A follow up question: How much did you guys spend, and how big is your space?
On Sat, Mar 3, 2018 at 11:03 AM, Jerome Chang <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi. > > Another alternative is to use fluorescent lights, or their LED > equivalents, as Liz mentioned. I find them quite good to provide a general, > “ambient” light for the entire office. I had assumed that track lights > would cause some hot/cold spots, but it seems that even if they were to do > so, some people still prefer them in an office space setting. > > It’s creative to point these track lights against a wall or ceiling, > making them indirect lighting. However, I wonder if that effectively makes > them perform inefficiently...which then leads me back to fluorescent lights > that point down, but in an ambient not-hot/cold way. > > Different people do respond differently with 3500-4200K lights (btw, K = > Kelvin temperature), so it can be hit/miss. Above this range are usually > for clinical/hospital or warehouse environments; below for intimate, > residential or hospitality environments. > > Another spec to notice is CRI, which is color rendering index. Basically, > anything higher than 90 will allow you to see an object in its true color. > Sometimes you can have the right Kelvin temp, but a bad CRI...no good. > > I’ve found LED lights range from about $150-$300+ for 4-foot length > fixtures. If you get an 8’ length, you’ll spend less $ per lineal foot. > > As for designing lights in the office to be as comfortable as at home, I > do want to clarify the reason that office lights are typically “whiter” > than at home, which are typically “yellower,” is that you’re usually at > home in the early part of the day, or evenings, both of which the sun is > more yellow. You also associate homes during these times more for relaxing. > Offices are usually occupied in the daytime and for work, hence the > brighter and often whiter lighting. No choices are actually wrong - it can > often be a matter of personal taste. > > For proof that fluorescent lights can look good, see here: > https://flickr.com/photos/27479309@N03/sets/72157627309965154 > In this case, I mixed daylight and fluorescents. Also, this space was > designed before Title 24 regulations required LED’s. > > Finally, some might read these posts and interpret that LED’s are optional > - it’s a good point that they’re worth the upfront costs to avoid any > future operating/replacement costs. BUT, in some areas like California, > they’re required to comply to Title 24 regulations, not optional, for > nearly all cases. FYI. > > > Jerome Chang > Architect, founder > www.BLANKSPACES.com > > On Mar 1, 2018, at 10:55 AM, Alex Hillman <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Alrighty, here goes. This is going to cover a lot of what I learned, and > how we got lighting results we're really happy with. > > Again, it's basically impossible to give direct advice on how YOU should > budget without seeing the floorplans and even photos of the space itself. > > But here's what we did: > > These numbers are rough, but if I reverse engineer our lighting budget > from the overall project fit-out.... > > - We spent ~$7.50 per square foot on *all* of our electrical work, which > was almost entirely brand new (new wiring, power sockets, breaker panels, > lighting fixtures, switches....everything with power running through it was > basically brand new. > - Approx 25% of the electrical budget was lighting *fixtures**. *That > included tracks + LED track heads as our primary light source, accent > lighting, and special fixtures for inside our meeting rooms. So roughly > $1.80/square foot on light fixtures alone (this doesn't include > installation, wiring, switches, etc). YMMV, of course, but stacking this > number against other lighting upgrade projects I've seen and done...it > seems about right, plus/minus 10%. > > *Keep in mind, that's with all LED fixtures, which are often appear 2-3x > more $$$ up front but save a boatload in energy costs and you basically > never need to buy another bulb (which, in our old space, we spent several > hundred dollars a year on replacement bulbs for various non LED fixtures). * > > Now, I had a really hard time getting useful advice from folks who had > lots of experience with lighting for "traditional" offices. It seems like > lighting design for workspaces tends to be based around two assumptions: > > 1 - brighter is always better > 2 - desks and workspaces are bolted down and won't ever change location > > As a result, I kept noticing lighting design that was both inflexible, and > gave off what I can only describe as "office vibes." I'd never light my > home the way these offices are lit. Our goal is always to create spaces > that feel as *comfortable* as working from home...but are more > productive. > > The *best* design advice I got was from someone whose primary experience > wasn't office lighting design...but *theater* lighting design. He was > someone who really thought about how lighting impacts moods, how people > move through space, etc. He also had a lot of experience adapting this > knowledge to creative lighting installations, etc. He totally understood > what I was trying to achieve in terms of a lighting *experience* and that > we still needed lighting that would be good for working under. > > On the downside...he ended up being a pretty shitty, unreliable business > person, so I can't confidently recommend him. But his lighting advice was > really good. :) > > To maximize flexibility, the bulk of our primary lighting source are a > standard (white, in our case) 3 wire "h-style" track system, which we laid > out like this > <https://mltrk.io/link/https%3A%2F%2Fdangerouslyawesome.com%2Fsnaps%2FMonosnap_2018-03-01_13-02-36.png/8EHgnTaiJeihZ2wZCvqd>. > The diagram is a little tough to understand at if you don't know what > you're looking at, and there's one important piece that's missing > entirely, so here's the gist of our strategy: > > - We wanted to make it easy to turn all of the primary lights on/off > without having to walk across the entire space (our old location had lights > all over the place, turning them all on/off took a solid 5 mins of walking > around the space). > - We broke the tracks into "clusters" that would light each of the primary > work areas, and allow us to flexibly move the track heads around > - EVERYTHING ON DIMMERS. Some people like working in low light. Others > like it bright. Give yourself options. > - We used clusters of 3-5 white frosted glass pendant lights as "accent" > lighting in corners and other areas that were likely to be cozy little > lounge or breakout areas, like this > <https://mltrk.io/link/https%3A%2F%2Fdangerouslyawesome.com%2Fsnaps%2FIMG_9679.JPG/8EHgnTaiJeihZ2wZCvqd> > . > - We found this incredible fixture > <https://mltrk.io/link/https%3A%2F%2Finlity.en.alibaba.com%2Fproduct%2F60286423852-802892397%2Fgood_design_ultrathin_pendant_lights.html/8EHgnTaiJeihZ2wZCvqd> > for > inside our meeting rooms, phone rooms, really any room that was going to > have a closed door on it. It's sleek, throws *really* nice light in all > directions, and is easy to mount either nearly flush with a ceiling or, if > you have the height to support it, suspended at a comfortable height. We > get a ton of compliments on these fixtures. They're also only ~$120 US a > piece. The only downside (and it's a big one) is you have to order them in > minimum of 10 units, and they're coming directly from a supplier in China > so it's going to take a few weeks minimum AND shipping can get expensive. > Thankfully, I was ordering enough (and early enough) to make it worthwhile. > - Our original fit out used a direct-from-china track head as well, and I > like them just fine, but when we expanded we couldn't get more of the > fixtures so I had to look elsewhere and ended up finding a great dimmable > LED track fixture > <https://mltrk.io/link/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.totaltracklighting.com%2Fmaximus-led-track-light-white-cone-line-voltage-fixture-head-12watt-wide-flood-3-wire-h-style-dimmable.html/8EHgnTaiJeihZ2wZCvqd> > that, even with domestic shipping, cut our per-fixture cost *in half (*from > ~$60/head to around $30). > - When choosing color temperatures, I tried to get fixtures that were on > the cool end of warm, more like residential bulbs. 3000k-3500k tended to > give the best color, more feeling like natural sunlight without being too > "glowy." 4k seems to be more "popular" in office settings but in our tests > it always felt too cold and sharp. At the same time, I learned that these > numbers aren't super consistent across manufacturers. When possible, try to > get sample fixtures and test them in the real setting, mixed with whatever > natural light you're working with. > > *The big thing that's not obvious about the lighting plan is that over > half of our tracks are actually turned upside down, and point the fixture > at the ceiling. * > > Originally, we installed all of our track heads the way you're used to > seeing them: pointed down and at an angle. The trouble we hadn't calculated > was how often a light would end up pointed directly in somebody's face. We > tried tweaking track positions, but avoiding one person's eyes almost > always meant pointing them into someone else's eyes. > > *The other problem was that - and this might sound obvious but bear with > me - lights work best when they have something to reflect off of. * > > The "shadow" problems you mentioned are a symptom of direct lighting, > something we generally were trying to avoid because it's harsh (especially > with glossy computer screens). We wanted the space to appear bright, but > without work areas (desks, etc) feeling like they were under a spotlight. > > We tried filters and gels, too, but the most effective technique was to > make sure that our track fixtures were directed at a nearby surface: a > wall, a column, a beam, ductwork...any surface that would help distribute > the light to the surrounding areas. Like this example, in our gallery > space > <https://mltrk.io/link/https%3A%2F%2Fdangerouslyawesome.com%2Fsnaps%2FIMG_4063.JPG/8EHgnTaiJeihZ2wZCvqd>. > By pointing fixtures at the walls, the surrounding areas are cast in a very > comfortable indirect light. That seems to be the key. > > The *trouble* we ran into with our space was that in so much of our > space, the "walls" are just our windows to the outside world. They're great > for letting natural light in, but pointing lights at them was horrible. > They'd just shine the direct light back into someone's eyes, and do very > little to actually light the space. > > So in the rest of the space, we decided to flip the tracks upside down so > we could point the fixtures at our ceiling. Like this > <https://mltrk.io/link/https%3A%2F%2Fdangerouslyawesome.com%2Fsnaps%2FIMG_2194.JPG/8EHgnTaiJeihZ2wZCvqd> > . > > By treating our ceiling like another wall (we'd already painted it a > bright color to reflect the natural light), and now we're able to get the > same general effect of LOTS of bright but soft, indirect lighting covering > almost every area of workspace. Nobody has to work under a spotlight. > Success. > > When we expanded our space in October, we took the same approach of > flipping the tracks from the start. The electricians looked at us a little > funny when I asked for it, but after it was in even they commented how nice > it looked. > > Whew. That's a lot, and kind of all over the place. But hopefully it helps > you think through the decisions you need to make, which will include: > > 1 - how to light for experience, not just function > 2 - how to "layer" different fixtures to help indicate zones and uses > 3 - making use of your existing tracks (or adding more of them to give you > max flexibility) > 4 - choosing fixtures, and finding ways to save $$ > 5 - using your constraints > > If I can help more one-on-one, feel free to shoot me an email. :) > > -Alex > > > > > > > ------------------ > *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* > Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org > Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com > My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten > > On Wed, Feb 28, 2018 at 6:41 PM, Alex Hillman < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Jen - it'd also help to get an idea of what you're working with. Can you >> post a floorplan? Even better, a plan that shows where existing lights are? >> >> On Feb 28, 2018, 6:29 PM -0500, Jen Luby <[email protected]>, wrote: >> >> Hey all, my landlord is asking for a lighting plan so he can get a sense >> of budget for the buildout...but this is not my forte. What kind of lights >> do you guys use in a) open work areas and b) private offices? Currently >> there are a ton of track lights installed (it's a former gallery space) but >> from what I've read those can cast unpleasant shadows. >> >> (Alex, I put you in the subject because I think you worked on this for >> Indy Hall, although I didn't find any previous posts about. My apologies if >> I'm wrong.) >> >> Thanks! >> Jen Luby >> >> Dayhouse Coworking >> Highland Park, IL >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Coworking" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "Coworking" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/ > topic/coworking/rxCt5ADwXBM/unsubscribe. > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -------------------------------- Jennifer Dunham Luby [email protected] c: 847.207.0358 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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