How to Improve Lighting in the Workplace

People spend hours at work every day. Offices still fail to recognise the difference lighting can make to their workspaces. Lighting is an important matter when talking about visual comfort and productivity. Optimized lighting can help to improve performance and there are determined practice guidelines on which lighting systems work best for your work environment.

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© Matthijs van Roon

The main challenge is to find a balance between installation and maintenance expenses with functionality and visual needs.

To obtain a precise light we can use different lighting systems: uniform, localized and mixed. 

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© Carlos Garmendia

What is uniform lighting?

Uniform lighting is a system where the light is distributed regularly throughout the space, without taking into consideration the work positions. It is achieved by ensuring that the average level of lighting is equal to that required to perform the tasks correctly.

CAP / AAVP Architecture

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© Luc Boegly

Logan Offices / SO-IL

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© Iwan Baan

What is localized lighting?

Localized lighting allows to distribute the light on a regular basis as the uniform illumination, but the placing of the luminaires must be well studied in order to achieve the desired lighting. You can use natural and artificial lighting that allow creating light intervals or different atmospheres and ambiances.

HofmanDujardin Office Villa / HofmanDujardin

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© Matthijs van Roon

Hey Banda / balbek bureau

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© Yevhenii Avramenko

The Green Studio / Fraher Architects

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© Jack Hobhouse

What is mixed lighting?

Mixed lighting uses uniform lighting with localized support lighting. It is achieved using localized lighting fixtures near the work positions, reinforcing the general lighting.

Dongsi 5Lmeet / DAGA Architects

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© wutou

Tech901 / archimania

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© Hank Mardukas

Editor's note: This article was originally published on September 27, 2019.

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Cite: María Francisca González. "How to Improve Lighting in the Workplace" [La iluminación para espacios de trabajo: ejemplos de sistemas uniformes, localizados y mixtos] 29 Nov 2021. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/925587/how-to-improve-lighting-in-the-workplace> ISSN 0719-8884

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