Application analysis of space types and design scope in LED lighting in shopping malls

　　Figure: The passageway is obviously a public area that needs to be commissioned for design; the shops on both sides will be handed over to the tenants for design. Therefore, similar to interior design, the parts that require lighting design are not as many as it seems in the figure.

　　In addition, shopping malls also have so-called standard space practices, such as standard toilets, elevator halls, etc. However, unlike the standard practices of hotel rooms, the space of the mall's standard practices accounts for a very small proportion of the overall space.

　　Therefore, according to the above conditions, the actual lighting design scope of the shopping mall accounts for about 20%-25% of the entire shopping mall space. Therefore, the actual design scope of the above 100,000 square meters shopping mall is between 20,000 and 25,000 square meters.

　　Communication and understanding - focus on three typical areas

　　Although department stores and shopping malls have certain differences in consumer experience positioning, volume, marketing concepts, etc., they can be roughly divided into three major areas in terms of space division. This is what should be clearly understood when doing lighting design:

　　1. Consumption area (shopping, dining, entertainment)

　　2. Traffic flow area (void area, elevator, elevator hall, corridor)

　　3. Service area (rest area, public toilet)

　　1. Consumption area (shopping, dining, entertainment)

　　The consumption area includes shopping, dining, entertainment and other areas. However, since dining and entertainment are generally tailored to the needs and styles of specific tenants and need to be considered separately, this part of the consumption area is mainly about the shopping area. It refers to all open counter areas or independent shops. Generally speaking, the lighting of this part is also subject to the characteristics and needs of each brand. In the early stage of design, because the brand to be used cannot be confirmed, the lighting design usually does not include this part of the design or only provides basic lighting. In the end, the overall lighting is negotiated by each brand and the management to increase or decrease the position and number of lamps according to their needs.

　　Of course, some open counters will directly use the existing lighting system, so the lighting design must be able to meet the needs of all products.

　　Figure: ANNA SUI's cosmetics brand store will highlight the dark tone effect, using black furnishings and dark red carpets to distinguish it. At first glance, it may seem a bit out of place with other bright stores, but shopping malls must provide a uniform lighting environment in public spaces, such as aisle illumination.

　　Figure: The well-known Dashidai Food Court has various personalized merchants with different requirements, such as Sichuan cuisine and Japanese cuisine, but the basic lighting in the court and the area where consumers sit down to eat still need common lighting solutions. It is　　important to note that due to the diversity of goods sold or introduced in the mall, all designs emphasize the overall effect as the main axis, and lighting design emphasizes the planning of the overall lighting system to achieve the consistency of the style of the entire mall. Independent and personalized designs will not and should not be made for each counter.

　　In addition, there has always been a slogan in the lighting industry called "see the light but not the lamp", but the author believes that sometimes a small part of the spill light in shopping mall lighting can have a certain stimulating effect on people's visual perception, and it is not always an absolutely bad thing.

　　The direct exposure of light sources may also be a direct design requirement. For example, in the sports goods area mainly for teenagers, the cold cathode tubes deliberately exposed on the ceiling give people a more direct visual contact, and the deliberately created "unrefined feeling" will also bring a more lively feeling to the space. These practices are neither good nor bad, right or wrong, and it all depends on the different design positioning.

　　Consumption areas are usually arranged around traffic lines. Therefore, reasonable traffic line arrangement is crucial for shopping malls.

　　2. Traffic flow area (void area, escalator, elevator hall, corridor)

　　As a place where people gather, the open area (usually the atrium of each level in plan view) not only expresses the style and positioning of the shopping mall, but also carries the important task of connecting the vertical traffic line gathering point and various spaces. In addition, this area is usually given the function of raising the space and creating a sense of volume. Some shopping malls can even introduce natural light if conditions permit, to provide customers with a more comfortable shopping environment.

　　Therefore, the lofted area is actually somewhat of a face, and its importance can be imagined.

　　One of the biggest features of the lofted area is that you can see everything about the sky, the ground, and the walls at a glance. The first part is the vertical facade formed by the floor and the handrails. Since this part has the function of enclosing space and is also the largest continuous vertical surface of the space at a glance, general interior design uses this part to enclose the characteristics of the space, and lighting often becomes an important medium for use in this part.

　　It can bring another kind of interest and visual experience to the space. It should be noted that this part is often connected with the vertical movement line played by the escalator, and the continuity of the escalator and this part should be considered at the same time.

　　Figure: The open atrium of Beijing Parkview Green Shopping Center. Daylight and artificial light clearly bring different feelings to consumers in the space. Daylight is open and transparent, while artificial light is soft and warm.　　Another feature of the open area is the ceiling design. For ceilings without natural light, designers often use certain means to strengthen this empty area, such as color, special shapes, etc. Of course, lighting also plays an important role at this time; most shopping malls with skylights often ignore the importance of skylights at night, and because the floors closest to the skylights are generally theaters or dining spaces, the skylights are not taken seriously and lighting is usually not deliberately considered for the skylights .

　　In fact, good ceiling lighting can make the entire space feel relatively bright to a certain extent and also make the entire loft area more complete, so the importance of skylight lighting cannot be ignored. However, it should be noted that since skylights are generally composed of curved glass structures, when considering skylight lighting, if the skylight structure needs to be illuminated from above, the bad feeling caused by the reflection of lamps on the skylight glass should be considered, especially the upward lighting trough is most likely to produce a bad visual experience.

　　Figure: The open area and vertical traffic flow.

　　Figure: Examples of the matching of ceiling shape and lighting in some lofted areas.

　　Corridors, stairs, and escalators are the connecting parts of horizontal and vertical traffic in various spaces. In addition to meeting the requirements of ceiling or wall shape, the lighting is mainly to meet the illumination requirements. However, their supporting roles must also be considered. They should not be too prominent and steal the limelight from the shops. The illumination requirement is about 100lx-250lx. However, it can be adjusted according to needs. The lighting design of this part should also take into account the impact of shop lighting on the moving line space. Many designers often worry that the entire aisle is not bright enough and fill the entire aisle with lamps when designing.

　　The higher the design requirements, the higher the lighting requirements

　　In addition, the needs of the ceiling shape must be fully considered when arranging the lights. This is more or less a design "restriction". For interior designers, the most taboo coordination is to directly arrange the lights in a checkerboard pattern without considering the relationship between the shape and the position of the lamps, for example, the curved ceiling is arranged with lights as if it were patched.

　　Figure: In our project, the shoe store designed by Zaha, all spotlights are arranged in the arc of the creative ceiling. For lamps, light distribution is particularly important.

　　The elevator lobby is another important part of vertical transportation. Customers often need to stay in this area. Therefore, a certain degree of changes can be made in the interior design or lighting design and the space can be appropriately enriched. However, unlike the hotel elevator lobby, the style should be simple and generous.

　　Figure: Horizontal traffic lines such as corridors.

　　3. Service area (rest area, public toilet)

　　Rest areas are divided into open, semi-open and closed spaces. They are mainly used for rest during shopping, and some also provide children's games. Generally speaking, the illumination can be the same as that of the aisle area, or it can be appropriately reduced to allow customers to relax more in this area.

　　In the early days, public toilets were mainly used to meet basic functions. However, as the grade of commercial buildings improved, a large number of decorative elements were added to the toilet space, and decorative lamps, light troughs, luminous walls or ceilings were widely used. It is no longer the practice of sharing a few downlights between several toilets.

　　Figure: Low illumination feels relaxing and private, while high illumination feels open and lively. The different psychological feelings brought by these lights also guide lighting designers on how to use light to render service areas.