sustainable lighting design with faye robinson of treacle studio

the green & healthy places podcast focuses on wellbeing and sustainability in real estate and hospitality.

in episode 058 i’m in the UK talking to faye robinson from treacle studio, manchester - an independent architectural lighting consultancy providing bespoke lighting designs for interior & exterior spaces.

Topics include circular design, waste management, wellness lighting, recycling, standardization challenges for sustainable lighting fixtures, and more.

https://www.treaclestudio.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/treacle-studio-ltd/

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orluna circular design lighting solutions

waste management in lighting in buildings and interiors

Matt Morley

Let's jump in. I know you've got over a decade or 15 years plus experience in the lighting industry, we've had conversations privately in the past about sustainability within this sector. And I think it's, it's often a neglected corner of the overall real estate sustainability picture within an interior fit out or buildings and architecture.

So I'd love to hear your perspective, particularly on one area. Let's start with that around waste in lighting. So what are the main sources of waste during the fit-out process as it relates to lighting?

Faye Robinson

Yeah, I'd say definitely, kind of across the board, it's that whole kind of strip out process. Because it's all been based around a very linear approach. There's kind of a disconnect there.

So I see probably more in the office world with an entire lighting scheme removed from a building, it's stripping it right back to the core, the shell, and then effectively, putting everything new that goes in there. It's those missed opportunities, really, in terms of reusing, furniture, wall finishes, floor finishes, and then of course, luminaires.

So invariably, in most cases, I'd say, luminaires are removed. And that's it, you don't really get to hear about what happens beyond that.

recycling of lighting in real estate and interiors

Matt Morley

So we talk often about the idea of putting in LED lights as an initial step towards having a greener approach to lighting, but what opportunities do you see around recycling those luminaires, we've discussed the idea of waste being an issue, reuse one option, is there a recycling solution? Or what could be done in terms of creating luminaires that can be recycled?

Faye Robinson

Well, there's lots of ways that you can address it and the whole process. So you know, we've had since 2005, the WEEE directive (see here) - waste electrical and electronic equipment, recycling, the directive that basically reduces landfill, caused by those products.

So essentially, this kind of two levels of how this is approached, and the onus is generally on the manufacturer, to apply an amount to the product when you purchase it to cost in the recycling afterlife of that product.

Now, as with most kind of directives, it can get quite bureaucratic in terms of designating, you know, the process when you inherit the space who's responsible from that product if you've not necessarily selected yourself, but there are two bodies, in particular in the UK that I know of, that are working on making that process simpler.

So there's a bench called Lumi, calm, and there's also a bunch called Rico lights. Now, these are nonprofit organizations that basically help smooth that process out.

That's something that on a B2B or a B2C scenario, there's options there to help the process of recycling luminaires, when you have them on site, and you can't reuse them.

upcycling of lighting in real estate and interiors

And then there's also the next level, which is the remanufacturing approach. So it's a little crossover there, I think with the Luma con and Rico light, but also, there's kind of a collection of organizations that are popping up and to deal with or help solve that problem.

I know of there's a few things I think Rico do fall into that category, but then there's also a bunch called EGCG and lighting that also look at that and then several other manufacturers are offering a remanufacturing process.

I've done some stuff with TRICARE before and you know I can rattle quite a few off for you. But there's there are options there.

Orluna circualr design lighting

Circular economy design in real estate lighting and interiors

Matt Morley

Just to dig into that a little bit about the idea of re-manufacturing. So, then we can get into circular design, that was going to be my next question. But re manufacturing, that does imply that somehow we need to get that luminaire and those light fixtures all the way back to the manufacturer, from the time of the strip out, do you see that happening?

Faye Robinson

The lack of awareness is there but often the smaller companies have more agility, that are honing in on this. There are companies that will actually buy back the luminaires. So if you wanted to completely refit your space that will buy back the luminaire. And then they will, you know, update the the led the light source element and then resell that. So that's that's one option.

And then, of course, there is the full 360, where it goes back to the manufacturer. But obviously, what's inherent with that is that the labeling system has always been there on that luminaire, it could have been there for goodness knows how many years. So you need these companies and resources that fill in the gaps that would be missing otherwise.

Matt Morley

So in other words, said I had a target of 50 room, boutique hotel, and we're creating a hotel sustainability plan for them, half of the rooms are fitted out with LEDs, but there's some that clearly aren't. And so we start looking into this and we think okay, well, first of all, we need to take out some of these luminaires.

