European practice in the integration of lighting,air conditioning and acoustics in offices

Abstract

Developments in the design of office buildings, particularly those of deep plan design, involve the lighting engineer in consideration of problems of radiation, air conditioning and acoustics. It is concluded from studies that illumination levels of 1,000 lux or more are desirable to provide good environmental conditions. At these high levels, careful attention must be paid to control of glare and to the design of the heating and air conditioning systems. These factors, together with noise control in large offices, are discussed in the first part of the paper. In the second part a number of different offices representative of those completed in the last few years or under construction in Europe are described. Some conclusions are drawn from experience gained in these buildings.