A versatile light and soundscape system designed to create optimum conditions for wellbeing

UNStudio and Delta Light have joined forces to endeavour to improve the wellbeing of people in our rapidly changing work environments, where human health and the war on talent have become a primary focus for employers.

Ben van Berkel: “The way we work, live and relax is changing. This new hybrid world is causing architects and designers to rethink how we design our cities and buildings, so that we can create places that encourage health and wellbeing. Lighting is a very crucial element in helping us to create such places.”

In a given location and from focused work to group presentations, the Soliscape (sound and light-scape) system makes possible activity-based illumination, alongside acoustic qualities. A sensor-based environment understands what kind of activity is taking place and adjusts to provide the optimum conditions. As such, digitally enhanced environments can be created where technology supports in the creation of sensorial adaptive environments in which the user is central.

The Soliscape system is however not limited to work spaces alone. Due to its adaptable configuration possibilities, the system has a broad range of applications and can also be used in hotels, hospitality, retail and public spaces. The system can be configured to best suit the daily needs and programming of each location. In addition, more than ever before, today’s spaces are evolving to operate with hybrid functions; the home and office are blending, hospitality spaces are becoming meeting places. The possibility to adapt lighting and acoustic landscapes for dual or multi-purpose use is thus an added quality for many of these spaces.

Peter Ameloot: “Looking at lighting as just a basic necessity is an outdated approach. Work environments in particular require extra attention, where user-centric lighting has proven to considerably boost productivity and wellbeing. With Soliscape we even take it to the next level, not just by adding acoustic elements, but even more so by using behavioural parameters to further upgrade comfort.”

The Soliscape system is a toolbox of flexible components and modules for architects and designers that will enable them to create workable and liveable solutions for their projects; a system that combines lighting with acoustics and connected sensoring, into an aesthetically appealing solution that can easily connect to any building management system. The system is also flexible and future-proof, as it allows for new materials and functions to be added in the future.

Ben van Berkel: “Numerous environmental factors directly affect our wellbeing and our health, including light, sound, scent, air quality and temperature. With the Soliscape system, we have combined two of these facets – sound and light – to create sensory ‘interior landscapes’ that can support people in their daily activities. Soliscape can also connect to systems already in place to improve the other key environmental factors.”

The Soliscape system comes with spot, direct and indirect linear lighting elements, featuring Delta Light’s Melanopic Light Technology® (MLT), combining high-efficient reflectors with human-centric LED technology. The high-quality LEDs help control the circadian rhythm by providing a very natural white colour with a higher amount of energy in cyan, helping to encourage activity during the day and sleep at night. The reflector is designed to perfectly embrace every individual LED module in order to boost the efficiency of the complete luminaire, while maintaining a high level of visual comfort, as every LED dot is shielded.

UNStudio and Delta Light aim to create sensor-based environments that respond, learn and adjust to people’s daily activities, taking smart buildings towards responsive architecture through a system that allows people intuitive control and personalisation of space. Soliscape offers different sensoring options enabling the creation of human-centric spaces: light in service to wellbeing.

Ben van Berkel: “We believe that human health and wellbeing form the impetus for a new era of design, and that the incorporation of new and emerging technologies in the built environment plays a central role in this. It is not the hardware or the software itself that interests me, but how it can be applied within architecture and urban design to improve our daily lives.”

Visit the Delta Light website for more info