
Students tackle challenges and discover opportunities through human-centered lighting design
Assistant professor in the Department of Design, Mehdi Ghiai, Ph.D., AAIA, LEED AP BD+C, led a Daylighting Design workshop for graduate students this past fall semester. Participants included students from the College of Health & Human Sciences, College of Architecture, and the Department of Landscape Architecture. Students explored how important lighting design can—and should be—human-centered first and foremost.
Ghiai says he was inspired to create this workshop to demonstrate to students how daylighting can affect the human bodys mental health and well-being. This workshop showcased the practical benefits of daylighting techniques in interior design by incorporating innovative interior design standards.
“In addition to fundamentals for design with daylighting, the workshop provides the students with tools that can be applied for lighting design as well as daylight metrics that help them have a better understanding of daylighting criteria in LEED and WELL AP standards,” Ghiai said. “With this knowledge, students can apply the design strategies to enhance daylighting in their project and take this knowledge for their future career following the sustainability button lines.”
The students who took part in this workshop walked away with newfound knowledge of designing with daylight and incorporating sustainability into their designs. Ghiai says this is one of many examples of how the department is dedicated to student preparedness.
“Capturing the daylight and benefiting from it not only impacts building performance and energy efficiency but also affects occupants' health and well-being,” Ghiai said.
Using a hands-on approach to learning, the students gained a new understanding of the practicality of daylighting design and how it relates to the LEED and WELL AP frameworks. When students apply these daylighting strategies to their work, they can easily implement sustainable and energy-efficient interior design structures.
Thanks to the positive student feedback, Ghiai is also planning an electrical lighting design workshop in the spring utilizing DiaLux software.