply to my programming for the City Hall?
Everything that I have learned from reading the articles will help me in my designs for the city hall. I can now add a lighting section to my programming document since I now know about how lighting affects the different office types.
9. Does Cooper lighting make indirect lighting?
Yes the do! They make direct and indirect lighting.
