For years gyms have been embracing HID (high intensity discharge) lighting fixtures to flood their spaces with light. You know the kind, those Home Depot hanging bell shaped lights that deliver whiteish blue light causing one’s complexion to look ghastly, sickly and ill - add to that - causing a room to look bleached out and lifeless. And fluorescent lighting, in my opinion, is equal to HID in its unflattering, medicinal and commonplace appearance.
Currently, LED’s are the lighting fixture of choice (my choice) for those gym brands that wish to embellish their interiors.
HID and fluorescent lighting are neither cheaper to operate, nor longer lasting than LED’s. LED’s have no toxic chemicals, posses greater efficiency, are more durable, require less maintenance, require no warm up and emit no UV radiation. Yet, both HID and fluorescent lighting are the chosen lighting fixtures of most gym brands.
A gym lighting goal should aspire to create an atmosphere of theater and drama. In addition to atmosphere, you may have some elements or specialty features that require special lighting needs. As well, each feature of your gym, be it wall covering, flooring, plastic, and even paint, are accentuated or diminished by lighting that either brings out the material’s physical characteristics, or passes them over, causing them to recede and become less noticeable. The later is unacceptable because the investment that was made to incorporate the design finish is squandered because of poor lighting design.
Lighting design is painting with light. Brush your interior with light that accentuates and celebrates your design and all of its finishes.