In Troy, New York, a leading research center studies the connection between light, color, and well-being.
Research scientist Mariana Figueiro prescribes light exposure the way a medical doctor might call for a round of high-powered antibiotics: in precise doses at specific times of day. To achieve optimal sleep and mood patterns, for instance, she advises going out into daylight for at least 30 minutes first thing in the morning. (She also prescribes dimming all light sources in the evening before finally shutting everything down overnight.) That’s the minimum protocol. If she were offered a little more control—and as director of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Lighting Research Center (LRC), she often is—Figueiro would have your retinas exposed to bright white light for a full two hours every morning. She believes that if lighting designers and architects prioritized this critical morning dosage, we’d all begin to feel a lot less off-kilter.
“The light in the built environment during the day is far too low, too dim,” Figueiro said one day this past winter as she walked me around her laboratory in Troy, New York, a few miles northeast of Albany. The LRC operates out of an old machinery facility built in the 1860s, before Edison and his bulb. Its huge windows and courtyard shafts capitalize on daylight, but Figueiro’s lab stays sheathed in blackout shades for accurate experimentation. We passed four refrigerators and a freezer, and when I asked what was inside, Figueiro laughed and opened one door to reveal dozens of chilled test tubes. “It’s a lot of blood and spit!” she said. (Urine too, I heard later.)
Denne historien er fra April 2019-utgaven av Metropolis Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra April 2019-utgaven av Metropolis Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
No New Buildings
The energy already embodied in the built environment is a precious unnatural resource. It’s time to start treating it like one.
The Circular Office
Major manufacturers are exploring every avenue to close the loop on workplace furniture.
Signs of Life
Designers, curators, and entrepreneurs are scrambling to make sense of motherhood in a culture that’s often hostile to it.
Interspecies Ethic
In probing the relationship between humans and nature, two major exhibitions question the very foundations of design practice.
Building on Brand
The Bauhaus turned 100 this year, and a crop of museum buildings sprang up for the celebration.
Building for Tomorrow, Today
Radical change in the building industry is desperately needed. And it cannot happen without the building trades.
Strength from Within
Maggie’s Centres, the service-focused cancer support network, eschews clinical design to arm patients in their fight for life.
Next-Level Living
The availability of attractive, hospitality-grade products on the market means everyday consumers can live the high life at home.
Mi Casa, Su Casa
Casa Perfect creates a memorable shopping experience in lavish private homes.
Enter The Culinarium
AvroKO imagines the future of residential amenities—where convenience, comfort, and sustainability meet.