Office lighting has to meet a wide range of requirements: in every project, designers face the challenge of combining regulatory specifications, economic objectives, structural conditions, and design ambitions in a single concept. To avoid assessing lighting quality solely by quantitative criteria such as illuminance or energy efficiency ratings, a conceptual model based on lighting functions is helpful. It detaches the lighting from the static volume of the space and shifts the focus to how a spatial situation is used—indoors, on the facade, and in the outdoor areas as well.
In this way, the function becomes clear: should an area of the space represent, guide, enable focused work, support open communication, or offer inspiration and variety? The model of lighting functions allows designers to respond flexibly to the widest variety of architectural conditions and working methods in an increasingly dynamic working environment, to compose lighting tasks in a modular way, and to scale areas of a space as needed. It is ideally suited as a basis for qualitative, perception-oriented lighting design. It makes sense for designers to ask themselves the following three questions at the start of every lighting project, for each functional area required:
- Why are we providing light? What corporate, architectural, and functional significance does the space or spatial zone have?
- What can light achieve? Which tasks in the office can be supported through lighting to make the best possible use of the space?
- What does the ideal lighting solution look like? Which individual lighting strategy and which types of lighting are suitable as a basis for the lighting design?
