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Author: Jennifer Morlock School: UC Berkeley
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| Abstract: This case study takes a look at
visual comfort and lighting quality in three San Francisco Bay area museums; the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco,
and the University Art Museum in Berkeley. Because the human eye requires several minutes
to adjust to large changes in light levels, a lack of consideration for the visual comfort
of visitors on the part of a designer can handicap an individual's ability to view work on
display. Dramatic variations in light levels from exhibit to exhibit, or sharply
contrasting light levels between a bright entry and a dark gallery can be very disturbing,
and potentially even painful.Conversely, while uniform light throughout a space can create
comfortable viewing conditions, it can cause a viewer to lose interest. The challenge for
the lighting designer is to achieve a delicate balance between consideration of visual
comfort and creating interesting spaces. This project presents a quick evaluation of lighting quality in these three museums and compares several visitor's reported visual comfort on a typical path through some exhibit spaces. This study is limited to a brief analysis of a series of light level measurements and personal observations from several individuals during the month of November 1995. While this is not a comprehensive project, the results should give some insight into a typical visitor's experience in each of these three buildings. This paper addresses three main concerns: visual comfort when moving from space to space, visual comfort within a single space, and the use of light in architectural space-making. Evaluation of lighting conditions involved field measurement of illuminance and luminance as well as completion of a questionaire by six architecture students. Measurements and questionaire results are reported for each of the three buildings. The report also includes a written summary of lighting conditions, including sucesses and problems, in each museum. |
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All contents copyright (C) 1998. Vital Signs Project. All rights reserved. Created: 11/16/98 |
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Lighting and Visual Comfort in Three San Francisco Bay Area Museums
