Baker Lighting Lab supports a collection of courses, taught by faculty in the Architecture and Interior Architecture programs. To learn more about individual courses and the work supported by the Baker Lighting Lab, see below.
Courses taught by Professor Siobhan Rockcastle:
Environmental Control Systems I
This course focuses on design strategies that give foundational information and tools to apply at the schematic design level. Passive architectural solutions will be emphasized, yet active (mechanical/electrical) solutions will also be covered. Major topics include the environmental design of buildings and communities with regard to energy use, conservation, thermal comfort, cognizant codes and standards, HVAC systems, renewable energy, indoor air quality, measurement and verification, vertical transportation, and the tools needed to understand an ecological approach to design. This course is taught by Professors Siobhan Rockcastle and Tom Hahn.
Electric Lighting
The goal of the course is to develop skill in the design of the luminous environment using electric lighting, and in the design integration of electric light sources and architectural space. This interior architecture course asks students to evaluates the interior electric lighting conditions in an existing space and design a new lighting scheme that integrates custom luminaires with existing off-the-shelf systems to create a balanced and inspired design. Students will work in teams to design and build a physical luminaire prototype for a retail space and integrate that prototype into a virtual model to design, measure, and render an integrated lighting design. This course is taught by Professor Siobhan Rockcastle.
Building Simulation and Visualization
In this course, students will explore the use of simulation tools to build the skills necessary to evaluate the performance of a building for daylight, electric light, thermal comfort, and energy use. The first several weeks of the term will include a series of workshops and short assignments in Climate Studio, Radiance, Grasshopper, and Enscape/Twinmotion. The world of building simulation is large, covering a broad range of different tools, applications, and competencies. This course will expose you to both mainstream and emerging tools, with a focus on user friendly workflows that will help students hit the ground running. During this term, students will learn how to take a rhino model of a building and execute a series of analyses and interventions to measure and improve its environmental performance. Students will then be exposed to real-time rendering software to generate immersive renderings for use in VR and animation. In addition to the workshop sessions, this course is supported by several guest speakers who will present their research and use of simulation in professional practice. The final third of the term will culminate in a final project; proposed, developed, and executed using your studio project (past or present) and an in-depth analysis provided by one of the tools introduced over the term. This course is taught by Professor Siobhan Rockcastle.
Courses supported by Baker Lighting Lab and taught for outside faculty:
Environmental Control Systems II
This course focuses on the influence of energy source, climate, heating, cooling, lighting, acoustics, and water and waste systems on the design of buildings and sites. It investigates the implications of lighting, acoustics, and water and waste for architectural design. The students in ECS II team up to analyze the existing daylighting conditions in a local building using a daylighting model and Baker Lighting Lab illuminance meters. The students then propose alterations to enhance the daylighting conditions of their chosen space. As a group, the students then turn their focus to electric lighting through the design and fabrication of a luminaire that fulfills the needs of their space. They also create acoustical recommendations for the space. All the enhancements are then presented in a “Redesign” poster. The Baker Lighting Lab plays a critical role in the data collection and analysis of the Lighting and Acoustical Modifications presentations. This course is taught by Professor Ihab Elzeyadi.