The Colour, Light and Contrast Manual Designing and Managing Inclusive Built Environments

by Bright, Keith; Cook, Geoffrey

• ISBN13: 9781405195041
• ISBN10: 1405195045
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-29
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This practical book offers comprehensive guidance on how colour, light and contrast can be incorporated within buildings to enhance their usability. The book provides state-of-the-art, clear guidance as well as a valuable information source for busy professionals involved in the design or management of new and existing environments. The ways colour, light and contrast are used within built environments are critical in determining how people interact with the space, and how confident, safe, and secure they will feel when doing so. They also have a major influence on a person's sense of well-being and their ability to use the environment independently and without undue effort. Understanding how to use colour and contrast and how they are influenced by both natural and artificially lighting is vital for all those involved in the design and management of the environments and spaces we all use. In recent years there has been a considerable amount of work undertaken to further our understanding of how colour, light and contrast affect emotion and sensory abilities, and how they can assist or hinder people in their everyday lives. Other publications consider these issues individually but The Colour, Light & Contrast Manual: designing and managing inclusive built environments draws knowledge and information together to produce a unique, comprehensive and informative guide to how the three elements can work together to improve the design and management of environments for us all.

Author Biography

Keith Bright is Director of Keith Bright Consultants, an independent access consultancy.

Geoff Cook is a Reader in The School of Construction Management and Engineering at the University of Reading; runs the MSc in Inclusive Environments - Design and Management

Table of Contents

About the authors

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Colour, lighting and contrast in inclusive design

Inclusive design

The principles of inclusive design

The benefi ts of adopting an inclusive design approach

Inclusive design, legislation, regulations and British Standards

Legislation

Regulations

British Standards

Other guidance and regulations for specific environments

The role of lighting in the creation of an inclusive, accessible environment

The role of colour in the creation of an inclusive, accessible environment

Vision, hearing, colour and light

How people see colour and light

Processing information

Visual ability

The extent of blindness and partial sight

Classifying visual ability

Assessing visual acuity

Assessing fi eld of vision

Identifying 'functional' visual ability

Vision and visual fi eld loss

No visual fi eld loss

Central vision fi eld loss

Peripheral vision fi eld loss

General vision fi eld loss

Illustrating the effects

Hearing ability

Colour, lighting and hearing

Colour, lighting and communicating

Using lighting in an inclusive, accessible environment

Light

Light source - natural or daylight

Light source - artifi cial light

Incandescent lamps

Discharge lamps

Metal-halide lamps

Sodium lamps

Light-emitting diodes

Luminaires

Task lights

Comfort

Glare

Health and safety

Healthy lighting

Safety

Lighting for an emergency

Generally

Types of emergency lighting

Stand-by lighting

Escape-route lighting

Low-level way-guidance systems

Emergency signage

Lighting controls

Exterior lighting

Traffi c routes

Light pollution

Enhancing usability

Enhancing safety

Confi dence and security

Lighting provision

Designing lighting for an inclusive, accessible environment

General lighting

Artifi cial lighting

Natural or daylighting

Task lighting

Emergency lighting

Lighting controls

Exterior lighting

Colour and visual contrast in an inclusive, accessible environment

Colour and health

Colour and mood

Colour blindness

Colour in the built environment

Colour notation

The Commission internationale de l'éclairage (CIE) colour measurement systems

Natural Colour System

Colour Palette System

The Munsell Colour System

RAL system

Contrast

Light Refl ectance Value

Measuring LRV

BS 8493:2008

Specifying 'reasonable' contrast

Gathering information

Using differences in LRV effectively in practice

Colour and contrast in the built environment: practical issues for larger surfaces

Walls and ceilings

Floor fi nishes

Skirtings

Doors

Colour and contrast in the built environment: practical issues for features

Nosings

Handrails

Lifts

Sanitary facilities

Sockets, switches and controls

Obstacles and potential hazards

Case studies

The Roundhouse, Camden

The Arlington Arts Centre, Mary Hare, Newbury

The Carrington Building, The University of Reading

Résumé of six relevant research projects on colour, lighting and contrast

Using colour and contrast to improve the built environment for visually impaired people Project Rainbow

Background

Purpose

Project

Outcome

Deafness, design and communication in the built environment Project Crystal

Background

Project

Outcome

Emergency lighting and way-finding systems for visually impaired people in smoke-free and smoke-filled environments

Phase One

Background

Project

Outcome

Phase Two

Background

Project

Outcome

Colour and lighting design for intermodal transport environments

Background

Project

Outcome

Legibility and conspicuity of emergency escape-route signage (EERS) for normally sighted and visually impaired people

Background

Project

Outcome

Lighting in the homes of blind or partially sighted people

Background

Project

Outcome

References

Glossary of terms

Index

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