Lighting has always been treated as a science or mechanical/mathematical skill – lighting experts are called engineers. This is right for heating and ventilation engineers, where airflow, boiler output and solar gain are mathematical equations that you either get right, giving a comfortable environment for the users, or wrong, making the users uncomfortable. There is great skill in getting the internal environment right, but there is no beauty in ductworks and boilers – sorry, fellas.
Lighting, on the other hand, can create a vast range of moods. There is an almost infinite number of variables to juggle in order to get everything right in a lighting scheme. The lighting levels are the most important. For comfortable use of the space, this has to be right for the task. In many spaces, it also has a bearing on safety; for example, on stairs.
Unfortunately, some engineers work out the lighting levels, add a bit to ensure they cannot be blamed for anyone falling down stairs, and leave it at that. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. Beyond the lighting level, there is the placement of the fitting, the type and combination of fittings, the type of lamp and the type of switching – would it be beneficial to use daylight sensors, dimmers or individual switching?
The advent of VDUs was an added nightmare for the lighting engineer – all those lovely reflective surfaces to add glare to their huge list of problems.
Then along come the interior designers wanting to create light patterns on the walls of long boring corridors, or to use uplighters to create a "cosy atmosphere". No wonder engineers get glazed or worried looks on their faces when cornered by an interior designer.
But look at it from the interior designer's point of view. There are so many lighting manufacturers in the marketplace that it is totally bewildering to try to find a fitting that gives the right amount of light, looks good and is affordable – and comes in a range of colours. These manufacturers do some wonderful light shows and offer to do light-level calculations using different fittings but I still struggle to find exactly what I want.
Some lighting engineers work out the levels, add a bit to ensure they cannot be blamed for anyone falling down stairs, and leave it at that. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg
I want to be able to describe the effect I am looking for, to give the lighting level in terms of "office environment, stairs, shop or surgical ward", then name a price and have someone tell me a range of fittings that will do the job. Many reps can do this but they only deal with one manufacturer; if they do not have something that will do the job perfectly, they try to sell you something else – that is their job, after all.
Lighting engineers do just what you want, I hear you cry, so why don't I ever get to talk to them? Surely the engineers need to know what my aims are before they put together a lighting scheme, otherwise the two schemes will create discordant signals.
It is right that lighting engineers should exist: it is a highly specialised line of work that interior designers know little of. However, there needs to be more interaction between the disciplines. I was taught basic lighting principles, many years ago at college, but I understand from my younger colleagues that this does not happen at universities now. Why not? How can we understand the other disciplines if we have no knowledge of what they do, or how?
Conversely, engineers need to be more aware of the design issues surrounding lighting. So let's talk to each other.
And finally, a little tip to all you designers that still get the terminology wrong. One of my colleagues was gently chided for referring to lamps as bulbs. The engineer said: "bulbs grow, lamps glow".
Postscript
Sally Sullivan set up Nightingale Interiors with her colleague Georgia Burt.
