A new subjective objective approach to evaluating lighting quality A case study of concert lighting for Cambridge King s College Chapel
Drawing on theoretical insights from acoustic research, this paper presents a subjective objective method that complements and unifies existing approaches to assessing lighting quality. In essence, the method establishes numerical relationships between subjective attributes and objective lighting measures, the applicability of which is demonstrated through a comparative study of four different concert light settings in Cambridge King's College Chapel. A total of 624 subjective responses were collected from a full scale experiment. These focused on seven subjective aspects: visual clarity, visual balance, visual uniformity, brightness, spatial intimacy, appropriateness/comfort, and overall impression of the luminous environment. Variations in the response were analysed systematically and correlated with 22 objective attributes, which were computed using luminance and photometric data extracted from High Dynamic Range images. This study reveals significant connections between the selected subjective parameters and the objective attributes that are used to describe a visual scene mathematically and spatially.