BDH203 Landscape Architecture

June 2014 Semester

Landscape Lighting
Introduction
External Landscape Lighting fundamentally, use to light up dark area for human usage & to extend
the hours of outdoor space usage.
External landscape Lighting sometimes called Outdoor Artificial Lighting
Lighting could illuminate a space, provide atmosphere and dramatize landscape via highlighting
contrast, emphasizing material/object, enhancing colours, blurring and redrawing spatial
boundaries.

Recent development of lighting technology allows various uses of lighting
extended lamp life due to improved built quality, material, and lamp technology / innovation
energy saving capability (without sacrifizing lighting effectivity),
low voltage rating of lighting equipment (better users safety reasons)
miniaturization technology

offers various effect or appearance on the building /landscape has made landscape lighting more
popular.
A garden of a building provides extra space that seldom used, especially at night. With landscape
lighting, the outdoor (with activities, such as guest entertainment, relaxing, swimming, dining, etc)
can be enjoyed more. It has becoming a lifestyle to its occupants.
With landscape lighting, the scenery of outdoor can also be enjoyed from indoors through
strategically placed windows of buildings.
Note: In landscape architecture, Luminaire is referred as lighting component that include wiring, housing,
bulbs and other related installation. Lighting is a layperson term that may be insufficient or inaccurate to
describe the components of lightings used in landscape works.


Naturalistic blend of landscape and subtlety of lighting


Over-the-top, the-more-the-merrier landscape lighting that should not be employed.
Types of landscape lighting
Lighting up a garden is not merely specifying the brightest lamp or positing the lamps in the garden.
It should be noted the suitability of various lamp types available in the market that caters for various
purpose and the lighting effect offered by the landscape lighting.
Different lighting should be suitably specific according to the intended location or the designed
purpose in the landscape scheme.

Type 1: Directional lightings (DL)
Type of light bollards, garden spike lamp, pole light, or lamp post. Recess uplight

From left to right : Bollard, spike lamp, pole light, recess uplight (for driveway or walkway)
Also known as Access lighting lightings that are used to guide and allow safe movement
along walkway, steps, entrances or bridges, driveway, etc (change of level, direction)
Mainly for practical purpose. (see IP rating table for lighting suitability)

Generally, they are the low voltage lighting type, with the purpose to light up or mark out a
path or low planting.

DL is important as it should not be distraction to users.

DL can be of fixed installation in hard pave floor, or spike mounted for versatility, depending
on the fixture.

As DL requires to follow circulation path, DL have been powered by solar cell, with energy
saving capability, for easy operation to reduce cumbersome electrical wiring.

Directional lighting important at places where levels change, or change of direction (left).
Apart being practical, lighting also can give dramatic effect to the landscape (right)

Underwater lighting (UL)

Type of light underwater light with stand, wall/pool bottom mount underwater light, fibre
optics lighting. (see IP rating table for lighting suitability).
Note: Fibre optics should not be confused over LED, even though both may show lighting
similarities. LED is electroluminesence based.


(Left to right) UL light with stand, underwater recessed lighting, fiber optic

To provide both aesthetics and safety lighting in waterfeature. Lighting can be coloured/
multi-coloured to dramatized waterfeature. UL package requires more complicated and often
bulky for safety reason, and due to more extreme operation condition*.

*Electrical power consumption is higher as light throw underwater deteriorates faster than in air. Light housing are
watertight, water pressure exertion, more robustly built, subject to wider range of thermal variation, corrosion
resistance property, heavy electrical insulation for safety reasons and serviceability.

Moving water, still water, aerated water, water jet, water mist, water ripples (from various
waterfeature types) have various visual effect to the installed UL.
Water clarity and pool receptacles colour would alter the lighting effect as well.

Area lighting
Type of light lamp post, tree mounted downlight
Provides even, light spread across a horizontal area. Lighting position can be from pillar top,
pole top, column. Lighting is diffused to maximize outward spread of light, without the
harshness or glare of flood lighting.

(Left to right) Lamp post, tree mounted light (screw on & strap), pillar or pole top


Flood lighting
Type of lighting: tall column/post mounted spread light. High position mounting is preferable.

Normally for security, a powerful floodlighting would replicate the effect of the sunlight, or
near daylight as possible esp. for court games/field games.

