Product Description

More than 35ew material, including more than 80 new color and black-and-white illustrations.
* Addresses new topics, such as light and health, ADA criteria and issues, value engineering, computer modeling techniques, and more.
* Covers major programming issues in lighting design and presents creative techniques for conceptualizing and visualizing lighted spaces.
* Describes a wide range of tools and methods for achieving desired lighting effects.
* Accompanying Web site offers additional material and resources.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #486698 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
"...a comprehensive desktop reference for lighting design professionals and students and is highly recommended..." -- Lighting, Research and Technology, Vol.34, No.2, 2002

"...a comprehensive desktop reference for lighting design professionals and students and is highly recommended..." (Lighting, Research and Technology, Vol.34, No.2, 2002)

"This is an excellent book." (LD+A, January 2003)

"This is an excellent book." -- LD+A, January 2003

From the Back Cover

The definitive, holistic guide to transforming space with light

There are no shortcuts to designing beautiful and effective architectural lighting. Lighting is both an art and a science that impacts occupants' health and well-being, the Earth's resources, a project's cost, and user satisfaction in the built environment. If you are serious about lighting, Architectural Lighting Design, Third Edition is the one source for all the technical skills, aesthetic fundamentals, and practical knowledge you need to design efficient, sustainable interior and exterior lighting for every type of building.

Expanding on the depth and breadth of previous editions, this Third Edition boasts more than one-quarter new material, including new discussions about sustainability, lighting details, and the assessment of manufacturers' product data.

This richly visual, easy-reference learning tool ramps up the wattage of its coverage with:

• More than 220 black-and-white photographs, which expand and improve the visual repertoire

• New, in-depth coverage of daylighting, controls, and lamping strategies for more sustainable lighting solutions

• An attractive revamped design and content structure for easier access

• Guidance on criteria, design concepts, and details

• An accompanying Web site with additional information and color application photos

About the Author

Gary Steffy, LC, FIALD, IESNA, is the principal designer and president of Gary Steffy Lighting Design Inc. He is past president of the International Association of Lighting Designers, was a founding director of the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions, and has served on technical and design committees of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, including the Technical Review Council. He is also a member of the United States National Committee of the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage. Steffy has taught at Michigan State University, The Pennsylvania State University, University of Michigan, and Wayne State University.

Customer Reviews

The best explanation of the lighting design process in print
This is an excellent book. The reasons are these: the process of lighting design is explained with a thoroughness and clarity unseen in other books; the most important points are always accompanied by examples taken from real projects-the author's own or others; the voice of the author is immediate, conversational, and easy to learn from; and, the balance between technical detail and the practical business of getting the (lighting) job done is admirably struck.

Steffy explains the lighting design process in its proper order and with the proper emphasis. He begins by defining the lighting design problem as one grounded in vision-explaining just enough of that fabulously complex process to make the designer aware of the mechanisms by which we visually apprehend the world. How that world is to be seen is defined by the programming phase of a project. In this long section, Steffy shows how psychology, architecture, the requirements of visual work, and many other factors are brought together to define the goals of the lighting project. Each of these aspects is discussed from the designer's perspective and accompanied by unambiguous examples. This first third of the book is probably its strongest section-by the author's design evidently, since it is far more common to plunge into "picking equipment," rather than pause and ruminate about the purposes and goals of lighting for a project.

But the very beginning of the book does not provide much technical underpinning; and so perhaps its only weakness is that the fundamentals are treated at the start with a brevity that may not sufficiently develop a readers' understanding. On the other hand, we are spared the usual inane drawings of candles and spheres, and the often-erroneous analogies trotted out to "explain" things.

The middle third of the book deals with the more technical issues of lighting design: schematic design, daylighting, lamps, luminaires, controls, and design tools. Steffy has chosen members of the architecture and design community for his audience. As such, mathematics has a useful but circumscribed role in the process, and detailed issues managed by electrical engineers are left to those registered professionals. Given that, the coverage is thorough and sufficiently detailed for the reader to leave the text with useful information. The long chapter on lamps is up to date and more than just a recitation of data and characteristics-rather, there is always advice given and experience shared about how different lamps can or should be used. The same can be said of the section devoted to luminaires.

The rest of the book is devoted to the process of getting the lighting design specified, purchased, on the job, and installed. This includes an elaborate explanation of equipment pricing, contract documents, and the practical matters of getting the right equipment to the project. There is no more extensive or thorough an explanation of these important aspects of lighting design in print.

One of the books strongest points is the abundance of examples; there is at least one used to clarify each important point. Absent are the usual hedges and unhelpful generalities about "design;" rather, one finds a bracing, thought-provoking specificity: "do this, not this;" and, marvelous to read, there is nothing imperious about this, for reasons are always given. The examples are particularly important and helpful in the long sections that explain programming and construction documents. In each of these two cases, Steffy offers specific and detailed examples from his own projects. The annotation is extensive and adds the detail that often brings home the point.

Steffy writes in a direct, conversational style that draws the reader into the topic. (The first word in his preface is "Yikes!") The effect is that of being in the presence of someone willing to help, willing to explain things, and who knows what they're doing. This is very important point, since it is a good bet that the book will be used most often for self-study. The modernity of the process by which we learn is acknowledged in the book: there is a continuous sprinkling of Internet addresses where one can find more information. The style, detailed examples, and mechanical layout of the material promote direct understanding. There are none of the usual unsupported recipes and vague injunctions. The directness of Steffy's conversation with the reader helps convey what he knows and how he has applied it to lighting design. And Steffy knows a great deal-he is an internationally recognized lighting designer.

Steffy's book can be recommended without reservation to those who are serious about learning the technology, craft, and process of lighting design-reading it is a close approximation to an extended conversation with a successful and seasoned expert who is willing and capable of sharing what he knows.

Depending on your background, may be all you need or not nearly enough
I was given this book as a gift just after I started working in the lighting industry, and at the time it gave me a very good overview of various lighting topics. The author spends a good deal of time on the "soft" issues of lighting design: those that tend to be more subjective and perception-based rather than technical.

If you are very new to lighting design, or if you come from an interior design background, I would recommend this book. Other volumes, such as "Lighting Engineering: Applied Calculations" and the IESNA handbook are more appropriate if you deal with the technical/engineering side.

A great reference material
For those looking for lighting basics that covers lamping, and the psychology of lighting, "Architectural Lighting Design" serves this purpose with flying colors. However if you are looking for creative solutions to lighting problems this is not the book. "ALD" though still has some helpful tid bits even for those more advanced in lighting design. The section on specifications is very helpful, and very complete, and the section on filling a space with light is an inteligent and thoughtful approach to lighting. Personally I would enjoy a section which covers a few areas that I felt got overlooked; Lighting controls, Green considerations, and the foot candle method, but overall it's good book to have in a person's library and might have answers to the questions you are looking for.