The Lighting Control Innovation Award was created in 2011 as part of the Illuminating Engineering Society’s Illumination Awards program, which recognizes professionalism, ingenuity and originality in lighting design. LCA is proud to sponsor the Lighting Control Innovation Award, which recognizes projects that exemplify the effective use of lighting controls in nonresidential applications.
This month, we will explore an innovative installation of lighting controls at Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center. Design by Arup. Photography by Kaister Permanente and Tom Bonner Photography. Lighting controls by Lutron Electronics and Crestron.
The lighting design for this new hospital focused on the quality of the patient experience, using light as a means to help enhance the wellness and comfort of both patients and their families. Upon first entering the facility, the lighting creates a colorful and inviting point of entry through the grand rotunda, signifying the important role light plays in health and happiness.
Daylight is a key feature in the design, which included daylight integration not only in patient rooms, but in many caregiving areas of the facility. The integration of daylight not only contributes to substantial energy savings, but also enhances occupants’ connections to the time of day, helping maintain their natural circadian rhythm.
Qualitatively reinforcing the circadian rhythm of patients with electric light was also a key aspect of enhancing the patient comfort and well-being. By using indirect lighting in patient rooms to achieve this effect, an integrated light source changes in color temperature automatically over the course of the day, allowing the light within the patient room to support the body’s natural response to cooler brighter light during the day, and warmer softer light at night. Patients and caretakers have individual controllability of the lighting, making this a very user-friendly system.
Soft luminous surfaces for exam lighting, and minimizing the use of downlights strives to enhance the visual comfort of all occupants. Moments of color changing and dynamic lighting abound, allow for new features to be discovered in each area of the hospital.
The entry rotunda utilizes full range of color and white light to provide a colorful entry experience, welcoming visitors.
In patient holding areas, natural daylight is admitted to enhance the connection to the outdoors for staff and patients alike.
Typical patient room corridors utilize linear indirect and direct lighting to provide task lighting at work stations, independently controlled from the ambient uplight.
The circadian lighting changes color temperature automatically over the course of the day. Cool white light mimics daylight during this photo taken during the day.
During the evening, the circadian lighting provides a warm and relaxing quality of light. Touchscreens at each door allow caretakers control without disturbing patients.
The lobbies and public areas throughout the hospital provide moments of lighting wonder, like this feature wall with dynamic lighting visual effects.
In the labor and delivery unit, colorful lighting responds to new births with colors of blue and pink to announce new arrivals.
Within the LDRP rooms, the comfort of expectant mothers and families are paramount, and the lighting responds to provide visual comfort and meet task criteria.
Within the NICU rooms, low-profile indirect/direct wall luminaires provide ambient light without glare, and natural daylight is controlled as needed with shades.
The meditation room provides soft ambient lighting with color changing capability, allowing for patients and visitors to relax in any color of light.
High-end trim, full-range dimming, and extensive user control contribute to extensive energy efficiency measures implemented for the project, as part of the LEED HC Gold target. Budget was carefully considered during design and construction to meet owner driven goals to control cost.
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