DOMESTIC ILLUMINATION
227
and not into the faces of the audience. Above all things, the lighting should be restful in effect and the lights extremely well shielded. Unobtrusive chandeliers or ceiling clusters with lights it
means of meeting this requirement. Brackets are particularly objectionable in such rooms, inasmuch as they are constantly in the field of view and it is rather difficult well screened are the best
The amount of light provided to screen the lights adequately. should be on the basis of 3 to 4 square feet per candle power, the latter figure being quite all that is necessary, unless the
room is more
to be at times used for general purposes requiring a little
These figures presume a wall finish not excessively dark, and any room wainscoted in dark wood, or finished in paper or paint in dull reds, greens, browns, and blues, would require not illumination.
less than 50 per cent more light than here specified. Now and then some form of concealed lighting is effectively used in a music
The main
room.
audience
eyes, since
escape
point, however, is that in any room where an to be assembled the light must be kept out of their
is
they are not at liberty to change their positions and
it.
D. Libraries.
By tradition libraries are usually given a dark actually used as libraries the walls are lined with bookcases to an extent which implies powerful absorption of light. finish,
and
if
Further, they are supposed to be used for reading, which requires good illumination, so that the amount of light supplied must of necessity be considerable. The best way of furnishing fairly
it
is
to apply a
near the
ceiling
groundwork illumination, either from fixtures or from brackets, in either case thoroughly
shaded, and then to strengthen
it
locally
by well-shaded reading
lamps.
The power
total
amount
for 3 or
of light required will be commonly 1 candle feet, about half the total amount being
4 square
put in the general illumination and half in the reading lamps. In case of exceptionally dark finish a total of 1 candle power to as low as 2 square feet may be desirable. Lamps near the ceiling are much to be preferred to brackets for general illumination in a library, since with these latter it is almost impossible adequately to light the bookcases, which must lie nearly in the same plane with the brackets. Further, if a library is really used, it is usually very difficult to find any space for wall brackets without The library should be wired interfering with the bookcase space.