Light levels in public spaces – Full On or Full Off

Recently I have been on the road for work and spent a lot of time in hotels and conference centres. This also means a lot of cafes, restaurants and bars. Why does it seem modern interior design either wants you to function in an over lit space or in the dark?

I had a hotel room lit by a single 60w globe on a 3m ceiling. A colleague of mine fell up the stairs at a large big-brand hotel in Perth when she couldn’t see the brown carpet in the badly under-lit stairwell. This was a venue that had recently gone through a massive re-development.

I thought it might just be because I work in the Lighting industry that I notice these things, but a quick round table with some chums after work one day came to the same conclusion.

It also seems the more it costs to eat or stay somewhere the better the lighting is.

Admittedly as places are refitted and upgraded the lighting is getting better, but have a look around the next time you are out and about. I guarantee you will find examples of bad lighting in public spaces.