High brightness of the lighting likely to cause discomfort/blinding glare. Unsuitable for
landscape, as it would flat out the garden feature.

Light source is positioned high up and at a distance, to provide wide coverage of area under
guard.

Modern flood lighting incorporates built-in movement/laser detector to activate lighting when
intruder enters the coverage zone.


Effect lighting

Also know as ornamental lighting to be used for lighting up garden feature for visual
attraction or focus. This should be decided together with focal points in the garden.
Strictly for aesthetic purpose.

Uses indirect light effect to light up garden features, including planting, garden ornaments and
building/structure. Lights are bounced off from surfaces before light reaches the viewers.

Type of lighting: mostly low powered lighting fitted with accessories light shield, diffuser,
louvers, colour filters and small mountings/fixture with compact electrical components, or
remote components, as light fixtures are preferred to be hidden from view.

Light shield- to protect and guard len(s).
Diffuser light housing or len(s) to scatter light.
Louvers- an add-on item to re-direct or control the light throw direction.
Colour filter- coloured transparent disc that is used to alters or enhance the light
source.

LED and fibre optics are increasingly popular as effect lighting due to its versatility and their
programmable feature. Both light sources offer cool lighting (compared to the filamented or
incandescent lighting), hence they are kinder to softscape, without causing any burns.

Additional: String lighting, tape lighting
Also know as rope light. Aesthetic purpose, not practical.
The lighting is similar to strung-up Christmas lighting, but not designed for long term
outdoor application. Typically used to line edges of building to exaggerate the
form of a feature building, to highlight edges of waterfeature, traced or wrapped
around vertical structure plantings (such as tree branches, trunks, etc) for effect
purpose.
Rope lights mainly are of LED.








Identify your lighting need
Before designing the lighting system for the landscape, put some thought on the role of the lighting
would play in the use and the type of enjoyment to the parts of your landscape space.

By identifying the needs clearly, you would need to determine:-
the type of circuitry for the lighting.
position(s) of lighting control.
the type of control required.
the power consumption.
Serviceability and future upgradability.





















The Lighting effect
Downlighting

Light source is downward from a structure to provide a pool of light on a surface below for safety,
security or appearance lighting. It should be noted that the colour of the foliage of a plant involved
in the lighting effect the overall appearance.

Uplighting

The opposite to downlighting. This effect is the reverse of natural daylighting. Lighting placement
must be considered so that the effect is not awkward or it would create glare or distraction.
Uplighting is simpler that downlighting as electrical wiring can be tapped from the ground.

Grazing

where surface texture (such as brick wall, stone wall, tree barks, etc) is available, grazing can be
used by placing the uplighting close to the surface to create the recesses (shadow) and projection
(colour highlight).



Washing

where large surface(s) such as feature walls or building faade and grand entrance are provided with
even coverage of lighting. Coloured wall such as bright red can easily dramatized a garden. Colour
filter installed at the light can have the similar effect.

Crosslighting

The lighting effect that is created from placing the light source from the side of the object of
interest, or focal point (which ideally should be 3D with bass relief such as sculpture, pots). This
would emphasize the texture and form of the object of interest.

Spotlighting

Also known as accent lighting. This lighting uses a directional light source to emphasize individual
object of interest or focal points, such as plants. The object is lit but the background is of dark
background thus creating good contrast or highlight.



Mirroring

This lighting effect employs accent lighting on an object of interest from far side of a body of water
so that the image of the object of interest is mirrored. Light coloured object is best used to be
reflected on the water surface. The main lighting source should be strong enough so that it will
outlit by surrounding stray lights.

Silhouetting

The effect occurs when a dark image of an object of interest is being created when a light is used to
illuminate the background of the object of interest. The dark image has a distinct outline that makes
an attractive focal point. Feature unusual shaped pots, sculptures or highly ornamental plants are
good subjects.












Lighting, landscape and the character

(Reference - Raine, John (2005), Garden lighting, Design Inspiration and Techniques, Octopus Publishing Group Limited)



IP (International Protection) rating and the degree of protection description


Reference:
Raine, John (2005), Garden lighting, Design Inspiration and Techniques, Octopus Publishing Group Limited.
Zimmermann, Astrid (2008), Constructing Landscape. Materials, Techniques, Structural Components, Birkhauser.