And they might be there for a decade or so who knows that rather than just putting that into a random white electrical goods recycling bin, there may be the opportunity to re manufacture those but how would we find out?

It's about identifying, first of all those those middlemen potentially those companies that can buy and refurbish essentially and resell, that will be something that wasn't on my radar.

Anticipating recycling needs in advance in a sustainability plan

Faye Robinson

Totally. I mean, it's kind of a whole mind shift, isn't it? Really, you're almost relying on a stocktake of what you've already got in the spaces to kind of preemptively lineup, you know, who you go to, what your options are.

And it's it gets that shift, isn't it from that kind of linear approach, we need to kind of, you know, these these all these different kind of elements that we now need to consider. And there are people now arriving on the scene that can that can kind of help out with that whole process.

Matt Morley

I think that's a really interesting idea. And I'm literally going through it at the moment whereby Facilities Management in a hotel team, there's a bunch of electrical goods that just somehow break down ended up possibly on the on the rubbish tip, we don't quite know, but the idea of working with and advising and providing those solutions to the FM team, so that they don't have that headache, because it can clearly see it's okay, what do we do or housekeeping sees a luminaire breaks Facilities Management come in, they take it away, it just ends up in the bin might just about end up in a recycling bin if we're lucky.

But if, for example, I or someone helping that team to think about these things, or to say, look, here are the solutions, X, Y and Z go into X bin or y bin or they can be called upon to come and take these things away. And therefore you think sometimes it's about making it as easy as possible, right?

So finding those companies, presented them to the client and in hoping that that then leads to you know, as as little waste as possible. So that's sort of almost a zero waste approach when it comes to, for example, the light fittings and luminaires.

interoperability of lighting fixtures in real estate interiors

How standardized and interoperable are most light fixtures and component parts? Because obviously, that circular idea, you know, one thing that is becoming increasingly apparent is around plastics. For example, when you know, on a plastics mix, if you have more than one type of plastic, there is no way that's ever getting recycled.

So single types of plastic like pet PE tea, that's actually not too bad in the sense that we can do something with it. We know it's just made of one type of plastic, it can go into that bin, it's it can be recycled, and it can be given a new life, it can at least stay in the circle.

Faye Robninson

There are bodies that have popped up, I think the main issue for the lighting industry at the moment, it's the speed, the LEDs have kind of progressed, in terms of the technology of the meno. It's smaller, brighter, you know, everybody's kind of plowed ahead.

As we've tried to shoehorn this technology into existing luminaires I'm saving time on an r&d element that maybe should have been considered a little bit more.

But people seized upon this, and I think really the cleanest way it's been done is potentially if you think of like domestic lamps, LED lamps that we've all now starting to use, that's the cleanest transition that's happened.

So it's quite good in terms of the more kind of architectural side of luminaires, because of that kind of speed that the LED technology has happened. And the fact we've shoehorned in this technology into existing shapes of luminaires, there's been a bit of a disconnect there, where you come to recycle, and you can't just pop the light source. So you've got to remove the whole luminaire because one isn't detachable from the other.

So, in particular, there's an organization called Saga, which is trying to standardize that kind of connectivity within luminaires, but also along the chain, there as well, in terms of how, you know, drivers then connect to the light source, and how that driver then connects to the controls side of things. So that kind of standardization and making the whole light and installation serviceable is what they're trying to work towards.

So there's a group of manufacturers and specialists involved in that. I'm keeping an eye on that and just seeing how that pans. pans out, really. And so I'd say that's the more prominent kind of a group that's dealing with this at the moment. And then obviously, what we've we've talked about before, in terms of the recycling side of things, the remanufacture is near the road,

standardization of sustainable lighting products

Matt Morley

I think you introduced quite a big idea there, it’s like what happened in the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, right? Where at some point, someone had to standardize screws, first of all, invent a screw, and then standardize them, just like they did with with railroad tracks across Europe in fact.

And we're still having issues with railroad tracks a day where the tracks themselves aren't. I think it's something between how the Chinese do it and how they do it in the Middle East or something they're trying to create a railroad between the two and it's almost as if there is a need to go through a second transformation for a greener economy, not along just standardization lines for its own sake to make building these products easier, but in terms of that circular design components, they need to be standardized almost for a different end not to make everyone's lives easier but interoperable and inter recyclable. That's a big idea to get one's head around as an industry.

