In today’s post, I will be talking about building façades lighting.
Façade of the building is among the most crucial elements of architectural design. That is because it creates the identity of the building. In present times, façade lighting is a wonderful way to show technology, the identity of the owners, branding, and much more.
There is a variety of façade lighting, making it dreadful and frustrating to choose one type. To help you make an informed decision, I have mentioned everything you need to know about building facades lighting.
What is Façade Lighting?
To understand what façade lighting is, you must first know what a façade is. The façade is the front side of the building. From an architectural point of view, facades are the vital element of the exterior design.
The façade lighting can be defined as a way to turn a boring building in an eye-catching one. When you effectively illuminate a building using façade lighting, it can be more aesthetically appealing and eye-catching if viewed from a distance. This type of lighting will help in accentuating the architecture of the building. Also, it will help in lighting the name or logo of the company.
Reasons to Use Building Facades Lighting
Here are some of the reasons for using building façade lights.
Façade lighting is a crucial element of the external appearance of a building. It is capable of highlighting the special features of the building. Using it, the building can be transformed into a landmark.
Using façade lighting, you can either make it ultra-modern or have classic lighting. For creating the most impact on viewers, dynamic colored LEDs are used. The façade can feature walls of water, video walls, or contour lighting. So, you can use it for marketing purposes.
With the help of high-contrast interaction between shadow and light, you can improve the brightness. Moreover, the dynamic light will have a lasting impression on people. Many businesses use façade lighting to emphasize the nocturnal effect of buildings. When a building is lit gracefully, it will stand out and even improve the surrounding areas. It is also useful for creating a great first impression and attract more customers and employees.
Important Considerations When Using Facade Lighting
When it comes to installing façade lighting, you need to consider plenty of things. This is a crucial aspect of the building if done wrong, it can make your building look ugly. Here are some things you must consider to make your building appealing.
Design of the Facade
Façade lighting can help deliver a wide range of lighting effects, from highlighting to enhancing the appeal of the façade. It can even completely transform the front of the building. So, when you are lighting the façade, you need to consider two factors: What to light and how to light it.
What Part to Light?
One of the first considerations is to know what to light. It is not essential to light up the whole façade. The designer must focus on lighting up the areas of the façade that can create the most impact. For this, identify the main viewpoints. The areas of façade that have the least viewing hurdles like other buildings and trees, might be the right choice. This is because it will provide maximum impact for the viewers.
When deciding the place of façade, you have to consider factors like are there any water bodies or peripheral lighting? This will help in choosing the right place on the façade for lighting. You must choose a dark place for installing lights and it must also be away from the street lighting. Besides this, you must also keep in mind that the façade light should not cause glare for the viewers.
The style of the façade should be focused on. It will help in deciding which windows, sunshades, columns, etc. to light.
How to Illuminate the Façade?
Another essential consideration is how to light the façade. First, you must understand the intent of illuminating the façade. It will help make an informed decision regarding lighting like what style of lighting will suffice or what mood you want to create.
When deciding how to light the façade of the building, you must consider what type of people it caters and what the building is known for. Also, you must focus on whether the building is a point of attraction or a landmark.
Another thing to pay attention to is the type of building. If the building is an office, it can have an extensive range style. A hotel or restaurant can be made more welcoming using the facades lighting and a retail space must have a celebrative style of lighting.
Since the façade lighting will accentuate the elements of the façade, it is advised to pay attention to the patterns, balance, mood, contrast, and unique style of the space.
There are some other things that you must focus on. Depending on the lighting project, some considerations are important than others.
- Position of lights
- Keep in mind the height of the building
- Pay attention to the material, color, texture, and reflectance of the façade
- Focus on the weight of the lights
- Width of the building
- Consider the lighting of the surrounding area
- Keep in mind to avoid pollution
- Type of façade
- Type of façade lighting
- The technique of lighting – flooding, washing, direct view, grazing, and many more.
Hence, façade lighting needs a sensitive and focused approach to improve the appearance of the building. It can enhance the appeal of the surrounding area. We hope this guide will help you choose the best building facades lighting.
If you are looking for quality façade lighting, Arc illuminations is an ideal choice. We have a wide range of lighting options for you to choose from. Our experts are always ready and willing to assist you. For a quote or more information, feel free to get in touch.
What do you think about façade lighting? Share your views in the comments!