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Lighting design research formally began at Parsons in 1987 with completion of the first Master thesis titled “Lighting Education in Schools of Architecture.” As home to the first graduate level degree of its type in the world, it is fitting that Parsons’ early lighting research interest focused on the status of the emerging field of architectural lighting education. In subsequent years and continuing today, Parsons has expanded our Lighting Design research agenda to have a more outward focus that includes broader topics that impact the field of lighting design as it is currently defined. More recently, Parsons’ lighting design research, including the master’s thesis work, addresses broader questions of the role of light in relation to other disciplines within the constructed environment and the potential of light and lighting design to respond to the most challenging questions facing our society and culture. Many of these questions lie in the arena of how humans respond to light, psychologically and physiologically, and are particularly important in this time of the pandemic. Similarly, exploring lighting technologies and metrics that enable designers to better interpret these responses help answer these questions.
The research included in this exhibition, including work in this and the interdisciplinary program section, represents 2020-2021 contributions to this broader body of lighting research today. The lighting design research arguments set forth were developed within a methodological framework of evidence-based design and “bias.” Starting with the development of a strong lighting design application foundation and followed by research consistent with scientific norms, the issues raised in this student work provide an insightful critique of current modes of lighting design practice. More broadly, this body of work indicates where the next generation proposes to situate light in response to the pressing questions of their time.
Evidence-Based Design (EBD) is defined as the process of basing decisions about the
built environment on credible research to achieve the best possible outcomes. In
practice, evidence-based design often relies on less than rigorous data, supposition,
and presumption. Preparation for the 2021 lighting thesis studio involved an effort
to understand the principles of evidence-based design through exploration of both
good and flawed examples of this type of design in the Thesis Prep course during the
fall, 2020. With this as a foundation, students began to explore “subthemes” in
evidenced-based design for their individual projects, such as Light and Well Being,
Social and Cultural Responsibility in Lighting, and Advanced Technologies and
Measures. Ultimately each student’s individual work generally fell into one of these
subcategories.
Studio work began with an emphasis on evidence-based design through
experimental research using a class research project—where the entire group
helped design an experiment, this year system in the Light and Energy Lab. In
parallel, students began to develop individual experimental projects of the student’s
particular interest. The group project provided a model for principles of
experimental design that could be carried out in parallel in the individual student
projects.
Student projects ranged from studies of the impact of light on perception, to
subjective responses to lighting and the influence of light on behavior, to an
evaluation of lighting metrics for color and lighting specification, to light in the
context of social responsibility. Although the Coronavirus interrupted us mid-
stream, the students persevered and although not entirely as planned, remarkably
completed excellent work. As design students may not conduct experimental
research as a part of their future work, understanding the principles of good
experimental design and developing a critical eye for true- evidence-based design
should enable them to better address cutting edge issues in lighting design in the
future and integrate this information into the lighting design process.
Evidence-Based Design (EBD) is defined as the process of basing decisions about the
built environment on credible research to achieve the best possible outcomes. In
practice, evidence-based design often relies on less than rigorous data, supposition,
and presumption. Preparation for the 2021 lighting thesis studio involved an effort
to understand the principles of evidence-based design through exploration of both
good and flawed examples of this type of design in the Thesis Prep course during the
fall, 2020. With this as a foundation, students began to explore “subthemes” in
evidenced-based design for their individual projects, such as Light and Well Being,
Social and Cultural Responsibility in Lighting, and Advanced Technologies and
Measures. Ultimately each student’s individual work generally fell into one of these
subcategories.
Studio work began with an emphasis on evidence-based design through
experimental research using a class research project—where the entire group
helped design an experiment, this year system in the Light and Energy Lab. In
parallel, students began to develop individual experimental projects of the student’s
particular interest. The group project provided a model for principles of
experimental design that could be carried out in parallel in the individual student
projects.
Student projects ranged from studies of the impact of light on perception, to
subjective responses to lighting and the influence of light on behavior, to an
evaluation of lighting metrics for color and lighting specification, to light in the
context of social responsibility. Although the Coronavirus interrupted us mid-
stream, the students persevered and although not entirely as planned, remarkably
completed excellent work. As design students may not conduct experimental
research as a part of their future work, understanding the principles of good
experimental design and developing a critical eye for true- evidence-based design
should enable them to better address cutting edge issues in lighting design in the
future and integrate this information into the lighting design process.
Committed to amplifying diverse voices, The New School offers more than a thousand public programs and events each year, providing fresh perspectives and unique learning opportunities. These lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and performances feature prominent and emerging artists, activists, and thought leaders.
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