Faye Robinson

Yeah, totally, you can understand it from a manufacturers point of view. You know, how do you define your product - it's a complete shift in mindset, and you can understand that it's going to be maybe smaller steps to start, but we need to pick up the pace a little bit, I think.

EU legislation to reduce waste from real estate and interiors

Matt Morley

I think they've just passed the new legislation around USB-C charging cables, really standardizing that from, I think it's 2025 onwards around how we're all what cables we are to buy and be allowed to use with our mobile phones. So that there's, there's less waste, because of all this, not just convenience, but also a huge amount of waste.

Apparently, when you look at the figures, they're small steps, as you say, there's perhaps an industry wide problem in your case.

Anyway, digging into some of your work and what you do around a case study or two that you can think of from your history of where you've been able to integrate a more circular approach, are there any examples from your past that you could describe to give us a sense of how it can be an opportunity within reach for lighting designers to use a bit more circular design principles?

Circular design principles in lighting examples

Faye Robinson

Totally, I mean, we're very fortunate at the moment within the industry, we've modeled it, it's actually launched in 2021. We've got the TM 66, circular economy, document technical memorandum. And, essentially, that's been written by people within the the lighting industry. And it's got some very useful kind of crib sheets that run alongside that.

So we have the questions, or we have prompts, basically, both on the manufacturing and design side to apply. And that's something that I will be or have been applying to projects. And not it's not just case. So I've done quite a bit of light art recently, and even with that kind of element, something that's a temporary installation, I'm thinking about how, once those luminaires have been used in that installation, what happens to them afterwards, is that thinking beyond your initial handover, you know, that you've got responsibility beyond that.

So one in particular, was when I worked on the Havelock woven scheme, which was a light art installation, and that basically used a lot of LED tape, effectively. And what's happened is I've worked with the integrator team on that, and we have basically donated that led to a scheme within Manchester, which is helping to rehome you know, what people without homes effectively the homeless, there's a scheme there. And that led is going into the that installation, you know, to light the spaces. So it's got a life beyond that initial installation.

I worked with them a team, they're a manufacturer effectively, who helped install this creation. And then we work together to try and find another route forward. You know, for the luminary, we examined whether we could reuse it in the fit outs of the actual space.

And then we also had a backup scenario as well, where it may not work necessarily with the interior scheme, because as you know, you have so many different people involved in that kind of process. It's generally a different team that you work with on a color scheme than it is on the fitout. side.

So we basically needed a plan B in case it didn't work with a scheme that was intended for the fit out. So yeah, we, we worked with various charities, and in Manchester, just to see what was you know, if anybody would be interested in taking up that and yet, they they are hand off.

sustainability in temporary lighting installations

Matt Morley

So there's one particularly on small scale, or rather short term projects, has to do with the scale more than the duration of a project. It's an almost, it's more acute, because clearly the end, the end of that at least, the first sort of circle of its life, is within sight. And so there's more of an onus on you to think about what happens afterwards, but you can see how it also connects with the idea of within a building, beginning to plan ahead for the end of the life of those luminaires. For when it comes to that you have a plan in place already.

So whether it's a short term or mid term, you know, where it's gonna go, you have a plan, of course, that might, it might not work out that way. You might need a plan B or Plan C, but you have at least a Plan A lined up for what happens when? Yeah, I like that. And are there particular brands that you favor, at the moment in terms of brands that are really on board with the idea of circular economy, circular design, and reducing waste?

lighting brands with a sustainable circular design concept

Faye Robinson

Yeah, totally. So I'm doing a lot of work at the moment with Orluna who I think really have set the standard in terms of the whole Circular Economy approach within luminaires. You know, they've got the whole, the labeling system ready, the return system set up and ready to go and boxes ticked, in terms of assessing them alongside that, that tm 66 document that I mentioned previously. But I'm also looking at, like smaller, more agile companies.

Another one called LumiAdd who are a small team actually using 3d printing to produce luminaires. Now, but at the core of that, you know, the material they're using is the, the corn or the sugar cane, is it PLA material that they use, which is can effectively, it's an industrial process, but it can be broken down and recycled effectively. So they were an interesting bunch now, but keep in mind those sugar, the cornstarch, it's effectively a plastic alternative, right?

