Integrated Design Lab

Lighting Design Classroom
Mock-up Room
Overcast Sky Simulator
Heliodon
Lighting Demonstration Area

Gould Hall

Digital Commons
Photo Lab
Darkroom

Integrated Design Lab | Seattle

100 NE Northlake Way, Suite 100
phone: 206.616.6566

www.IntegratedDesignLab.com/Seattle

The Integrated Design Lab, formerly known as the Daylighting Lab, was started over a decade ago as an element of the highly awarded Lighting Design Lab in Seattle, WA. With the support of Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance’s BetterBricks Lab Network, state agencies, and the public universities, the original lab in Seattle has expanded into a network of labs across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The Integrated Design Lab has worked to support architectural daylighting design strategies across the many climates regions of the Pacific Northwest.

Today, in addition to their continuing service to the design community on daylighting issues, they now have in-house consultants to help integrate mechanical and electric lighting systems into a holistic building service design. 

The staff consists of lighting consultants and graduate research assistants from the University of Washington who are always happy to help other UW students with their lighting questions and needs. Students can contact IDL for a tour and/or an opportunity to use the facilities.

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.

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 (Advanced Daylighting 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 (Advanced Daylighting 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.

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, and the Darkroom.

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.