LIGHTING SERIES: THE IMPORTANCE OF LIGHTING IN RESTAURANT DESIGN

This series will focus on the importance of lighting in restaurant design and how to effectively use light as a design element and tool.

In restaurants and hospitality settings there is a heightened attention to our sensory perceptions. How the food tastes, how loud the space is, and how the aroma of the grill smells. But perhaps most important in the design of the space is the light.

We see only light. How light is being used, introduced, reflected and absorbed is the palette of the designer. In this series we will share some of what we have learned in our practice of designing and lighting spaces.

Light layers. We believe the most successful designs employ multiple layers of light. There are many different lighting sources within our designs. We ask ourselves, what is each light source’s job? Why it is important to limit what each light source’s ‘job’ is. Some lights are meant to be seen and others only produce light. By limiting the role of each light layer, we more effectively achieve our design goals.

Lighting sources. What kind of light fixtures will produce what effect? Ambient, natural, accent, wash, feature are just a few. What kinds of lights will achieve these effects? There are hundreds of thousands of light fixtures and even more lamps within them.

Light color. Lighting sources vary greatly in their color spectrums. How does this impact the design? How does this change the perception of color and materials? The color of light, even subtle differences in white light, can impact the perception of food, impact our moods and impact our impressions of a space.

Lighting efficiencies – Energy regulations are transforming the lighting industry. New technologies in fixtures, daylighting, control systems and more efficient layouts all impact the life cycle costs for a design. What is the latest technology?