INTERIOR LIGHTING 10-91

FIG. 10-64. Views of good lighting installations for banks.

Museums and Art Galleries
Museums and art galleries are primarily places for objects to be dis-
played for study and appreciation. The illumination on vertical and
oblique planes may be of greater importance than that on the horizontal.
Color, line, proportion, and perspective, all of which are affected by light,
are particularly important in displays. Well-planned illumination is
based on a consideration of the artists' mediums, techniques, and objectives.
General design guidance is provided in Table 10-14. It is doubtful if
an art gallery can be designed to give satisfactory natural lighting during
much of the year and the future may see such structures designed for elec-
trical illumination only.
Hospitals
An operating room presents the most difficult lighting problem in a hos-
pital. Illumination in excess of 1,000 footcandles is desirable on the operat-
ing table; color is important; shadows and glare must be minimized; there
should be no appreciable addition of heat at or around the operating table.
A variety of installation plans have been developed. Recessed ceiling
reflectors, controlled by prismatic glass plates, may be arranged in a rec-
tangular or circular pattern around the table. With such an arrangement,
doctors and nurses are not likely to obscure the light to an extent that will
, handicap the operating surgeon. Suspended clusters of luminaires direct-
ing light at the table from many angles provide similar diffusion. Another
common method is to suspend over the table a large area reflector that con-
trols the light from a single lamp. Beam spread can be varied by focusing.
Flexible mounting permits aiming of the beam. (See Fig. 10-65.) Re-
gardless of the plan or luminaire selected, the over-all room brightness
pattern is important. A surgeon concentrates on a relatively small area
but at times his visual field will include parts of the room. Therefore,
the brightness of all areas in the room should be maintained uniform by
high-reflectance surfaces and general illumination. The brightness should
approach as closely as possible that at the operating table.