Analysis of Three Misunderstandings in Bridge Lighting Design

        With the acceleration of urbanization, bridges have become one of the most important elements in urban construction. The main function of a bridge is a transportation hub, a key node connecting the two sides of the strait or two geographical areas, and an important part of the route. In cities, bridges also symbolize the economic status and technical level of urban development, and they often become landmark architectural landscapes. The night lighting of this type of bridge has naturally become one of the important landscapes of the city's night scene. For this type of landmark bridge lighting in cities, we found that there are more or less misunderstandings in lighting design concepts and practices.

       Misunderstanding one

       There are too many road lights in the car, which affects the functional lighting

      Most bridges in cities have the functions of motor vehicle lanes, non-motor vehicle lanes, pedestrian passages, and even railway passages for trains. In the lighting design of this type of bridge, the design specification for road lighting is usually continued, and the street lights are extended from the street to the bridge body and run through the entire bridge. Although this approach satisfies the requirements of functional lighting, it also has a huge impact on the overall lighting effect of the bridge.

       The view of the roadway is an important point of view of the bridge landscape, and street lighting is the main means to ensure the safety of driving. So how can we ensure the safety of driving while minimizing its impact on the visual effect of the night scene of the bridge? For many landmark bridge landscapes, people usually attach great importance to its lighting effects, so the lighting of the bridge itself has been fully considered and designed. These lighting reflect the structural elements of the bridge body and even the detailed structure through the light. At the same time, it also provides a certain indirect lighting on the road surface. The motor vehicle itself also has its own lighting system, so it is necessary for driving on the road. In terms of motor vehicles, it will not cause the phenomenon of being unable to see the road. In order to reflect the continuity of street lighting, the lighting of the roadway of the bridge usually adopts the street lamp pole of the same height as the street. Because the important landscape parts of the bridge are usually above the road surface, the lamp pole of this height is very important for motor vehicles. The upward and forward viewpoints cause a certain amount of interference. Regardless of whether the styles of the light poles and the bridge itself are coordinated, their height, density and the glare produced have already destroyed the overall lighting effect. Even when the lights are not turned on during the day, the tight street light poles will affect the landscape effect of the bridge body in the daytime to varying degrees.

      Completely abolishing street lights will inevitably reduce the brightness of the roadway. In order to compensate for the hidden safety hazards caused by insufficient brightness, this contradiction can be solved by the following methods: First, reduce the number of street lights and the installation density. For some necessary street lamp lighting, consider extending the installation distance of large street lamps on the bridge body to reduce the number and density of street lamps and minimize the visual impact caused by street lamps. The approach bridge part can adopt the method of gradually increasing the spacing to form the transition from street lights to bridge street lights.

       The second is to reduce the height of the installation of lamps, such as the use of skirting lights, buried LEDs, etc. Excessively high street lights project the light onto the road, and its lighting efficiency will inevitably be greatly reduced, and the skirting lights installed close to the road will directly project the light onto the road, which not only improves the lighting efficiency, but also avoids the front view point. In addition, an array sense is formed on the ground, so that the pavement also has a certain landscape effect. The appropriate amount of point-shaped buried LEDs are used to demarcate the road demarcation line while also forming a warning for the driver and improving safety. The above methods not only reduce the impact of street lights on the landscape effect, but also ensure driving safety, and at the same time reduce the difficulty of installation and maintenance. The reduction of lamps and the use of low-power lamps can also reduce electricity consumption and lower operating costs.

        Misunderstanding 2

        Dynamic lighting effects are abused, causing light pollution

       With the rapid development of LED lighting, today's lighting has entered the era of dynamic lighting. In the application of bridge lighting, it is indispensable to use a large number of dynamic lighting to make the bridge lighting with a sense of modernity and technology more dynamic.

        But people often overlook an important point: Compared with the river under the bridge, the flow of cars and people on the bridge, the bridge itself is a jue versus static landscape. No matter how calm the water surface under the bridge is, it won't be jue-to-static, and the reflection it produces will not stay motionless. Vehicles and pedestrians walking on the bridge deck come and go in a hurry. The viewpoint itself is a moving body. At this time, we will give complex and frequently changing dynamic effects to the lighting of the bridge, which will only make the bridge as a whole. The effect is dazzling and chaotic.

       Therefore, the dynamic lighting effect of the bridge is not used, but it is recommended to use less. Even if the dynamic lighting scheme is adopted, the effect of long change cycle and slow change process should be selected as much as possible, so that the nearby people feel comfortable and let the distant view The person has a sense of expectation.

       Misunderstanding three

       Too much color causes eye fatigue

       The emergence of LED lighting allows people to have more choices for the color of the light, and it also makes the form of lighting more diversified. Just like commercial buildings, the lighting of bridges is gradually applying this new technology, trying to make the lighting effects of bridges more colorful and rich in content.

       But the bridge is not a commercial space, nor does it have the rich levels and diversified shapes of commercial buildings. Generally, the appearance and structure of the bridge are mainly simple and lively, and the main style is grand and tall. Based on such a structural main body, coupled with a colorful commercial atmosphere, it is undoubtedly superfluous.

       A good art painting usually only uses a few color elements, and many of the photographs you show are even black and white. Regarding the lighting design of the bridge, we should treat it like creating a work of art. Although colored lighting can give people a sense of content and freshness, the presence of content does not mean that there is connotation. The freshness will also cause aesthetic fatigue over time.

       The bridge is simple and quiet. It should not be affected by the noisy commercial atmosphere of the city. It should be unique. Using a small amount of color lighting, or even using only white lighting with multiple color temperatures, can give the bridge this special landscape more connotation and more attractive.

       All in all, the bridge is an important element of the night scene of the city, and it is also an essential life element in people's life. Creating a comfortable, beautiful and reasonable bridge lighting is the common goal of lighting designers.