And they are using mycelium for packaging. And there's a core theme running throughout this where they have, you know, a set number of components and each one's interchangeable. So you don't have to, completely change the whole luminaire, you can pop one part off and change it with another.

what is wellness lighting?

Matt Morley

I wanted to switch gears thinking more in terms of the people aspect, so the impact that lighting can have on us as occupants of a space, we've been doing some work together on a medical wellness spa in Knightsbridge in London, and that raised the question with our team around wellness lighting, and what exactly that entails.

Circadian lighting might be something that's already on people's radar, that 24 hour cycle. But you know, I'll be honest, I'll often go as far as suggesting that it needs to be a blue and white light spectrum during the day to energize and provide a space that is adapted for work and productivity, and then clearly after dark or in the evenings, you need something of a more amber color so that you're not disrupting sleep. But beyond that, I don't think there's much more I could talk to you about on that subject. So as an expert on this, I'm going to use the opportunity to, first of all dispel any myths and also to understand really what's going on here.

Faye Robinson

Yeah, totally, I think you've kind of hit the nail on the head there. For me, at the moment, the the technology that's been labeled circadian rhythm, and lighting is effectively tunable, dynamic, white light, and the research into its effects and applying it within a space and its effects on humans, you know, the use of the space is still relatively recent.

Interestingly, I was sat in a talk a couple of weeks ago, with a neuro-scientist who actually specializes in the circadian process and the effect of artificial lights on that process. And the kind of levels that were mentioned in terms of light output that actually trigger the circadian process are way higher than anything that we're producing with the technology that we currently have, that we're currently labeling as circadian lighting, so I think just take a step back on that.

Anything that is inside, you know, we're trying to mimic the natural world and make it more comfortable for us to be in. And I think it's, it is exactly that kind of mapping the natural progression and changes of the color appearance of light through the day, to enhance the the interior environment that we're in, rather than it's having a more immediate effect on our mood or energy levels per se.

But it definitely, you know, it does help that idea that things are changing around you, rather than it being a static color - that gives you a pleasant sense of time passing. I'd say more than anything else.

Interior Lighting and biophilic design

Matt Morley

Well, the idea of biophilic design, really is what you just described the idea of bringing the outside world in recreating a natural environment in our dense urban world and just trying to align it based on the principle of our lives and nature being a model upon which to sort of try to stick to as best we can, despite the fact that we might be for example, working long hours in a dense urban environment in a huge skyscraper building rather than outdoors in our back garden or what have you.

I think that's the way through rather than throwing it away and saying, Well, there's actually nothing to it or no real evidence behind it, if we can accept that daylight is such a powerful force on our sense of wellbeing, and all the goodness that can come from that, such as providing energy for photosynthesis in plants. In the same way, it clearly has an impact on how we feel in an indoor space. And so perhaps circadian lighting is really, if anything, just trying to align with that when there is limited natural light indoors.

energy efficient lighting in real estate and interiors

Now the other topic to touch on is energy efficiency - the idea that office buildings might have tunable lights, they might be adjusting their light intensity during the day, or frankly, not in 99% of the cases, I think most offices pretty much have an on and off. But what can be done in terms of the lighting system, perhaps not just the luminaire, but other sensors and controls, monitors and switches? What would a perfect case study looked like in terms of setting things up so that we're using energy in an efficient, optimal manner within, let's say, a large office building?

smart lighting technology

Faye Robinson

Yeah, I'd definitely say it's embracing smart tech, essentially, we were just talking about earlier that the idea that we're mimicking the outside inside, that wealth of technology it's adaptable, it learns, you can pretty much personalize the space that you have, for how you are using it. And doing that with multi sensors, monitoring carbon dioxide alongside, the natural light in the space relative to artificial lights, balancing things out, and really monitoring how spaces are used then allowing it to adapt, for example, of an evening when maybe the space isn't as full.

I mean, the whole kind of work space scenario is changing, or has changed. And, you know, officers aren't as busy as they used to be, why is the lighting always on when there's no one in there? It's trusting that tech to adjust and make those changes for you.

