Lighting the reception area: quality over mere lux values
Use light to stage foyers in an inviting and prestigious way. After all, the first impression is formed the moment you enter the space.
A well-lit foyer conveys attitude, identity, and quality. Light creates orientation and guides visitors intuitively through the space. Light brings together function, mood, and architecture in a friendly invitation.
Think in terms of lighting qualities, not just lux values
Plan foyers in terms of lighting qualities! Standards provide important benchmarks for illuminance and uniformity. Yet you should also take qualitative criteria into account.
So complement your quantitative lighting design with qualitative criteria.
Bear in mind, however, that the safety of a foyer is governed by standards and accident prevention regulations, and that the specified illuminance levels must be maintained. Other visual tasks such as orientation, atmosphere, well-being, and identity call for your attention.
Consider the space from the perspective of perception. Imagine how visitors experience the entrance. First and foremost, they need orientation. But don't lose sight of the mood in the foyer either.
Use light deliberately to support visual tasks and meet psychological needs. This creates a pleasantly inviting feel-good atmosphere in the foyer that also meets the standards for safe use.
Comparing quantitative and qualitative lighting design
Qualitative lighting design brings together technology, design, and human perception in a coherent overall experience. Develop a perception-oriented lighting design.
Develop a perception-oriented design. Reveal the potential in terms of design, technology, and energy. Start by analysing the existing situation.
In the foyer, the reception, lounge areas, a daylight façade, and a staircase to the seminar rooms all come together. Create a sense of spaciousness through wallwashing on the wall opposite the entrance. Then plan quantitatively according to standards and function. Circulation areas require a horizontal illuminance of 100 lx with high uniformity. At the reception desk, at least 300 lx is required.
Use wide-beam LED downlights where uniform general lighting is called for. Choose between a quantitative, standard solution using downlights and a qualitative one with wallwashing and, for example, zoning at the tables.
With the standard solution, a regular grid lets you meet the standard values efficiently and thereby ensures good clarity. If you opt for the qualitative solution, the energy input is different.
Use the comparison as a basis for your design. It becomes clear where quantitative lighting delivers safety and compliance with standards. At the same time, you achieve a qualitative lighting design for orientation, atmosphere, and spatial quality.
Highlighting gathering points in the museum foyer with accent lighting
Highlight artworks, architectural elements, or special areas with light. This directs attention precisely to key points such as the info point or meeting points for guided tours.
Work with higher brightness or with a cool or warm colour temperature. Both means create contrasts and make objects clearly visible.
Use directional light. Spotlights and floodlights set precise accents that create focus and orientation within the space.
Stage the foyer areas atmospherically
Understanding accent lighting
Use accent lighting to highlight objects or architectural elements in a targeted way. Narrow beams of light draw attention to what matters most.
Use brightness to create a visual hierarchy, since the brightest surface in a room is also perceived as the most important. Separate the essential from the incidental.
With accent lighting you bring exhibits, reception areas, or distinctive architectural elements to the fore. Model shapes and surfaces. Directional light creates shadow, brilliance, and a sculptural effect. Work with clear contrasts. A brightness contrast of 1:10 makes a strong impression and sets objects apart clearly from their surroundings. In this way you create focus, orientation, and a clear hierarchy of perception within the space.
Using coloured accent lighting
Use colour temperature contrasts to differentiate subtly how objects appear within a space. This creates ambience, depth, and visual tension.
Use colour temperature contrasts to differentiate subtly how objects appear within a space. This creates ambience, depth, and visual tension.
Combine coloured accent lighting with coloured background lighting. This lets you influence how strongly an object stands out or recedes.
To do so, reduce the brightness in the background. This increases the colour saturation of the object in the foreground. Bear in mind, too, the spatial effect of colours. Blue tones tend to recede visually. Magenta feels more present and moves visually to the fore. In this way you use colour to control not only mood but also perception, depth, and the way the eye is guided.
Intensifying coloured lighting effects
Use coloured light to intensify lighting effects in a targeted way. Colour alters contrasts, ambience, and spatial perception. Work with strong colour contrasts. These increase the perceived brightness and make lighting effects more striking.
Use high brightness contrasts deliberately. This intensifies the colour effect and makes objects stand out more distinctly. Use reddish filter colours to create warm, lively impressions. Use cool, bluish light colours to create atmospheric depth. These bring distance, calm, and a distinctive mood to the space.
By using RGBW luminaires, brightness, and contrast, control the effect of light with precision.
Soft base brightness: welcoming guests with light in the foyer
Use light to make the space bright and welcoming. Accentuate reception and information desks deliberately with a higher brightness level to structure the space and guide attention purposefully.
Identify the vertical surfaces to create the impression of brightness. Illuminate the workstations and the people. Let this lighting design guide the flow of visitors intuitively.
Well-shielded luminaires ensure a high level of visual comfort for guests and staff alike. The result is a reception area that feels welcoming while conveying a prestigious presence.
Test the different light moods
Creating a homogeneous background with light
Use wallwashing to make reception areas bright and welcoming. An evenly lit rear wall creates a sense of calm, openness, and orientation.
Deploy wallwashers as recessed ceiling luminaires or mounted on the track. They illuminate even tall walls efficiently and evenly. Turn vertical surfaces into carriers of information. Logos, banners, or signage stand out clearly against brightly washed walls.
Emphasise the sense of space. Vertical lighting makes foyers appear more spacious. Use wallwashing in the rear areas of the room as well. In this way you support wayfinding and make the building intuitively legible.
Creating a homogeneous background with light
Use wallwashing to make reception areas bright and welcoming. An evenly illuminated rear wall creates a sense of calm, openness, and orientation.
