Exterior Lighting
Lighting leads the new world of ‘media architecture’
By Paula Wallace
In Germany recently, a group of interested professionals came together from a diverse range of disciplines to talk about the phenomenon known as media architecture.
It can best be described as the meeting point of physical and digital space, but it could be argued that its highest aspirations are often not realised through installations which are purely commercial in intent. But this is beginning to change. There are a number of organisations working together to produce interesting media façades which feature content other than advertising.
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Guest Editorial
Challenges ahead for stadium lighting
By David Lewis
The sports stadium design process is a complicated affair and more so when it comes to lighting. Today’s large stadiums rely on television as an integral part of their business model. Getting the fans to the stadium is not enough – the whole financial viability relies on staging events that can also be televised. Of course other major factors are in play too – particularly advertising, sponsors and including [stadium] naming rights.
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Technical Feature
Visual triggers of migraine and headache
By Alex J Shepherd
Introduction
Many aspects of the environment can affect a person’s comfort and health, yet they do not appear to be adequately recognised by those who create the spaces in which we live and work. The environment can affect a person’s comfort and sense of well-being by, for example, having a negative impact on mood, arousal, stress, or the ability to concentrate. It can have more serious effects if it elicits discomfort or affects a person’s health by aggravating an existing medical condition such as migraine or epilepsy. This paper describes aspects of the environment that can trigger migraine and headache. It focuses on headaches triggered by light, lighting and visual stimuli and includes a study of the relative importance of these visual triggers compared to other known headache triggers. These issues are important because of the large number of people affected. Those involved in the design of the visual environment could improve the quality of life, and health, of many by avoiding environmental features, particularly visual features, which can trigger migraine and headache. .
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