Role of Critical Theory in Improving Understanding of Design Practice

The Role of Critical Theory in Improving Understanding of Design Practice in Relation to Sustainable Lighting Theory: The Case of Retail Stores
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The Role of Critical Theory in Improving Understanding of Design Practice in Relation to Sustainable Lighting Theory: The Case of Retail Stores
Introduction
The aim of this essay is to explore how critical and design theory can be utilized to improve the understanding of design practice. In particular, I will be exploring the interior lighting design of ECO D and the theory of sustainable lighting design. ECO D is a leading Australian shopping destination for luxury womenswear. Nezhad (2014) explored the theory of sustainable lighting design in his work titled Evidence-based Strategies for Sustainable Lighting Design in Grocery Stores. Lighting is debatably the most significant element in retail design. Retail luxury wear stores rely on interior lighting to make their products attractive and offer a pleasant shopping experience to customers. In particular, lighting substantially shapes how people experience the interior surrounding and react to specific tasks. Besides, lighting design can influence economic factors because of its help in plummeting the operating costs, enhancing workforce productivity, and surging customer satisfaction, resulting in net revenue increase. When lighting is not used sustainably, its benefits might not materialize. ECO D implemented a sustainable interior lighting that can assist in creating new designs for retail stores. The essay will be divided into three main sections: precedent studies, theory, and application. The first section, precedent studies will present past inquiries concerning sustainable lighting; hence, giving academic context of research. The second part, theory, will present the theory of sustainable lighting, focusing on economic, ecological, and social aspects, as highlighted in Nezhad’s (2014) research. The final section, application, will combine theory and the case of ECO D formulate a sustainable lighting design for retail stores.
Drawing upon the dependence of ecological, economic, and social sustainability from the Nezhad (2014), I will argue that a sustainable interior lighting for retail stores should meet managerial considerations and architectural constraints.
Precedent Studies
One of the key precedent studies selected for this project the ECO D retail lighting case study. LPA Lighting designed the interior lighting of ECO D. The project is located in 23 Church Street, Brighton Melbourne. I selected the interior lighting of the ECO D because I was interested in the manner in which sustainability issues have been addressed by LPA. The project has helped in reflecting my plans of sustainably designing interior spaces of retail businesses.
Description of the ECO D Interior Lighting
Considering the interior store orientation and layout, natural light floods the inside. The flooding of the natural light not only enables space to expand but also ensures that lighting is consistent throughout the store. To evoke ambience to occupants, a layered lighting approach has been adopted. The ceiling was removed to uncover the timber rafters above (See Fig 1). Following the removal of the ceiling, a suspended track system was utilized for the versatile lighting system (“ECO D.: Retail Lighitng Case Study,” n.d.). Additionally, the track system creates a directional line inside the store, drawing customers into the building.
Figure 1: ECO D Interior Lighting Design
Besides the flooding natural light, the Carl fitting was selected for the primary retail floor. The rationale for selecting the Carl fitting was its minimalist elegance and its ability to offer a focused beam of light to illuminate products (See Fig. 2). Moreover, the accent lighting in the modified joinery units offers an extra aspect to the design of ECO D as well as additional highlighting to the products(“ECO D.: Retail Lighitng Case Study,” n.d.). For crisp and dynamic color improvement, the Carl’s LED features and cylindrical shape features offer an optimal lighting experience.
Figure 2: Carl's cylindrical shape and LED features
The lighting designers also adopted a soft approach to the change rooms. In particular, Logan spot light offers this soft approach, allowing clients to see and experience products in the best possible light (See Fig. 3). The Logan fitting offers a versatile alternative to lighting since it can be mounted or suspended as a pendant. With the slim cylindrical shape, the Logan features a multi-angle rotation through a swivel with different reflector options and multiple chips (“ECO D.: Retail Lighitng Case Study,” n.d.) (See Fig. 3). The interior designer successfully allows customers to experience products by minimizing harsh overhead complementing and shadowing the natural curves of the body.
Figure 3: Logan Spotlight
Interior Lighting Design in Retail Stores
When it comes to retail stores, consumer behavior researchers often study socially sustainable lighting designs. The goal of consumer behavior inquiries is mainly to increase sales instead of creating a sustainable environment. For instance, Bellizzi and Hite’s (1992) study, published by the Journal of Psychology and Marketing, encourages the economical aspect of sustainability. As psychology and marketing researchers, Bellizzi and Hite (1992) would favor the economical dimension of sustainability, perceiving social and ecological sustainability as a trivial. From the available inquiries, retail stores frequently consider three factors when designing lighting, and they include managerial considerations, architectural constraints, and tasks performed. By considering these factors, retailers anticipate that ecological, social, and economic sustainability will be achieved.
