Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Lighting Design at the University of Minnesota

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit with two University of Minnesota College of Design professors and a student researcher about a new Lighting Design Minor they are developing. This will be a great resource/asset for the aspiring architect and interior design interested in a holistic approach to sustainable and high performance design.

Mary Guzowski is a professor in the school of architecture who focuses on daylighting and sustainable design. And my friend Abimbola O. Asojo, PhD, AIA, IDEC, LEED AP who is a professor in the interior design program... I have presented to Abi's students for the past three years and have written about that here: Enscape Blog Post: Best Practices for Lighting and Exposure. And finally, for introductions, is the talented student researcher Logan Stein who, along with another student I have not met - Tianwei Gu, performed several case study tests over the summer.


Pictured above in Rapson Hall, from left to right: Abi, Myself, Logan and Mary

The case studies revolved around the analysis and simulation of a recently completed remodel...
and addition to an adjacent building on campus; specifically the classroom shown in the image below. Using the Revit model provided by the architect they compared the results of several tools. For example: Revit + ElumTools & Licaso as well as Rhino + Diva. The results have not been formally tabulated yet but all appear to be pretty accurate.


A nine-square study at fixed points in time was performed for daylight only, electric lighting only and then daylight + electric lighting as shown in one example below.


During my brief visit, and impromptu trip to the subject classroom, we looked at the current light levels using a cellphone app... but don't worry, I was assured a real light meter was used.


Actual surface reflectance and visual transmittance of the glazing where measured.


This last image shows the same space with the shading device employed.


I am very existing for the opportunity to collaborate on this new endeavor as the opportunities unfold. I also teach on this topic to my graduate architecture students at NDSU, and recently presented at Lighfair. I will also be presented on lighting design later this year at the AIA-MN Convention!


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