Abstract

Utilization of lighting in buildings is an evolving topic of research. The definition of sustainable design now includes a concern for health as affected by indoor environmental quality. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), through the voluntary LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) credits allow 17 credits related to indoor environmental quality for Commercial Interiors (Version v3, 2009). In 2006, the Center for Building Performance and Diagnostic (CBPD) at Carnegie Mellon University took initiatives to expand the definition given by earlier LEED criteria. Among the seven CBPD Principles for the design of sustainable built environments, they recommened merging the “natural minimum resource conditioning solutions of the past (daylight, solar, heat and natural ventilation) with the innovative technologies of the present.” This paper will look at the quality of artificial light and its role in the support of human health. Interdisciplinary research in the fields of neurobiology, choronobiology, photobiology and epigenetics are linked to demonstrate the critical nature of artificial lighting in our indoor environment. Although lighting decisions have more recently been driven by concerns about energy consumption, the thesis presented here is that the field of interior design needs to understand how to balance the typical concerns of energy conservation of the planet with concern for optimizing human functioning and health. Energy consumption is important; however, if we make all our new lighting directives based solely on energy efficiency, we will again be victims of our shortsightedness. Our knowledge of the interrelatedness of light and human physiology can be used to add another directive to the seven principles of CPBD, and to bring balance to our priorities in lighting and design.