Science Says Light Brighter!
Metropolis Magazine|April 2019

In Troy, New York, a leading research center studies the connection between light, color, and well-being.

Audrey Gray
Science Says Light Brighter!

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.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

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.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA METROPOLIS MAGAZINESe alt
No New Buildings
Metropolis Magazine

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.

time-read
7 mins  |
November/December 2019
The Circular Office
Metropolis Magazine

The Circular Office

Major manufacturers are exploring every avenue to close the loop on workplace furniture.

time-read
1 min  |
November/December 2019
Signs of Life
Metropolis Magazine

Signs of Life

Designers, curators, and entrepreneurs are scrambling to make sense of motherhood in a culture that’s often hostile to it.

time-read
7 mins  |
November/December 2019
Interspecies Ethic
Metropolis Magazine

Interspecies Ethic

In probing the relationship between humans and nature, two major exhibitions question the very foundations of design practice.

time-read
6 mins  |
November/December 2019
Building on Brand
Metropolis Magazine

Building on Brand

The Bauhaus turned 100 this year, and a crop of museum buildings sprang up for the celebration.

time-read
8 mins  |
November/December 2019
Building for Tomorrow, Today
Metropolis Magazine

Building for Tomorrow, Today

Radical change in the building industry is desperately needed. And it cannot happen without the building trades.

time-read
6 mins  |
November/December 2019
Strength from Within
Metropolis Magazine

Strength from Within

Maggie’s Centres, the service-focused cancer support network, eschews clinical design to arm patients in their fight for life.

time-read
5 mins  |
October 2019
Next-Level Living
Metropolis Magazine

Next-Level Living

The availability of attractive, hospitality-grade products on the market means everyday consumers can live the high life at home.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2019
Mi Casa, Su Casa
Metropolis Magazine

Mi Casa, Su Casa

Casa Perfect creates a memorable shopping experience in lavish private homes.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2019
Enter The Culinarium
Metropolis Magazine

Enter The Culinarium

AvroKO imagines the future of residential amenities—where convenience, comfort, and sustainability meet.

time-read
5 mins  |
October 2019