Tzu-Hao Kuo

Lighting changes the feeling of anonymity, and it is essential to have visual cues for the dining experience. However, there is a potential to quantify the sense of anonymity under a scale of low illuminance level and a range of luminance contrast. My thesis aims to determine the answers to the question of how the low level of brightness affects perception, and do the scales of luminance contrast ratio affect the feeling of anonymity? The study consists of a case study of the selected restaurants in New York City, and a simulation experiment done via an online survey. For the case study, nine selected restaurants in New York City are documented with the illuminance, luminance contrast, lighting layout, and color temperature. The goal of the case study is to find the metrics and the default setting for the simulation. The simulation experiment seeks to look at whether the luminance contrast ratio between vertical surfaces and between horizontal surfaces has an impact on how people feel about privacy and the public in a room. In my thesis, I investigate the relationships between illuminance, luminance contrast, and perception. The goal is to provide a new restaurant lighting criterion for the lighting design field.