Designers and procurement specialists should consider customer service quality when making decisions around lighting design, argues Paul Smith, Head of Specification Sales, Häfele UK…
Well-considered lighting designs and installations evoke different reactions in us; they can calm, motivate, inspire and even enliven our mood.
Lighting is also integral to helping us effectively achieve any number of functions from exercising and socialising, to working and relaxing.
When it comes to lighting in hotels, systems must be so advanced in their design that they can create the perfect conditions for all of our needs, on demand. As such, we must consider the practical elements of lighting design – where to position it and what type of lighting to use – as well as how the lighting system can complement a room’s aesthetics. For example, concealed switches can be installed into furniture, whether made out of wood, glass or stone, so they are hidden from view. Lighting can also combine with sound technology to give users an immersive experience.
Image credit: Häfele
Although lighting alone serves to illuminate a space, as part of a wider design scheme, layering different lighting can achieve even more. Accent lighting highlights specific features within a room, while spotlights focus the eyes on a specific area, emphasising interesting objects or acting as pathfinders. Task lighting – often in strip form – helps us use work areas for their main purpose, while ambient lighting can achieve a specific mood and make a space feel bigger or cosier. Essentially, layering lighting can better balance room dimensions, improve spatial awareness and highlight a room’s most important assets, becoming critical to how a space operates, as well as how it looks and feels.
So intrinsic is lighting to the enjoyment of guests’ visits to hotels, that it is essential to consider it at the very earliest stages of crafting a room’s blueprint and theme, rather than seeing it as a bolt on. However, achieving such an effective outcome requires the support of lighting specialists and tailored services that put lighting central to hotel design.
Image credit: Häfele
Häfele’s team of specification experts work closely with architects, contractors and hotel operators, helping to bring their lighting ambitions to life with a variety of expert services. Whether it’s a refit of an outdated scheme which aims to make long term time and cost savings, or a new development that is set across multiple locations over several years, the Häfele team will embed themselves into a customer’s vision and recommend the best products and services for their needs and budget.
Through the Lighting Design Service, hotel designers can submit room plans to the team of designers, who will, in turn, create bespoke lighting layouts on their behalf using the Loox and Nimbus lighting ranges. The team will work in partnership to understand the requirements of a space, creating a design which strikes a perfect balance between furniture lighting and other lighting elements, so they truly complement one another and put lighting at the centre of the hotel’s aesthetic.
The Lighting Design Service comes into its own when used in combination with Häfele to Order. Created to support those working on either higher volume projects or in spaces that require made-to-measure components, Häfele to Order allows hotel designers, planners and fit out teams to specify products to the exact size, quantity and finish. These are then cut, assembled, packaged, labelled and delivered to the requirements. By only purchasing precise quantities, product isn’t wasted and precious time is saved on site.
Whether room lighting is static or built into fitted furniture, the right layout, layering and placement can make the all important difference to how a space works. Häfele’s lighting and ordering service provision is designed to support every level of the hotel design supply chain, from the architect at initial consultation phase, to the installer delivering the fit out and, ultimately, the hotel operator who benefits from their space being a functional, effective place to work and reside.
Häfele UK is one of our Recommended Suppliers and regularly features in our Supplier News section of the website. If you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, please email Katy Phillips.
Main image credit: Häfele
