Pro Exterior Lighting

Architectural exterior lighting is professional outdoor lighting designed to illuminate buildings, façades, landscapes and public spaces while enhancing the architecture after dark.

Unlike standard outdoor lighting, architectural exterior lighting focuses on beam control, light distribution, façade materials, mounting positions, colour temperature, glare, controls and the visual relationship between light and architecture.

Typical applications include building façades, hotels, commercial buildings, bridges, tunnels, plazas, parks, public spaces and large residential projects.

The best façade lighting depends on the building's height, architecture, surface material, viewing distance and desired lighting effect.

Common solutions include:

• Wall washers for broad and relatively even façade illumination
• Wall grazers for revealing texture in stone, brick and architectural surfaces
• Linear façade lights for continuous architectural lines
• Floodlights for illuminating larger building surfaces
• Pixel lights for dynamic façade effects
• In-ground uplights for columns and vertical architectural features

Professional façade lighting often combines several types of luminaires rather than relying on one fitting throughout the entire building.

Wall washing distributes light broadly across a wall to create relatively uniform illumination. The luminaire is generally positioned further away from the surface so the beam can spread across a larger area.

Wall grazing positions the light closer to the façade, allowing shadows to emphasise surface texture and depth.

Wall grazing is particularly effective for stone, brick, concrete and textured façades, while wall washing is useful when a smoother and more even illuminated appearance is required.

The correct mounting distance and optics depend on the wall height, surface texture and intended effect.

The appropriate IP rating depends on the installation environment and the level of exposure to water, dust and weather.

Professional exterior luminaires commonly use ratings such as IP65, IP66, IP67 or higher, depending on the application.

For example, façade-mounted luminaires and wall washers may require protection against rain and dust, while in-ground or underwater lighting requires different levels of protection.

IP rating should never be considered in isolation. Drainage, installation method, cable connections, materials, corrosion resistance and environmental conditions should also be considered when specifying exterior lighting.

Although all three can illuminate exterior architecture, they produce different lighting effects.

A wall washer is designed to distribute light across a vertical surface and is commonly used for building façades and walls.

A floodlight generally provides a larger volume of directional light and can illuminate buildings, landscapes, public spaces and large architectural features from greater distances.

An architectural linear light creates a continuous line of illumination and can be used for wall washing, grazing or highlighting horizontal and vertical architectural elements.

The appropriate luminaire should be selected according to the required beam distribution rather than wattage alone.

The correct beam angle depends on the size of the target, mounting distance and required lighting effect.

Narrow beams can highlight columns, vertical structures and specific architectural features.

Medium beams can illuminate larger sections of a façade or landscape.

Wide and asymmetric optics can provide broader coverage for walls, façades and public spaces.

Linear wall washers may also use specialised optics designed specifically for vertical illumination.

For large exterior projects, beam angles should ideally be selected through lighting calculations, photometric data and project-specific testing rather than using one beam angle throughout the entire project.

RGB lighting combines red, green and blue LEDs to create a wide range of coloured lighting effects.

RGBW lighting adds a dedicated white LED channel, allowing the luminaire to produce both dynamic colours and a more dedicated white-light output.

RGB and RGBW architectural lighting are commonly used for hotels, commercial façades, bridges, landmarks, entertainment venues and public architecture where colour-changing effects are required.

For projects that primarily require high-quality white illumination, dedicated white-light luminaires may be more appropriate.

DMX is a digital lighting control protocol widely used for dynamic architectural and entertainment lighting.

It allows compatible luminaires or groups of luminaires to be controlled for parameters such as brightness, colour and programmed lighting sequences.

DMX is particularly useful for RGB and RGBW façade lighting, pixel lighting, bridges, landmarks and dynamic architectural installations where multiple luminaires need to operate as a coordinated system.

For large projects, the lighting fixtures, controllers, addressing, power supplies and data distribution should be planned together during the design stage.

LED pixel lighting uses individually controlled or grouped points of light to create dynamic visual effects across an architectural surface.

Depending on the system and control configuration, pixel lights can create colour changes, gradients, patterns, movement and programmed lighting scenes.

They can be used on building façades, bridges, entertainment venues, public installations and landmark architecture where the lighting itself becomes a visual feature.

Pixel lighting projects require careful coordination of pixel spacing, viewing distance, power distribution, data control, mounting and programming to achieve the intended result.

Lucretia offers professional architectural exterior and façade lighting in Australia for commercial, hospitality, civic and large-scale architectural projects.

The Pro Exterior Lighting range includes LED pixel lights, architectural linear lights, façade grazers, wall washers, floodlights, in-ground lights, underwater lights, tunnel lighting and street lighting for applications including building façades, bridges, tunnels, plazas, parks, public spaces and car parks.

The range includes professional solutions with different beam optics, IP ratings, white light, RGB and RGBW options, and architectural lighting control capabilities.

For larger projects, Lucretia can assist with luminaire selection, beam angles, façade lighting concepts, lighting calculations, positioning and control systems based on architectural drawings, elevations, landscape plans and project requirements.