Install wallwashers as recessed ceiling luminaires or on the track. They light even tall walls efficiently and evenly. Turn vertical surfaces into carriers of information. Logos, banners, or signs stand out clearly against brightly washed walls.
Emphasise the sense of space. Vertical lighting makes foyers appear more generous. Use wallwashing in the rear areas of the room as well. In this way you support wayfinding and make the building intuitively legible.
Accentuating objects with light
Use accent lighting purposefully to create hierarchies within the space. In this way you guide visitors' gaze and make it easier for them to find their bearings.
Use unobtrusive light sources to achieve this. Recessed ceiling spotlights are visually discreet and offer flexible aiming for changing exhibits or signage.
Work with directional light. It highlights individual eye-catchers such as wall objects with precision. You can also use it to accentuate entire areas. Information counters, meeting tables, or lounge zones gain greater presence in this way. The result is a clearly structured space that offers orientation and makes key points visible.
Creating zoned base brightness
Use light to give the space a clear, easily legible structure. For tall rooms, choose narrow light distributions to minimise the risk of glare. These luminaires are particularly well suited to glare-free horizontal general lighting.
Create light islands for seating areas within the space. Use more powerful spotlights or arrange them more densely to achieve this. Complement the general lighting selectively. Aimed spotlights or pendant luminaires, for example, are ideal for giving individual zones added emphasis.
Light circulation zones directly and with greater accentuation in relation to the overall spatial effect. This gives paths, transitions, and lounge areas more presence.
Object lighting for information counters and key exhibits: strengthening architectural identity
Give your visitors quick orientation in the foyer. Use light to clearly structure the reception counter, the paths, and the exhibits. Plan for unobtrusive recessed ceiling luminaires or small spotlights on tracks to separate the light source from the lighting effect.
Set targeted accents with directional spotlights, and plan flooding light distributions to illuminate large surfaces, objects, and exhibits. With wallwashers you emphasise the depth of the space.
Using differentiated lighting
Combine accent lighting, floodlights, and wallwashers to create a balanced lighting solution. This lets you support the different functional zones in the foyer in a targeted way.
Use accent lighting for the reception desk and displays. It guides the eye and creates clear hierarchies. Floodlights are ideal for larger objects or presentation areas, producing calm, even illumination.
Add wallwashers for vertical surfaces. They emphasise the depth of the space, improve orientation, and ensure a bright, welcoming atmosphere in the reception area.
Using very narrow accent lighting
Use recessed spotlights to stage exhibits with high contrast. Highlight individual objects distinctly from their surroundings. To do so, choose a spotlight with a very narrow beam and a light distribution of less than 10°. This tightly focused light guides the eye clearly to the exhibit.
At close range the light distribution appears very narrow, yet over greater distances in tall foyers this very narrow spot achieves the effect of a spot. Taking this into account results in precise accent lighting with a strong presence and a clear hierarchy of perception.
Focusing light with several narrow spotlights
Arrange the recessed spotlights in a circle above the reception desk. This creates a clear focus of light within the space.
Create a strong brightness contrast with the surroundings. The desk stands out clearly and is recognisable as a central point of contact. For rooms with a high ceiling, choose the »Narrow Spot« light distribution. The very narrow beam focuses the light precisely on the desk.
This way you illuminate only the reception area, avoid stray light, and create a clear hierarchy of perception.
Event lighting in the museum: staging receptions, galas, and celebrations with light
Stage the space — the location — for your guests with differentiated light. Atmospheric light and dynamic lighting scenes created through lighting control produce just the right atmosphere for a gala, reception, or celebration.
Combine accent lighting, wallwashing, cove lighting, and decorative light. Create private islands of communication around round tables and stage dance or music areas in a targeted way.
Stage the space
Balance the lighting during the day
Use wall lighting to balance the daylight in the room. This reduces the contrast with the bright window side and creates a pleasant sense of space.
Illuminate vertical surfaces evenly. Make the room feel more generous, calmer, and more balanced.
Use accent lighting deliberately over the tables. Brilliant light emphasises the table zones and creates a festive atmosphere – even during the day.
Staging the lighting in the evening
Bring the tables deliberately into the light. This creates intimate zones for conversation, encounters, and festive moments.
Use decorative lighting details
A cove lighting element in the ceiling and suspended luminaires, for instance, create an elegant ambience. Dim the wallwashing deliberately. The boundaries of the room remain subtly perceptible without drawing focus away from the tables. This approach preserves the balance within the space. The hall then feels atmospheric, but not dark.
Staging projections flexibly
Use gobo motifs to make your event themes visible. Your designed light becomes a medium for flexible communication within the space.
Use projections deliberately as a design element. Logos, patterns, or motifs create recognition and reinforce the atmosphere. With projections, you can quickly adapt the room to the occasion, mood, and dramaturgy of the event.
Staging coloured lighting
Use coloured light to make walls vivid and atmospheric. Combined with projections, you achieve a high-contrast spatial effect.
Use colour deliberately to set the mood. Complement the coloured wall lighting with neutral accent light. With good colour rendering, the tables remain brilliantly lit, and people, food, and decorations can be perceived true to life.
Ensure good colour rendering at the tables within the coloured surroundings so that food retains its true colour and stays appetising. In this way you combine a lively atmosphere with visual comfort, light quality, and appetising appeal.
You've completed the first lesson – keep it up!
The most important points
- 1Gobo projections and controllable lighting scenes allow the space to be quickly adapted to suit the theme and dramaturgy of each event.
- 2A higher brightness level at reception and information desks creates clear visual hierarchies and guides guests naturally to the right points of contact.
- 3Specialised light distributions such as "Oval Flood" enable highly efficient, precisely tailored illumination of elongated objects without any wasted spill light.
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