Matt Morley

So embracing the technology that's available to create lighting conditions that via an ongoing monitoring process can automatically adjust to usage. So I have the kind of density of how many people are in there and where they are, possibly at given times of day, you might imagine certain lighting at lunchtime, for example, being slightly different during the lunch break to, you know, mid morning and adapting to outside conditions If it's a dark, gloomy day, then no matter how much glazing you have in your building frontage, you're going to be in gray flat light inside. So on those days, it might need to compensate a bit more?

Faye Robinson

Oh, yeah, totally. And I think also, it's embracing the idea of having, you know, some further personalization where I think we've all know realize that we all like being in at different times of the day, we might all like working in slightly different locations or having a different feel in the environment that we're in.

combining overhead and task lighting for wellness

Matt Morley

That could presumably also be something as simple as a desk lamp or a task lamp so you adjust that to your personal settings is assuming that the overhead lighting isn't completely dominating everything if that was set slightly lower than you could also adjust your own immediate environment with a task lamp or a desk lamp.

Faye Robinson

Yeah, that's exactly what we need. And it what's very strange as we're a step behind how it was made may be approached in mainland Europe where you see much lower kind of ambient levels in the background and it's tough lighting everywhere. Yeah, it's been a bit of a bugbear for lighting designers for some time.

Matt Morley

Not a problem here in Barcelona. They have particular tastes in leaving lobby buildings, residential buildings, pretty much dark apart from one or two well chosen lamps in the reception entrance areas and it creates ambiance and mood that just speaks homeliness and comfort and, and it's incredibly inviting walking into a space that isn't lit with intense white overhead lighting.

How to use lighting in a healthy building plan

The Role of Light in a Healthy Building / Wellness Interior

Humans evolved over millions of years in outdoor environments, intimately in tune with nature and the regular cycle of sunlight and darkness. 

Today, many of us in urban environments seemingly spend the majority of our lives indoors, bringing with it the risk of a near total disconnection from this fundamental piece of evolutionary history. 

A healthy building strategy is designed to counter-balance this tendency, integrating concerns over energy-efficiency and occupant wellbeing as well as this biophilic (nature-inspired) lighting strategy. 

How does light in a health building impact wellbeing? Primarily the key data points are around productivity and concentration, energy levels, mood, and sleep quality. 

What lighting strategies does a healthy building consultant have at their disposal to positively impact the situation? 

In terms of space planning and interior architecture, we start with ensuring enhanced access to daylight not just around the perimeter of a floor plate but right through to its core. 

This is then combined with consideration for glare reduction to minimize the risk of daylight bouncing off screens and other surfaces, a visual distraction and source of low level anxiety. 

Thirdly, the implementation of circadian lighting and smart lighting systems in tune with the daily 24hr cycle help fill an interior with suitable tones of light according to the time of day, season and location. 

Finally, healthy building and wellness real estate certification systems such as WELL, LEED and BREEAM provide guidance via global benchmarks for wellbeing designers to use.

Healthy Lighting in Wellness Interiors

A carefully considered lighting plan is a fundamental concept for a healthy indoor environment nowadays - whether its purpose is for learning, working, healing, or sleeping.

Circadian lighting strategies and the incorporation of daylight both seek to align occupants to their natural rhythms, while considerations such as glare reduction are essential when designing more specific lighting needs. Lastly, and arguably most importantly, the formation of a lighting plan is key to consider all design possibilities and optimize positive health impacts. 

Connecting building occupants to their innate rhythms and environments, a trend within the world of biophilic design and its near cousin, healthy design has been shown to provide numerous health benefits, and can be achieved through the incorporation of healthy lighting design. 

As with many healthy building strategies, a holistic design approach that finds ways to incorporate nature-inspired principles to connect us with the natural world tend to bring the greatest rewards in wellbeing terms. 

How does a wellbeing designer leverage Daylight in a healthy building?

Natural daylight is one of the most important elements in green building interiors, an essential building block of health and wellness interior design”. 

In addition to synchronizing us with our circadian rhythms, natural light has been found to promote an improvement in mood, alertness, concentration, and faster cognitive processing (Determan).

For academic learning or professional work environments, natural light has been proven in numerous studies to reduce absenteeism, increase job satisfaction and productivity, and even increase student test scores (Kellert). 

Daylight has also been shown to increase patient recovery times, which from a healthcare perspective can provide a multitude of other indirect benefits (Taddonio). 

In addition, one study showed that indoor spaces with daylighting contained fewer bacteria than those without (WELL Building  Standard).

