This Luminous SkyCeiling installation at Yoseftal Medical Center’s Pediatric Dept. in Israel was among several used to illustrate a story about Sky Factory on Fast Company Magazine’s Co.Exist website.

SkyCeilings, Drab Workplaces, the Eye, and Melanopsin

Writing for Fast Company Magazine’s Co.Exist website, Arnie Cooper explores the artistic and scientific motivations behind bringing illusions of nature into workplace environments:
“There’s a scientific reason human beings are naturally drawn to the sky. Deep within the eye on the retina’s periphery sits a special light receptor called melanopsin that not only helps lift our mood; it also regulates our body clock. Unfortunately, melanopsin is most active when exposed to the sky’s blue light—not something readily available to those who log multiple hours inside an office.” Read the complete story here.

Fortress of Light

Healthcare Design Magazine’s June 2012 issue features International Healthcare Design—What We Learn About Healthcare from Other Countries. Managing Editor Jennifer Kovacs Silvis takes an in-depth look at the unique challenges faced by Western Galilee Hospital—Nahariya in Israel.

Nahariya is close to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, and has served as a primary emergency care center during the volatile armed conflicts in the area. The new facility dramatically increases the security of the building as well as the quality of care that it can provide. Security design eliminated windows. In an effort to increase both the quality of light and a connection to the outdoors, Luminous SkyCeilings and Luminous Virtual Windows were installed throughout the facility. The installation images illustrate how biophilic illusions of nature were used to benefit both patients and staff in the treatment wards, corridors around the nurse’s station, and pediatrics treatment area. Read the complete article here.

Sky Factory Goes 100% Solar

On June 7th Sky Factory “flipped the switch” to become Iowa’s first net-zero solar powered business. Designed and installed by Ideal Energy of Fairfield, Iowa, the 3,500 sq. ft. photovoltaic panel array, generating 54 kilowatts, is the largest private installation in the state and will generate 104% of Sky Factory’s power needs. Sky Factory’s goal is to help other small businesses develop their own renewable energy generation systems. Read the complete story, take the Eco-Conscience Pledge, and see event videos here.

Notable Installations—Israel

Along with the numerous installations at Western Galilee Hospital—Nahariya covered by Healthcare Design Magazine, Sky Factory Israel has had a couple of other impressive projects wrap up recently. The remodeled Pediatrics Dept. at Yoseftal Medical Center “brings the optimistic view of the sky into the interior playroom space,” according to architect Michal Rom.

Architect Doron Yehuda used a mix of circular, elliptical and rectilinear Luminous SkyCeilings to bring a natural quality of light and a sense of vertical expansion to the interiors of a high tech factory’s offices in Kiryat Gat, Israel.

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Pediatrics Dept. at Yoseftal Medical Center

High Tech Factory Offices

Western Galilee Hospital—Nahariya

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