CHICAGO (July 19, 2022) — Chicago-based Mary Cook Associates (MCA), a national, award-winning commercial interior design firm, today published a white paper entitled “Step Into The Light: How Light And Lighting Enhance Design, Improve Well-being And Drive Productivity At Home.” The paper explores how far our understanding of lighting has come since the 1880s invention of the incandescent light bulb and discusses how both natural and artificial light affect so much more than simply our ability to see in the dark.
“People may take lighting for granted, but good lighting design can create spaces that make us feel our best, boost our productivity and enhance our well-being,” said Mary Cook, president and founder of Mary Cook Associates. “Light not only plays a critical role in how we experience a space, but it also influences how we work, relax, socialize and sleep. That makes it essential for designers, builders and developers to pay attention to lighting as a critical design element in the built environments where we live, work and play.”
The white paper highlights several key considerations around lighting in residential and multifamily spaces, including:
- Curating a balance of natural and artificial lightand how this can enhance positive perceptions and feelings in a well-designed space.
- Light’s role in health and well-being, including how excessive artificial light – particularly from devices – can lead to chronic misalignment of circadian rhythms that affect sleep, and how the right (and wrong) kind of illumination affects hormones that govern happiness and stress.
- Lighting’s power to improve productivity and decision-making,which takes on increased importance with the growing use of home offices and multifamily coworking amenities.
- Lighting techniques and technology that create versatilityin spaces that must perform differently at different times of day and year – especially in today’s work-from-anywhere world.
“Step Into The Light” is the fifth in a series of white papers MCA is releasing, each sharing insights on the firm’s proprietary seven fundamentals of interior design methodology and identifying opportunities for builders and developers to respond to the shifting paradigm of home with thoughtful designs and innovative spaces.
The full white paper can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF atwww.marycook.com/whitepapers/step-into-the-light/.
For more information about Mary Cook Associates, visit www.marycook.com.
About Mary Cook Associates:
Established in 1986, Mary Cook Associates (MCA) is a fully integrated interior architecture and design firm nationally known for creating innovative interiors for leading owners and developers of real estate. The firm’s projects include multifamily, model homes, student living, senior living, clubhouses, restaurants, and hospitality environments. MCA’s work emphasizes functionality, showcases possibilities, and delivers a measurable Return on Environment (R.O.E.℠).
MCA’s team includes more than two dozen designers and architects that are strategic, imaginative and skilled at designing a wide variety of spaces that respond to demographic, geographic and lifestyle influences of target markets. Smart, functional spaces that establish immediate connections with their users and boost Living Better by Design℠, increase property value, and accelerate sales and occupancy rates are the hallmarks of the results MCA consistently achieves. In its 36th year, the firm continues to expand its national presence with award-winning work across the country. www.marycook.com.