Excerpt from Lighting Design Handbook by Lee Watson, McGraw Hill Inc., 1990, pp. 282–284.
Employer, Contractor, Seller
The first group of those whose work is architectural lighting are employers, contractors and sellers. Electrical engineers, contractors and sales representatives carry out this work. Since electrical contractors are still the authoritative source for determining installation, equipment, maintenance and upkeep costs, they act as consultants to designers. In small jobs they are in direct contact with the employer. These contractors are in a fiercely competitive position and must make sure that the employer obtains a satisfactory result for the costs incurred. The electrical contractor, however, generally has little inclination to acquire deep knowledge of design.
An electrical contractor can work in collaboration with an interior designer or a decorator who, informed of the employer's preferences, can apply taste in the design and bring forth creative inventions. In most cases, if the work is small, the local electrical contractor takes on the job with the assistance of an interior designer and the help of an equipment supplier (e.g. a lighting-fixture manufacturer or a local seller). (Small works such as gardens, residences, shops, offices and factories.) A company that produces and sells lighting equipment may already know the customer and, if its staff can determine the user's specifications, may design the project as well.
Through long professional experience, lighting engineers act as the backbone of this industry — one in which, over the building's useful life, maintenance, upkeep and energy consumption, lighting engineering continuously deals with the procurement and installation of lighting fixtures. The importance of the work of lighting specialists (scientists/engineers) was established with the successful production of incandescent lamps. The initial application of electricity required that a person had passed a course of scientific instruction, not merely been an artist. Engineering disciplines rapidly branched, and substantial useful research began into the radiant energy required for the optimal functioning of human vision; conclusively and in classified form, the amounts of light needed for everyday tasks were determined. Consulting engineers in electrical-installation matters, called lighting engineers, advise all kinds of private companies and governmental organisations.
Lighting Engineers, Architects and Electrical Engineers
Lighting engineers, architects and electrical engineers are another group that performs architectural lighting. Lighting (and not lighting design) of the exterior of a building, a factory, a library, a parking area, a marketplace, a sports hall or a road was traditionally the province of engineering work and not of lighting design. When light is used to create vitality, productivity or beauty, the lighting specialist (engineer) — from whom only the provision of visibility is expected — becomes increasingly subordinate to the lighting designer. With all this, lighting engineers are the backbone of this industry, whose investigative vision (together with that of physicists and vision specialists) develops new technology and instruments and provides the basic knowledge required by the designer. The share of the lighting engineer is wide and of great importance.
Lighting engineering is associated with the following skills:
- 1) Lighting with regard to the effects light has on: (a) the necessity of performing a task; (b) psychological aspects; (c) the appearance of space; (d) the appearance of persons and objects within the space; (e) personal safety; and ultimately (f) enabling the user to see and perform the necessary tasks.
- 2) The cost of initial installation, operating needs over the building's useful life, maintenance and energy consumption. The lighting engineer is the only one who has the requisite qualification to investigate and judge these matters.
Previously, the lighting of spaces had traditionally been within the scope of electrical engineering — particularly the design of interior lighting; and even today it is customary that in all small designs a lighting engineer acts as a member of the lighting-design team.
Unlike lighting engineers, interior designers and decorators have traditionally rarely cooperated with lighting engineers. However, with the expansion of the concept of total design, interior designers, architects and product designers cooperate more and more with lighting and illumination specialists.
Although lighting requires a technical and scientific approach, one may say that its artistic dimension is no less important. This artistic dimension is most evident in the lighting design of architectural and construction projects.
