The deadline for applications for the Summer 2012 Daylight Thinking Course in Vicenza, Italy is the 27th May 2012. As this date approaches, we would like to present you with some further details of the applications process.
The course is open to applications from architects and lighting designers, both student and professional, and focuses on the culture of daylight, both in its capacity as an expressive device, and as a technical tool for a sustainable design approach. It provides a unique opportunity in which to examine daylight matter and its design, simulation and integration.
Details of the course programme, including administrative information, can be found on our website. To apply, simply visit the ‘apply now’ section, where you will be guided to the relevant enrolment forms provided by the University of Florida.
If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us vis email .
We were very happy with the outcome of the PLDA Sustainability Meeting at L+B Frankfurt last week, with more than twenty attendees and several interesting topics up for discussion.
The meeting was entitled ‘Daylight Inspirations for Sustainable Living’, and the focus was therefore on ways in which natural light can be used to greater effect in an architectural project, and enhance the well-being of its inhabitants.
Heinrich Kramer spoke on ‘The Importance of Natural Light in Comparison to Artificial Light’, highlighting the human need for daylight rather than its artificial counterparts. He also discussed in detail a few of his own daylighting projects, including the Institut du Monde Arab in Paris, for which he designed the mechanical light-regulating components which make up the facade, as well as the artificial lighting system.
Giovanni Traverso followed this with a presentation on ‘Working with Daylight: Design Strategies to create a Positive Architecture’. Here he focused on the importance of the circadian system of daylight; the changing light qualities throughout the days and seasons, and the positive effects which exposure to this natural rhythm can have on human health. This was exemplified through discussion of a small number of key projects, including Carlo Scarpa’s Gipsoteca Canoviana, and Traverso-Vighy’s own Bosco Retreat, in which the surrounding trees provide a natural circadian filter for the daylight entering the building.
The key points of discussion centered around the importance of allowing the natural rhythm of daylight its place in each architectural project. Not only does this have a positive impact on human health and well-being, but a greater use of natural light lessens the need for energy-consuming artificial lighting systems, and thus increases the environmental sustainability of the project. This can be furthered by the use of new lighting technologies, which can be integrated with natural lighting to create a cohesive system beneficial to both human health and the environment.
A pdf version of the presentations given by both Heinrich Kramer and Giovanni Traverso is available to download here. We would like to thank all who attended the meeting, and to hear any feedback, comments or queries that you may have.
coolingZONE are hosting a dedicated conference on the subject of LED thermal management from May 29-June 1, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. This conference is a combination of technical and manufacturers presentations on the thermal management of LEDs, and a series of technical short courses dedicated to thermal management and characterization of LEDs.
They are looking for papers on the following subjects, which can be presented on May 31st, 2012.
smart cooling of LEDs – solutions, techniques, systems
thermal transport in LED based lighting
thermal characterization of LEDs
thermal and flow simulations in LED lighting applications
thermal coupling in LED based lighting systems
cooling solutions for LED based lighting – from residential to industrial applications
advances in LED packaging
thermal characterization of LED cooling solutions
role of LED packaging in its thermal management
role of temperature in reliability estimations and life expectancy predictions of LED based lighting
LED energy consumption and their comparison with other lighting methods
LED cooling – from natural convection to liquid cooling
deadline for submissions: 30th April, 2012 author notification: 6th May, 2012 final drafts due: 16th May, 2012
to submit a paper, or for more information on the conference itself, please visit the coolingZONE website at www.coolingzone.com .
The PLDA Sustainability Meeting at L+B Frankfurt next month is entitled ‘Daylight Inspirations for Sustainable Living’, and will focus on aspects of daylighting relating to health and sustainability. The meeting will commence with a talk from Heinrich Kramer entitled ‘Natural & Artificial Light: A Comparison in terms of Sustainability and Human Well-Being’, after which Giovanni Traverso will speak on ‘Working with Daylight: Design Strategies to create a Positive Architecture’. The talks will be followed by an opportunity for discussion, along with some light refreshments. We hope to see you there!
Giovanni Traverso will be chairing the seminar ‘See the Light: Get Creative with Natural Daylight’ on Thursday 22nd March at the Ecobuild Programme in London.
The event will kick off with a presentation from Giovanni entitled ‘Integrating Daylight into Architecture’, focusing on utilising daylight as a positive tool in creating architectural spaces which are beneficial to human health. Using his own projects and experiences as a starting point, Giovanni will discuss the use of new technologies and Solid State Lighting in daylighting projects, and how these can be integrated into the circadian system of natural light to increase energy efficiency and human health benefits.
