The University of Bergen opens what may be the world’s best-lit auditorium

At the University of Bergen, Auditorium 128 at the Faculty of Psychology has received a completely new lighting system that will form the foundation for groundbreaking research. Here, researchers will study how light affects students’ attention, wellbeing, and learning, which are insights that could have major implications for the classrooms, workplaces, and healthcare institutions of the future.

When the doors open, students are greeted by a space where light is not just a background element, but an active part of the experience. Everything, from brightness to colour temperature and spectrum, can be precisely adjusted. The auditorium can shift from energising, cool morning light to warm, calm evening light in a matter of seconds.

“This auditorium gives us unique opportunities to study reaction time, learning, and how light affects alertness and health. It is probably the best-lit classroom in the world,” says Ståle Pallesen, Professor at the Department of Psychosocial Science at the University of Bergen. “We can influence and control the colour temperature from warm to very cool light, and use it both for research and for light therapy.”

When research and lighting design meet

The project was developed in close collaboration between the Centre for Research on Sleep, Work, and Health (FoSAH) and Glamox. To control the advanced lighting settings, the auditorium is equipped with Glamox DALI Complete – a robust and flexible lighting control system that provides full control over multiple lighting groups. The system consists of carefully tested DALI components that work seamlessly together and can easily be connected to medium-sized lighting control systems directly.

Bilde 2.jpg

The solution behind the innovation

The installed solution enables an exceptionally wide range of variation in both light levels and colour temperature. The colour temperature can be adjusted from 1,800 to 16,000 Kelvin, the system can create blue-white daylight, and the lighting can be combined with red, green, and blue components – allowing experiments with a broad spectrum of colour compositions. With this technology, researchers can test how different light qualities affect alertness, concentration, and wellbeing – contributing to new knowledge about how light actually influences the brain and the body’s biological rhythms.

 

The products that make it possible

To achieve these precise lighting conditions, the auditorium is equipped with C90-R600x600 LED 4600 DALI 925-970 CCT/RGB LI MP – a highly efficient and flexible luminaire that offers both adjustable colour temperature and RGB functionality. The luminaire is ideal for dynamic environments where lighting needs to adapt to different situations and requirements.

Bilde 3.jpg

Norwegian technology that lights up the world

For Glamox, the project stands as a symbol of what modern lighting design can mean for people’s everyday lives. As awareness about the impact of light on health and productivity grows, this installation demonstrates how smart lighting can do more than help us see – it can help us perform, learn, and live better.

“This project shows how research and technology can come together to create smarter and healthier environments,” says Anders Bru, Project Manager at Glamox. “Here, we truly get to see what light can achieve.”

The auditorium at the University of Bergen was officially opened on 30 September.