Daylight can be incorporated into a healthy building through strategies such as adequate windows, sidelights, and skylights, integrating illuminance and natural daily rhythms into a space. 

In addition to solely the volume and intensity of light being brought into a space, when incorporating windows, considerations such as the quality of external views also matter, and indeed whether the windows are operable. 

Natural landscapes or views onto internal gardens provide additional biophilic benefits, while operable windows can provide natural ventilation advantages.

How does wellness architecture reduce Glare Reduction in a healthy building?

Other light-based considerations in a healthy interior include the control of surface glare, which can increase the visual experience of occupants in a space.

Glare is essentially the excessive brightness of light, which can occur from the source directly, through reflection off other surfaces, or from extreme lighting contrasts in a space (WELL). 

In general, glare can cause visual discomfort such as headaches and eye fatigue, even leading to migraines if not properly monitored (WELL). 

The source of light, lighting control (such as dimming capabilities), surface reflectivity, and general lighting layout should be considered to reduce the negative impacts of glare. In addition, shading and overhangs can be used to offset some lighting contrasts. 

When natural light is incorporated into spaces, extreme illuminance contrasts can occur, so it is important for wellness architects to regulate the amount and location of light that enters a space to ensure the most harmonious lighting strategies.

What is Circadian Lighting in a healthy building?

The potential benefits of circadian lighting are considerable, making this type of lighting an increasingly common feature in wellness real estate and wellbeing interior design projects around the world. Circadian rhythm lighting systems are strategically designed to positively affect our health, alertness and productivity through the regulation of light tone and intensity during each 24hr cycle.

When our circadian rhythms are disrupted, most commonly from exposure to bright light after dark or insufficient illumination during the day, mental wellbeing issues such as sleep disruption and low levels of anxiety can easily arise (WELL).

Circadian lighting is an innovative new trend within the world of healthy design that follows the circadian rhythm - something like a 24-hour internal clock.

These lighting systems are designed to reflect nature’s daily light cycle, prompting periods of mental alertness in the morning and afternoon with light from the blue-white end of the spectrum, before slowly fading into amber hues in the evenings and again in the early mornings.

The idea is to reduce the disruptive effects from artificial light on our body’s natural rhythms through smart, multi-sensory lighting design. Factors such as the duration, timing, and hue of light exposure are important to achieve natural, circadian light quality and improve occupant wellbeing.

How to use a Lighting Plan in a healthy indoor environment project?

As alluded to previously, the various strategies of healthy lighting are inevitably intertwined, and therefore must be considered in one cohesive lighting strategy for wellbeing interiors and healthy buildings. 

For example, daylighting incorporation is essentially a “free” way to integrate circadian lighting in a space, yet without proper glare control it can cause visual discomfort for occupants. Because of scenarios such as these, it is important to incorporate a complete lighting plan to ensure harmony between the various strategies. This plan should incorporate occupant use of the space according to each zone, as well as the type of task in question.

The creation of a thoughtful operations schedule and lighting layout in the design stage is a necessary approach to consider all stakeholders and increase occupant health and comfort. 

When daylight, electric light, color, space use, and the characteristics of building users are considered together, we can maximize healthy building occupant wellbeing. As with any design strategy, an integrated cross-departmental approach is essential for success.

Healthy Building Certification benchmarks on lighting

Certification systems such as LEED and WELL provide detailed guidance on wellness lighting strategies. LEED has several credits on the topic, while WELL contains an entire “Light” concept that investigates more specific strategies. 

LEED contains an Interior Lighting credit, which focuses on glare and lighting control, and mentions factors such as color rendering and surface reflectivity (LEED). In addition, there is a credit focused on Daylight which mentions the importance of circadian rhythms, connection to the outdoors, and the energy reducing environmental benefits of daylight, as with most all LEED credits.

WELL contains a plethora of information on the subject of light, going in depth on all aspects of healthy lighting strategies. All categories mentioned above (circadian lighting, daylight, glare reduction, and lighting plan) are included in WELL credits, as well as several other more specific distinguishing factors.

See the WELL “Light” concept here for more information.

When considering how to incorporate healthy lighting into a space, LEED and WELL both provide research-based solutions that can act as a guide for lighting design. 

Sources

Determan, Jim, et al. “THE IMPACT OF BIOPHILIC LEARNING SPACES ON STUDENT SUCCESS.” Oct. 2019. 

