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Hypothesis 1 - Daylight DistributionAs with any research problem, the first step is to create a series of working hypotheses which will guide experiment creation and methodology. These hypotheses are specific statements derived from our basic questions about the WRC and were carefully narrowed down to address a specific element based on our personal knowledge of building systems and personal interest in the real-world performance of building designs. Hypothesis 1 The glazing area in the atrium stairwell space provides sufficient daylight* for the second floor offices on the southern wall. * Sufficient daylight for these office spaces is considered to be a daylight factor of 1.0-2.5% when measured at the work plane (~3'-0" above the floor). Procedure 1 Using the luminance meters provided in our field testing kit, our team selected an overcast day to perform our readings, as this would provide us with the optimal distribution of light within the atirum and office spaces of the WRC. We first took a series of readings outside the structure to provide a denominator for our daylight factor calculations, one measurement about five (5) feet south of the exterior wall, and another about thirty-five (35) feet south of the wall. Next we took measurements at various spots along the first floor in the atrium. We placed the meters at equal intervals along both the glazing on the southern facade and along the northern interior wall. These provided us with the footcandle measurements for the first floor in the atrium in both the open spaces and those below the mid-floor landing.
Click the image above to view a plan of the atrium showing the location of each measurement. Our next step required us to move to the mid-floor landing and take measurements at locations corresponding to those from the first floor. Once these readings were recorded, we moved to the second floor of the building and took readings on the staircase landings there. Once again, these measurements were taken in locations that corresponded to those from the first floor. After recording the readings from the atrium space, we began the measurements within the office spaces, beginning with the foyer area, and proceeding to measure each of the accessible offices in the southern section of the building. Several of the offices on the western side were inaccessible due to vacancy in the position or being called out of the office during our field study session. Again, while taking these measurements we ensured a complete range of coverage from east to west and north to south within the offices.
Click the image above to view a plan of the offices showing the location of each measurement. It is worth noting that the internal lighting systems were activated throughout the course of these measurements within the office and atrium spaces. It was necessary for us to return at a later date and retake the measurements at each spot to determine the amount of light created by the lighting fixtures throughout the space. For comparison purposes, our team also created digital lighting models using the Lumen Micro and Ecotect programs made available to us for this research project. Lumen Micro Renderings Each of these images shows an interior perspective lighting rendering of the WRC study areas.
Click on each image to view a larger version (image will open in a new browser window). In addition to the perspectives generated in Lumen Micro, lighting ditsribution diagrams were also created. These images show the distribution of light within the space as represented on a floor plan of the spaces.
Ecotect Renderings The Ecotect model was developed in order to test light distribution in the space and to develop daylight factors. The work plane is adjusted for just the atrium specifically for the first three images. In these images the workplane height starts at three feet, then goes to ten feet, and finally to sixteen feet. Adjusting the workplane like this allows the light distribution to be shown for the atrium at different levels. In the last two images the interior offices are shown. In the first four analyses, the daylight factors are shown in a two dimensional colored scale, while in the last image the data is shown in a three dimensional mesh. This allows you to get an overall feel of the light distribution. The day chosen for the lighting tests in Ecotect was the equinox at noon. Each of these renderings shows daylight distribution patterns at a specific level within the WRC study areas.
Click on each image to view a larger version (image will open in a new browser window). The results of each experiment can be viewed on its corresponding Data page:
The analysis of each experiment can be found on the corresponding Analysis page:
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