A well-established architecture practice in Melbourne, Australia, Lovell Chen moved to new office space in 2013, living out their own commitment to bring new life to existing buildings. Nearly a decade later, and with the experience of the COVID pandemic fresh in their minds, directors Kai Chen and Peter Lovell felt the premise warranted a refurbishment focused on human centric needs and energy efficiency.
Before considering what luminaires might work best, Lovell Chen sought input from ERCO and local Channel Partner Buckford Illumination on defining their lighting objectives. ERCO’s AAA story for Human Centric Lighting provided the structure they needed:
A for Architecture. Occupying a generous 600sq m single floor, the open-plan space required definition and segmentation. Around the perimeter, purpose built bookshelves house the company’s pride and joy, a 20,000+ collection of books and magazines on architecture, design, heritage and planning. Chen describes the rare collection “work of art”, and it is an important resource for students, historians and professionals with any interest in the urban landscapes of Australia.
A for Activity. Within the studio, Lovell Chen staff work on intricate and complex projects, often referring to documents from different eras and sources. Good light with glare control and high visual comfort is critical.
A for Atmosphere. Generous windows bring natural light into play in the East Melbourne building. For both productivity and visual comfort, artificial light must work with, and not against, daylight. Clever lighting design allows artificial sources to replicate the outdoors across the space - even further from the windows - and adds comfort to human perception by equating colour temperatures.
Once the Lovell Chen lighting design goals were defined, Buckford Illumination director Darren Bucknall proposed the ERCO Iku family as a multi-purpose solution. Combining Iku and Iku Work recessed luminaires means aesthetic consistency plus functionality, with the added benefit of full Tunable White control.
Iku wallwashers line the perimeter of the space, capitalising on the prominent role vertical surfaces play in human perception, and drawing attention to the extensive book collection. Wallwashing improves the perception of brightness in comparison with illuminated horizontal surfaces. Especially in office environments vertical illumination contributes to greater visual comfort as bright backgrounds create a light effect that is pleasant for the eyes and prevents fatigue. As an incidental benefit, this light is also perfectly placed for people to browse titles, extract and review content even when the print is small or aged.
Iku Work downlights with Oval Flood distribution lenses then provide light exactly where it is needed for human activity - on work surfaces, including desks, meeting tables and seating areas.
Finally, every luminaire in the lighting design was programmed using Casambi Bluetooth, a changeable light solution spanning the entire office including meeting rooms, with finger-tip control from a handheld device. The solution takes into account individual preferences, and changes with the rhythm of the day adding a sense of calm without compromising light quality or quantity. Relaxing in his new space, Chen concludes, “ERCO and Buckford really collaborated to produce a technically adept solution.” Truly human centric lighting.
