Mapping Light Atmosphere - Seen through the Danish interior Design magazine BO BEDRE

The goal of this paper is to provide information on Danish lighting trends. The agenda is to present a method for documenting sensory qualities of light, which are often described as subjective preferences and not documentable.

The impacts of light on the atmosphere are discussed against sociocultural aspects of light. By analysing 3,483 images in the Danish trend magazine BO BEDRE in the period 1961–2010, the study investigates the identifying marks of arranging artificial light in a horizontal tripartition of a space: High Lighting Zone (HIGH), Centre Lighting Zone (CENTRE) and Low Lighting Zone (LOW). The results show that a horizontal tripartition can be used to describe the various uses of light in Danish homes and, thereby, the sociocultural trends in residential lighting. In the living room, dining room, multifunctional rooms and rooms for sitting activities, lighting placement dominates in the CENTRE. The HIGH and CENTRE are normally used in rooms for standing activities. In rooms such as corridors and the bathroom, most light is arranged in the HIGH, and finally the LOW characterizes bedroom lighting.

Finally, the paper discusses results, advantages and disadvantages of the analysis and the method for collecting data.