Light & Engineering 26 (1)

Volume 26
Date of publication 03/30/2018
Pages 81-90

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Nocturnal Architecture of Buildings: Interaction of Exterior Lighting and Visual Beauty. L&E 26 (1) 2018

Articles authors:

Fahimeh Nikoudel, Mohammadjavad Mahdavinejad, Javad Vazifehdan

received the B. Sc and the M. Sc degrees in art and architecture from Azad University of Tehran, Tehran, in 2008, and Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran, in 2015, respectively. From 2010 to 2014 she was working on several national and local architectural projects. Her research interest is mainly on lighting

Mohammadjavad Mahdavinejad At present, he is a Professor of Architecture and also the director of the Architecture Department of the Faculty of Art of Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran. The High-performance Architecture Laboratory was founded with the goal of developing thought-provoking action to shape the concept of outstanding architecture, including the concept of outstanding architecture, energy efficiency and intelligent energy consumption

received the B. Sc degree in electrical engineering from the Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, in 2002, the M. Sc degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran in 2005, and the Ph.D degree (with cum laude) from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science (EEMCS), Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, in 2011. From 2004 to 2007 he was working on the development of communication protocols for industrial automation. He is currently a guest researcher at the Delft University of Technology and a project leader at ASML, a world-class international company producing lithography machines. He is the author and co-author of many scientific publications, and referee of several prestige international journals

Abstract

Exterior lighting of buildings and their appearance at night is an important issue in architectural design. While the effect of natural daylight on the appearance of a building during the day is not completely under the control of the designer, exterior lighting at night is a design choice that can strongly effects the beauty of a building. The current research Delft University of Technology examined the effect of exterior lighting on the appearance of buildings at night using a questionnaire-based research methodology accompanied by in-depth statistical analysis of the results. The aspects addressed are how exterior lighting and its elements, such as luminous intensity (low vs. high intensity), colour diversity (single vs. multiple colour), lighting type (accent vs. uniform), and lighting state (harmonized vs. diversified), can affect the perception of the beauty of a building facade at night. The results confirm that exterior lighting of buildings substantially increases the beauty of the facades at night. The beauty of buildings increases with the use of single-colour accent lights in harmony with the facade and as the light intensity increases. On the other hand, the use of multi-colour or uniform lights with low intensity or not in harmony with the facade negatively impacts the beauty of the buildings. The results also indicate that light intensity and lighting types affect the perception of beauty of building facades more than colour diversity and lighting conditions.

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