Light, Perception, and Mood: Evaluating Lighting Colour Temperature and Illuminance in Academic Co-Working Spaces

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-632-6_27How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Affective lighting; Correlated colour temperature; Environmental psychology; Co-working space; Visual perception

Abstract

Lighting plays a crucial role in shaping spatial experience, particularly in educational environments where visual comfort and emotional well-being are essential. This study investigates how light colour, specifically correlated colour temperature (CCT), and illuminance influence students’ mood and perceptual responses in a tropical university co-working space at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS). A quantitative approach was employed, combining field measurements of lighting parameters with user perception surveys. Illuminance and CCT were recorded across six sub-areas, while affective impressions were assessed using semantic differential scales covering attributes such as brightness, diffusion, liveliness, and comfort.

The results indicate that neither illuminance nor CCT had strong or statistically significant connections with perceptual or emotional responses. Perceived brightness, comfort, and soothing impressions generally stayed positive across zones, but these feelings weren’t directly related to the measured lighting parameters. Instead, the findings suggest that perceptual and emotional reactions are affected more by spatial factors like light distribution, surface reflectance, and the interaction of natural and artificial light.

Overall, the study emphasises the limited predictive power of physical lighting metrics in real-world settings and highlights the importance of holistic lighting approaches that promote visual comfort through balanced, even illumination rather than relying solely on illuminance or CCT levels. These insights offer a more nuanced understanding for designers and educators aiming to improve user experience in tropical learning environments.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Asri Dinapradipta
AU  - Nurfadilah Fathan
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/13
TI  - Light, Perception, and Mood: Evaluating Lighting Colour Temperature and Illuminance in Academic Co-Working Spaces
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Architectural Research and Design (ARDC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 428
EP  - 445
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-632-6_27
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-632-6_27
ID  - Dinapradipta2026
ER  -