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Students attending the University of Washington have access to a variety of facilities on and off the UW campus that may be utilized for lighting design, analysis, and other classwork.

Integrated Design Lab

Lighting Design Classroom
Mock-up Room
Lighting Demonstration Area

 

 

 

 

Gould Hall

Overcast Sky Simulator
Heliodon
Digital Commons
Photo Lab
Darkroom

 

 

 
 
 

Integrated Design Lab | Seattle

1501 E Madison St, Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98122
phone: 206.616.6566

http://idlseattle.com/

The Integrated Design Lab (IDL) is operated by the Department of Architecture in the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. The IDL is a self-sustaining organization that includes interdisciplinary faculty, staff, students, professional collaborators and partner organizations.

Our mission is to discover solutions that overcome the most difficult building performance barriers, and to meet the building industry’s goals of moving towards radically higher performing buildings and healthy urban environments. 

We advance our mission through interconnected research, technical assistance, and professional educational and tour programs.

 

Lighting Design Classroom

The classroom is a lecture / discussion area within the Integrated Design Lab. Its close proximity to the Heliodon, Overcast Sky Box, and Lighting Demonstration Area make it ideal for hands-on experiments and demonstrations to take place in classes.

Mock-up Room

Frequently used by professional lighting designers, architects, and other consultants, the Mock-up Room allows designers to test their electric lighting ideas. Two moveable ceilings create spaces of a variety of heights, allowing easy installation of light fixtures as well. Arch 498 (Architectural Lighting Design) students install their lighting fixture designs in the Mock-Up room to get a better idea of how their designs affect the space.

 

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Gould Hall

 

 

Built in 1972 and designed by the Seattle architects (and College graduates) Dan Streissguth and Gene Zema, Gould Hall is a half-block removed from Architecture Hall.  

The building is notable for its three-story atrium which acts as a spatial and visual unifying focus for the diverse College activities which surround it.  It houses three departmental offices, the dean's office, the library, visual resources collection, shop, lab, and computing facilities, classrooms, and the Court Cafe, an informal meeting place for students, faculty, and staff.  Gould Hall also has exhibition and review spaces for faculty and student use.

SPACES of interest to Lighting Design students are the Digital Commons, the Photo Lab, the Darkroom, and the Materials + Daylighting Lab (housing both the Overcast Sky Simulator and Heliodon) run by Jim Nichols.

 

 

MATERIALS + DAYLIGHTING LAB

Overcast Sky Simulator

Testing for the overcast condition occurs in a mirror-box artificial sky. The mirror-box overcast sky simulates a dome of light that provides diffuse light equally from all sides. Scale models placed in the overcast sky box simulate daylighting during Seattle's most prevalent weather condition. Data from the overcast sky is collected using photocells, while photographs convey the "look and feel" of the space.

ARCH 535 (Daylighting Design Seminar) students use the Overcast Sky Simulator, along with the Heliodon, to test design decisions for their final architectural projects.

Heliodon

The heliodon is used to examine how the direct rays of the sun interact with an architect's building design. It is comprised of a tilting/rotating table (the earth) and a stationary 1000 watt theatrical light source (the sun). The table can be adjusted to represent the latitude, tilted to simulate any month of the year, and rotated to analyze any time of day.

When a physical model is tested on the heliodon it is typically rotated through the sun angles present on June 21st, September 21st, and December 21st. This yields the sun pattern data for the highest, average, and lowest sun angles for the chosen location. The primary tool for recording these tests is a digital video camera. When mounted to a model, it will record the movement of direct sun patterns entering the space throughout the day. Typically these studies seek to examine shading devices that eliminate direct sun from areas where visual tasks are critical. Direct sun can cause problems of heat gain and debilitating glare. The heliodon takes the guesswork out of complex sun-angle geometry and often will provide surprising results.

ARCH 535 (Daylighting Design Seminar) students use the Heliodon, along with the Overcast Sky Simulator, to test design decisions for their final architectural projects.

Lighting Demonstration Area

The Integrated Design Lab has a varied selection of installed lighting fixtures, lamp types, and demonstration boxes on display in the Lighting Demonstration Area. Questions about lamp type, color temperature, fixture configuration, and many others can be answered or explored here. The displays are always being updated to keep up with the changing technology of the electric lighting world.

Digital Commons

The Digital Commons classroom, located in the basement of Gould Hall (room 007), is commonly used for Computational Lighting Analysis courses. Equipped with much of the latest software, Dell computers, two projection screens, and a teaching computer station, the classroom is setup to facilitate learning through the digital environment. The greater area of the Digital Commons also provides Mac computers, scanners, printers, a help desk, and areas for study.

Digital Commons webpage

Photo Lab

The photo lab studio space is available for students to document their architectural work, and is run by Professor John Stamets. It is located in the basement of Gould Hall (room 003). Hours vary throughout the year, and students can sign up to use the photography equipment and lights. The photo lab is adjacent to the darkroom, where students can develop their photographs. The photo lab studio space is open to all students in the department.

Darkroom

As part of the photo lab, the darkroom (room 019) is usually open at the same hours. When Arch 410 (Introduction to Architectural Photography) is being taught, those students have the first priority for the equipment in the dark room. Students must take an introductory tour, the Arch 410 class, or have prior darkroom experience before using the Gould Hall darkroom, and pay a lab fee.

 

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