Taddonio. “Energy-Efficient Hospital Lighting Strategies Pay Off Quickly.” 2011.
LEED Credit Library: Indoor Environmental Quality

https://www.usgbc.org/credits?Category=%22Indoor+environmental+quality%22

WELL: Lighting Concept

https://v2.wellcertified.com/en/v2.1/light

Benefits of Biophilic Design in Schools: From Nurseries to Universities — Wellness Design Consultants

Nurseries, schools and universities can leverage healthy building strategies to facilitate learning - here we cover the role of biophilic design, healthy materials, indoor air quality, light and restorative spaces

How can wellbeing design be used in schools?

The cultivation of a healthy learning environment goes well beyond curriculum, teaching staff, physical activity and the canteen menu - by implementing evidence-based design inspired by biophilia and healthybuildingprinciples, we can create educational spaces maximized for learning and happiness. Biophilic design can significantly improve emotional well-being by reducing stress levels and promoting overall mental health. Incorporating natural elements such as plants, water, and natural light into educational spaces is crucial for enhancing student performance and well-being.

How do we do this? By leveraging the latest thinking around healthy materials, indoor air quality, light and set pieces known as ‘restorative spaces‘.

Children are especially sensitive to **environment

Using Healthy Materials in educational environments

If no expertise on sustainable, non-toxic, and natural materials is delivered to a project team during the design phase, materials can find their way into an interior that will negatively impact the health of building occupants.

This happens primarily through off-gassing of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and the emission of toxic chemicals into the air through the processes of natural

sources of pollutants in nursery and school buildings

Unhealthy materials have the potential to increase indoor air pollutants, which have been found to decrease cognitive functioning and therefore diminish student productivity. The hotspots for such issues tend to be insulation materials, flooring, paints, adhesives and furniture.

We focus on the internal make-up of building materials and their health impacts, a research process facilitated by Health Product Declarations (HPDs) that provide a clear, concise overview of a product's ingredients.

Deploying a Healthy Materials strategy in a nursery, school or university can:

• Reduce negative health impacts from toxic chemicals

• Improve indoor air quality

• Reduce symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome

Paul Chevalier School, France - an example of a healthy learning environment using biophilic design

Enhanced Indoor Air Quality in nurseries, schools, universities

Indoor air quality has a tangible impact on human performance and if not properly established, maintained and monitored, can negatively impact learning and productivity

After steps have been taken to reduce pollutants coming from materials and surfaces in a space (see above), proper cleaning and ventilation practices should be incorporated to maintain good air quality.

Numerous studies have linked cognitive success, absenteeism rates and Sick Building Syndrome symptoms to indoor air quality and ventilation rates (see here).

Ventilation and indoor air quality

Higher ventilation rates are associated with lower rates of absenteeism and Sick Building Syndrome symptoms as well as improvements in test scores, while poor ventilation rates were found to decrease attention and increase school days missed.

One study showed that higher ventilation rates led to 1.6 fewer days missed, while another demonstrated that students had higher scores on math, reading and science tests when the classrooms were properly ventilated (Allen / see sources below). 

In summary, deploying an enhanced indoor air quality plan in a nursery, school or university can:

• Increase attention rates

• Reduce Sick Building Syndrome symptoms

• Decrease absenteeism

• Improve student test scores / cognitive function

The importance of lighting design in nursery, school and university settings

Consideration around natural light as well as electric lighting solutions is an important factor in creating a healthy indoor environment for learning, both for its biophilia benefits and added focus through details such as task lighting solutions. Incorporating ample natural light in educational settings enhances student performance, well-being, and productivity. Maximizing natural light can create a bright and inviting atmosphere, improve overall mental, physical, and emotional health, and contribute to energy efficiency and ecological sustainability.

Daylight and biophilia

Daylight connects students to the natural world, fostering a closer connection with nature. Natural light has a positive impact on students' mental health by reducing stress and promoting emotional balance.

In addition, enhance exposure to natural light as part of a biophilia plan synchronizes us with our body’s circadian rhythms, which when optimized has been shown to increase worker performance (Allen / see sources below).

Task lighting (e.g. smaller format table lamps) is another tool to boost learning environments for activities such as reading or writing, which rely heavily on visual performance.

It was found that a group of third graders who had access to focus lighting for a year had a 36% increase in oral reading fluency, while a group without focus lighting had only a 17% increase (Allen / see sources below).