Regarding the aspect of tasks, lighting acts as a means or tool used by the occupants of a building to perform their duties. In this case, without proper lighting, the occupants cannot perform their tasks effectively. According to Nezhad (2014), the occupants of the space can determine the tasks that achievable. Based on their determination of the tasks, they can make lighting design suggestions. Usually, in a retail store setting, the two main group of occupants include employees and customers. While customer occupants can be classified based on age and abilities, employees can vary depending on their size of the store. The choice of the light design in retail stores frequently targets the activities of the occupants. The design should enable customers to make purchases and improve their experience while shopping. For the employees, the design should facilitate them to perform their duties efficiently.
Different studies have been conducted to explore the effect of different lighting designs on consumers. For instance, a study conducted by Areni and Kim (1994) established that brighter lighting influenced shoppers to handle or examine more merchandize. Park and Farr (2007) also echoed similar findings by iterating that consumer are pleased and aroused specific lighting effects. The relationship between consumer behavior and lighting designs is a well-researched issue in literature. However, these studies do not frequently examine the relationship between profitability of retail stores and lighting designs.
In terms of architectural constraints, lighting designs should meet certain structural conditions to be effective or have meaningful impact. According to Nezhad (2014), the architectural constraints influencing the lighting designs in retail stores include location, climate, orientation, and latitude. Determining these issues prior to the implementation of lighting designs is critical in achieving the appropriate amount of daylight in spaces of stores. Without proper consideration of the architectural constraints, lighting designs can fail to be sustainable. Moreover, the design can fail to trigger beneficial consumer behavior. Subsequently, the three consideration of lighting design are related. Existing literature does not sufficiently address the relationship between architectural constraints (orientation, climate, and latitude) and consumer behavior in retail store, suggesting a potential research gap.
Finally, managerial considerations are crucial in defining and influencing architectural constraints and the tasks to be performed. The specific managerial considerations within a retail store include type and scale of the store, operational hours, and owner’s expectations. For example, stores operating at night might have different lighting designs from those operating during daytime. Likewise, a grocery store might not have the same lighting design as the chemist or electronic shop. The type of the store dictates the choice of lighting design, which henceforth determines the consumers’ behavior and profitability. Retail stores are similar to other businesses; therefore, profit and cost are important in all the aspect of the design. With the goal of maximizing profits, these stores might prefer to pursue a less costly approach of lighting their space, with much reliance on the natural sunlight as opposed to relying on electricity.
Theory/Academic Context
I have focused on the theory of sustainable interior lighting design as expounded by Nezhad (2014) in his dissertation titled Evidence-Based Strategies for Sustainable Lighting Design in Grocery Stores. Nezhad’s (2014) work contributes significantly to the field and practice of interior design by pinpointing sustainable issues from three dimensions: ecological, economic, and social. Each of these dimensions is discussed below.
Ecological Sustainability
Throughout the extant literature, the terms sustainability and ecological sustainability appear interchangeably. Researchers seem to consider them similar although they are different. One of the primary reasons for the interchangeableness is that sustainable ecological practices are conspicuous and easy to see due to their direct implications on the environment. The second reason for the interchangeableness is that the impacts are easier to quantify. These two reasons reveal whey environmental/ecological sustainability has been studied more frequently than other dimensions of sustainability in both practice and scholarly sources.
When it comes to studies focusing on ecological sustainability of lighting design, the existing literature frequently addresses the issue of energy use and the burning of fossil fuel. Researchers also agree on the definition of ecological sustainability as the maintenance and restoration of the composition, structure, and processes of ecosystems, including the diversity of animal communities and plants as well as the productive capability of the environmental systems. According to Nezhad (2014), energy use in retail stores has a direct association with the burning of fossil fuel to generate energy. The energy generation process has an effect on global warming and subsequently on carbon footprint.
Ecological studies have reported the impact of lighting on energy use. For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established that lighting alone uses about 6% of all the energy consumption. Moreover, about 18% of the electricity needed for air-conditioning emanates from the heat produced by lamps. In commercial buildings, such as retail stores, which utilize half of their electricity for lighting, the figures might even go higher than in residential buildings. When considering that fossil-based sources, which are non-renewable and finite, are used to generate electricity, the impact of lighting in commercial building becomes even more serious. The reliance on fossils to produce energy that is used in lighting does not only deplete resources but also lead to air pollution.
Social Sustainability
As one of the crucial elements for creating space, lighting designs in retail stores can promote social communication. Studies have been conducted to explore the relationship between lighting and social interaction. One particular study was conducted Evensen (2014), who found out that people interact more with the surrounding in light settings with high light ratios, with objects of social connotations becoming the main focal points. By contrast, people tend to interact more with each other in environments with low-level lighting.
Various researchers have outlined the impacts of sustainabi...