Lighting Desig in Smart Cities, Architecture, Urban LED Lights

Lighting Smart Cities: LED Lights

Urban Planning, how to design successful spaces – Architectural Article

21 Sep 2017

Lighting Design for Smart Cities

Don’t leave lighting as an afterthought – engage a lighting designer before submitting for planning

Recently we’ve noticed that there are a considerable number of smart cities being either built or considered. Each time I look at the plans there seems to be a considerable lack of inclusion of lighting in the proposals. I make a desperate plea to the planners, architects, government departments and just about anybody who is involved with a smart scheme, to include a real lighting design within the overall plan.

Lighting a smart city is not just about having LED street lights. It’s far more than that. Getting the lighting right for a smart city or even an urban area needs careful planning and several important considerations need to be taken into account.

How is a scheme or design necessary smart? Well, here are some key factors that should be considered – if your engineering is not addressing these, your scheme will not be smart.

• How will the lighting make the area safer for users?
• What is the energy usage, how will it reduce the running costs and power consumption?
• What is the life span of the scheme, how long will it last?
• What are the environmental issues surrounding the area? Is it near the sea or other factors?
• Can the team servicing the installation be reduced i.e. using a lower level of manpower to save costs?
• If the scheme has colour or movement, how does this affect the surrounding area?
• What is the lighting style in the area? How could the lighting give the city identity and how does this interact with neighbouring areas?
• How does the lighting create a better environment for the residents? Making their lives better?
• How does the lighting scheme interact with other systems?

It’s time to bring these elements into the programme for any new and existing schemes. Don’t let the opportunity to produce an outstanding lighting scheme pass by and don’t let the lighting become just an afterthought. Residents will be disappointed and in the end retrofitting correct lighting within the smart city will become necessary.

Here at CWLD we know how to make the lighting right and can bring this expertise to you. Please add lighting design to the overall scheme and let it interact with the other disciplines.

Call us to get your lighting scheme right. In our opinion, it’s not being thought about and it really is crucial that it’s part of the overall schemes from the beginning.

Website: Nestoria