Lighting design: essential in preventing light pollution

Can design protect dark skies? That question was posed by Paulina Villalobos and Javier Sayago, two experts in lighting design who work on the creation and consultancy of projects that comply with sustainable lighting.

“The best place in the world to talk about the value of the starry sky is from Chile,” stated Paulina Villalobos, architect, director of DIAV Lighting, and part of the board of the DarkSky Association. For this reason, after traveling the world specializing in lighting design, she returned to the country to promote solutions that respect the darkness of the night.

For Paulina, design must be understood as part of planning and as a tool to solve the lighting problems present in the country. “Design not only offers you a tangible value, but it also considers other variables related to the way space is experienced, the value a place has for people, and other aspects linked to culture and perception,” she explained.

The main design problems in Chile

Javier is a lighting designer and technical lighting assistant at the Office for the Protection of the Quality of the Northern Chilean Sky (OPCC). From his experience, he guides the industry in the north of the country. “It is easier to control public lighting and demand that the State ensures its projects comply with regulations. But regulating private entities is more complex. In La Serena and Coquimbo, for example, there are amateur sports complexes that generate very high light pollution. A poorly lit football field is one of the most polluting sources,” he warned.

Another problem he observes when designing a sustainable lighting project is the lack of knowledge about lighting among professionals responsible for industrial or construction projects. “There is a deficiency in universities, which should address this issue,” Sayago commented and added that often the people who develop the projects do not know the territories well enough for adequate design and are not aware of the lighting regulations and their specifications in areas of astronomical research and biodiversity protection.

Paulina Villalobos highlights a more structural problem: the lack of awareness among suppliers and professionals about sustainable outdoor lighting. “When interior lighting projects are designed, all products and designers are focused on avoiding glare. But when you cross the door, from inside to outside, all this changes and this awareness does not exist,” she pointed out.

What should design do to protect the darkness of the night?

From Paulina’s perspective, design must be understood as planning, and its primary objective should be to ensure that, through light, one can see in the best possible way. “The next step is to design with the quality of life of people and their environment in mind,” she explained.

In the projects she has worked on, she has observed that proper design improves the perception of space, reduces energy costs, while also protecting the heritage of the night sky. “Lighting planning with all its variables, of perception and levels, is the solution to reduce light pollution in cities,” Paulina emphasized.

Javier Sayago argues that to carry out a sustainable lighting project, it is essential to follow the Lighting Standard, which serves as a guide for responsible lighting. “The standard demands from you in layers: first that the light is not directed upwards, then that it is warm and that the levels are not exceeded,” he explained.

He adds that, at a more advanced level, technology should be implemented to turn off lights when they are not needed. “It is essential to work with lighting suppliers capable of providing us with customized luminaires according to the use we will give them,” he commented.