Circadian lighting

In addition, the type of artificial light has been proven to have an impact - a study found that blue-enriched light causes higher levels of concentration, alertness, and cognitive performance, as well as higher test scores for students (Allen / see below). 

In summary, such lighting strategies as part of a biophilia plan can:

• Improve student mood

• Increase learner alertness and concentration

• Increase student cognitive processing speed and performance

• Improve learner test scores

Restorative Spaces in nursery, school, university settings

Classroom design and orientation can be just as important as the elements that function within the space. The incorporation of small restorative spaces that have been deliberately created using the biophilic design concept for example can help relieve stress and mental fatigue amongst students, providing a modest mental refresh. 

WELL Certification and restorative space design

There are many ways to designarestorative space, and the WELL Building Standard (see more on that here) aims to provide guidance on what can be most successful, using its evidence-based design approach. While the creative design work still needs to come from us, leveraging research data and scientific rigour is a key part of the process in order to deliver tangible results once the space is completed.

Integrating outdoor spaces into school design can provide students with access to natural landscapes and green roofs, fostering sensory interaction with the environment.

According to the WELL ‘Mind’ concept, restorative spaces should include natural elements**/ biophilic design** and have thoughtful lighting, sound, thermal and material choices. In addition, an element of privacy and the inclusion of calming colors, textures and forms is beneficial for recharging and refocusing. See our Biofilico design example image above for this.

Simply creating a place of quiet and calm can have an impact on student performance. For example, a French study found that test scores decreased by 5.5 points for each 10 dB increase in noise levels above the average noise level (~50 dB) (Allen / see sources below).

Biophilic design not only supports mental health but also contributes to the physical health of students by reducing stress and promoting overall well-being.

Schools and learning environments can, if not designed thoughtfully using healthy interior design principles, cause low level stress for students and even increase mental fatigue, so the incorporation of places or respite and restoration are key to providing kids and students with a nourishing place to perform their best.

In summary, the integration of biophilic design in restorative spaces can:

• Relieve mental fatigue and stress

• Recharge and rejuvenate

• Promote increased learning and academic success

• Provide a nature connection

Biophilic Design in learning environments such as nurseries and schools

Biophilic design has been shown to improve cognitive function through increased memory, concentration, creativity, and productivity—all key factors in learning environments. See more here.

A recent study looking at the impact of biophilic design on learning spaces found that the reduction in student stress was much greater in a biophilic classroom when compared with control. In addition, learning outcomes were greatly improved—math test score averages increased more than three times higher in the biophilic design classroom over a seven-month period.

Finally, 7.2% more of the students in the biophilic learning environment tested at grade level when compared with the control classroom (Determan). This study provides encouraging outcomes between biophilic design and improvements in student learning outcomes, wellbeing, and the potential for success.

In addition, the Attention Restoration Theory (ART) correlates increased nature exposure to a faster recovery from mental fatigue and stress (Jimenez).

The use of biophilic design to enhance learning environments connects to many of the strategies mentioned above—such as the incorporation of natural elements in restorative spaces or materials, and the use of daylighting to enhance learning capabilities. Occasionally these lines can blur but only because the biophilic design concept encompasses so many healthy design strategies within it.

In summary, biophilic design principles in learning environments can:

• Improve cognitive functioning and productivity

• Enhance creativity and memory

• Increase test scores and improve learning outcomes

• Reduce stress and provide restorative benefits

Overall, the atmosphere and personality of learning spaces has the potential to positively influence student performance. Healthy material choices, indoor air quality monitoring, lighting, and the incorporation of restorative spaces and biophilic design are tools available to us as healthy interior specialists, so we believe they can and should be deployed to full effect for this purpose!

SourcesAllen, Joseph G, and John D Macomber. Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity. Harvard University Press, 2020.

Barbiero, Giuseppe, et al. “Bracing Biophilia: When Biophilic Design Promotes Pupil’s Attentional Performance, Perceived Restorativeness and Affiliation with Nature.” Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2021,https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01903-1

Determan, Jim, et al. “THE IMPACT OF BIOPHILIC LEARNING SPACES ON STUDENT SUCCESS.” Oct. 2019.

Jimenez, Marcia P. et al. “Associations Between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18.9 (2021): 4790. Crossref. Web.