A study on task lighting in shared residential kitchens highlighting the relation between multiple users, illuminance and task performances.

Sammanfattning: Shared spaces have proven to be the most sustainable solution in the midst of growing demand to implement sustainable lifestyles and at present, co-living is the most trending housing option. In these coliving spaces, the common shared spaces are very important among which kitchen is the most critical one as most of the tasks are carried out there. The main objective of this study is to find if a relationship exists between task lighting, illuminance and multiple users in shared residential kitchens. Limited research in this area has been the primary motivation for this study. Furthermore, during the course of the study, the importance of flexibility in the task lighting for shared residential kitchens was investigated.   Realizing the objectives, the study aims at answering the following main investigation questions: Is task lighting in a shared kitchen designed with the number of users in mind and does it consider the different ways in which they perform different tasks at the same time? Should the lighting design standards be reconsidered for shared residential kitchens? Would flexibility in the lighting devices be beneficial for shared kitchens ? The main investigation questions are answered with the help of the following sub-investigation questions which mainly highlights the relation between the multiple users, illuminance and task performances. Do multiple users affect the various performances carried out in a shared kitchen? Are there any shadows cast by the multiple users in a shared kitchen? Do they affect the illuminance levels in the task areas and thereby affect the visual and task performances?   Case studies of two different shared residential kitchens were carried out. The methodology of the case study involved two stages, complete site analysis and an experiment. The experimental set up is adapted from McGuiness, Boyce and Harker‘s investigation study “The effects of illuminance on task performance in domestic kitchens” and was modified to suit this  study. The experiment was conducted in two different scenarios. Quantitative and qualitative analysis was carried out during the study. The end results of the experiment proved that there is a strong influence of multiple users on the task performances without having any major impacts on the lighting conditions. This indicated that new lighting standards have to be framed for shared residential kitchens in the aspects of ergonomics and flexibility. The importance of flexibility in shared spaces and in shared residential kitchens was realised was considered just beneficial in terms of mood, comfortability and practicality.