This will be followed by a presentation from Andrew Bissell, who leads Cundall’s specialist lighting design team with over 15 years experience in the industry. Andrew has worked on lighting projects in a wide variety of building types, and his presentation ‘The Daylight Experience’ reflects the range of his knowledge.
The seminar will conclude with a presentation from Kevin Grant, a senior lighting designer and group leader at Happold Lighting, whose talk ‘Case Study: Integrating Daylight’ focuses on specific examples.
Free tickets to the seminar, along with other conferences and presentations over the course of the three-day event, are available at www.ecobuild.co.uk
The current draft legislation for reflector lamps, the final draft of which is dated January 2012, will result in the phasing out of several types of lamps, with mains, low voltage and metal halide reflector lamps most likely to be affected. The signals are clear that there will be significant reductions in the availability of these lamps from September 2013, with further reductions scheduled for 2016.
The concern is that specification of these lamp types could lead to a risk of Professional Indemnity Claims if said lamp types could not be provided for installation after September 2013. Specification of products which then become unavailable from September 2013 would likely result in claims from clients regarding delays and mis-specification.
The main problem is that there is insufficient data available to determine exactly which lamps will be phased out, the specification of which should be avoided accordingly, as manufacturers and legislators have not, at the current time, provided the necessary information. We will be closely following the debate on this topic, continuing to update the greenpages blog with any developments, and would welcome your comments and opinions on the subject.
This intensive educational experience is set against a backdrop of the Italian Veneto, where participants are involved in daylight matter and its design, simulation and integration.
The course introduces the culture of daylight both as an expressive device, and as a technical tool for a sustainable design approach. Artificial light is presented not as an independent topic, but both in its integration with daylight and its increasing capacity as a key component for a positive impact on human well-being. Alongside these studies, the course encompasses a full programme of lectures, seminars and conferences delivered by a varied body of experts and professionals, as well as a series of tutor-led workshops encouraging innovation and experimentation within these themes.
Set in the town of Vicenza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the course includes guided tours to experience the play of light in architecture, from Renaissance masterpieces by Palladio and Scamozzi, to Carlo Scarpa’s works, and provides access to contemporary buildings by Piano, Fuksas, Ando, and to the recent Traverso-Vighy daylight experiments.
The course philosophy stresses the necessity of analyzing daylight strategies as part of the basic concepts of an architecture project; using the circadian system in both natural and artificial lighting to positively influence our experience, and sharing a new consciousness of the importance of the influence of darkness on the built environment.
The course is open to architects and lighting designers, both student and professional, from across the globe. For more information, and details on how to apply for the course, please visit our website, or email us at information@daylightthinking.com.
China has announced that it will join the US and the EU in phasing out the use of incandescent light bulbs. The move is set to commence in October 2012 for bulbs of 100 watts and above, with a complete ban being introduced by October 2016. Over a billion incandescent bulbs are used annually across the country, and with the ban in place, China could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 48 million tonnes per year.
However, despite the obvious environmental benefits of such a strategy, it is not all good news. Investigations have been made into the effects of energy-saving Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) on human health and well-being, the results of which are not so positive.
Politically, governments are often so concerned with the problems of global warming and creating energy efficient environments that they fail to include other factors, in this case the well-being of their citizens. Instead of imposing a complete ban on the incandescent lightbulb as an object, we ought to think about our relationship with and our use of our light sources. Using artificial light only when required, rather than the background and supplementary lighting which is all too often unnecessary, would also enable us to increase the energy efficiency of such systems and lower carbon dioxide production, while simultaneously taking human health and well-being into account. The answer, we would suggest, is always to select the right light for the right place at the right time.
The Sustainability Pre-Convention Meeting held at the end of October in Madrid proved to be a great success, with more than fifty attendees from across the world.
The focus was on building a common strategy on sustainable design themes, daylight matters and lighting benefits for human well being. The meeting was chaired by Heinrich Kramer, FPLDA, and Giovanni Traverso, sustainability director of PLDA, and their presentation from the conference can now be downloaded here. This presentation highlights the importance and health benefits of a natural daylight pattern, and the positive effects which new technologies such as LED and control systems can have through energy efficiency and the emulation of natural lighting conditions.
The participants of the convention demonstrated great enthusiasm, and encouraged much discussion of the presentation. We would like for this active enthusiasm and participation to continue through the medium of this blog, enabling PLDA Greenpages to become more of an interactive forum for discussion and information on the subject of sustainable lighting design. Following on from the convention, the aim is now to discuss and debate these matters on this blog, and to develop new opportunities for further events and practical workshops.
Please post any information on your research and thoughts about the subject that you would like to share and debate with our sustainabilitycommunity, or send your information to sustainability@traverso-vighy.com
