Episode 422: #328 - The Future of the Built Environment

Rachel and Jessica from Stantec dropped by to chat with Michael and Greg at the Archlight/NAILD Convention, to talk about the challenges of lighting in the work environment. Rachel and Jessica have to take into account efficiency, safety, mental health, circadian rhythm and the quality of the lighted environment. All that while working within the customer’s budget. Rachel Fitzgerald is a senior lighting designer with Stantec in Denver, Rachel has over 15 years of experience providing exterior and interior lighting designs for hospitality, mixed-use, retail, corporate, civic/government, religious, and recreation facilities. She is a leading expert on how lighting and daylighting drive health and wellbeing, such as her net zero energy designs for the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory Research Support Facilities where the lighting was designed to support its occupants’ natural circadian rhythms. Jessica Smith, in her position at Stantec, defines and enhances spaces with electric light, providing ease of functionality to end users while mitigating energy use in buildings. Coming from an architectural engineering background and having previously worked as an electrical engineer, Jessica deeply understands the needs of other disciplines within the built environment—she strives for early and continual coordination on all projects. She loves working directly with clients to understand their goals for the space, to then develop designs that fulfills their needs while also meeting stringent energy code requirements.