IALD SURVEY RESULTS VALIDATE DOMAINS OF PRACTICE FOR ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING DESIGNERS
INDUSTRY AND ITS PRACTITIONERS HAVE GLOBAL REACH, BROAD RANGE OF PRACTICE
Independent of country of residence, the 637 building/design industry practitioners responding to the IALD Certification Survey indicate the seven domains of professional practice researched by the Credentialing Task Force accurately reflect the practice of architectural lighting design (average rating 4.1 out of 5) and are important to the profession (average rating 4.66).
“The level of interest and participation from members of the design/build community worldwide surpassed our greatest expectations,” says David Becker, IALD member and Credentialing Task Force Chair. “The webinars and in-person presentations organized in coordination with the survey launch generated great interest, which thankfully means we received the critical mass of responses necessary to validate the domains of practice we have established after two years of research.”
Domains of professional practice
The primary purpose of the certification survey was to determine how well the proposed domains of professional practice reflect what competent architectural designers do. The task force identified seven domains over the course of its two years of research [Table 1 : Domains of Practice]. Respondents were asked to rate how well the domains describe what practitioners do and to rate the importance of the specific domain to the profession on a scale of 0-5, with 0 corresponding to “not at all” and 5 meaning “very” [Table 2 : Overall Mean Rankings]. The task force is now conducting a pilot study to test the assessment process for an evidence-based certification for architectural lighting designers based on the domains of practice.
| DOMAINS OF PRACTICE FOR ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING DESIGNERS 1. GOALS & OUTCOMES The design of lighting solutions that satisfy the project requirements and the design intent so the solution performs as predicted. 2. COLLABORATION The interaction with other disciplines by serving as an integral member of the team so that lighting relates to its context and adds value to the project. 3. INGENUITY The contribution of ideas that demonstrate innovation, creativity, originality, imagination, or resourcefulness to foster the goals of the project. 4. SYNTHESIS The integration of the technical and aesthetic elements of lighting with space and form to shape and enhance the overall experience. 5. SCIENCE The demonstration of how light interacts with people, materials, and building systems by applying the principles of light to meet the relevant technical criteria. 6. STEWARDSHIP The response to known and potential social and environmental impact by designing solutions that avoid or minimize harm, discomfort, and waste. 7. HUMAN EXPERIENCE The design of lighting solutions that positively affect people. |
TABLE 1 : DOMAINS OF PRACTICE
Geographic spread of respondents was diverse, with more than 36 countries represented by design/build practitioners answering the survey. A majority of respondents had 12 or more years of experience. When asked about their primary role, 67% chose architectural lighting designer from a list of 27 roles. The next most frequently cited roles were engineer (8.6%), manufacturer (5.8%), live events (4.4%), educator (4.1%) and architect (3%). Among the architectural lighting designers responding to the survey, 63.4% were male and 34.8% were female.
Of particular interest was the diversity of practice amongst responding architectural lighting designers. On average, respondents selected five areas of practice from a list of 18 choices. The most frequently selected practice areas were commercial (82%), hospitality (62%), cultural (60%), residential (55%), institutions (54%), healthcare (43%), entertainment (35%), finance (30%), research (29%) and sporting events (26%).
For more information about the IALD Credentialing Task Force’s ongoing work to develop a certification in architectural lighting design, please refer to the IALD certification mini-site at http://iald.me/xGhcSL (please note that this link is case sensitive). The site contains frequently asked questions about certification, an organizational update detailing current actions of the task force, and a series of resources on credentialing.
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TABLE 2 : APPLICABILITY OF DOMAIN OF PRACTICE & IMPORTANCE TO THE ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING DESIGN PROFESSION MEAN SCORES
Those interested in learning more about the work of the task force should email credentialing@iald.org or call the IALD headquarters office at +1 312 527 3677.