EUGENE, Ore. -- (May 13, 2010) – A University of Oregon architecture professor has collaborated with a graduate student to design a water-filled device that reflects natural, exterior light into buildings while adding the soothing patterns of moving water.
Architecture professor Kevin Nute and graduate student Aaron Weiss came up with the concept in an architectural design class taught by Nute in 2008. They have since perfected the design and created prototypes now in place at three buildings in Eugene: the Women’s Care office on Country Club Parkway, the Benjamin Thornton Orthodontics office and the Eugene Waldorf School.
“For a majority of people, (the reaction) has been neutral or they’ve said they like it,” says Allison Moore, a receptionist in the Women’s Care clinic. “Only a couple people have said they didn’t like it.”
Conventional light shelves, whose top surfaces are usually made of reflective aluminum, are horizontal overhangs placed above eye level outside windows. They reflect light onto the ceiling, deeper into a room than light that would otherwise pass through the window. The light shelves even out the daylighting of rooms, reducing the need for artificial lighting.
The water light shelves designed by Nute and Weiss also reflect light into rooms. But because they are filled with water, their light projects any wind-generated movement of the water’s surface. The new design is seen as a means of increasing a room’s natural light while having a calming, stress-reducing effect on its occupants.
A University of Oregon Translational Research Grant has enabled Nute and Weiss to test the energy and human effects of the water light shelf's moving light patterns. UO architecture professor G.Z. “Charlie” Brown collaborated on the testing, along with psychology professor Richard Marrocco and adjunct instructor Jagdeep Bala.
The prototypes were originally envisioned as temporary, but occupants of at least one test location — the Eugene Waldorf School — are pleased enough with the effects that they have asked to keep the light shelves permanently. Reception staffs at the medical and orthodontic clinics have also reported positive responses to the lighting effects.
“A rippling pond is what it reminds me of,” says Moore, the Women’s Care receptionist.
Reactions from the three test spaces will be monitored through questionnaires, and observers will record whether the moving light patterns affect where people choose to sit. If results are positive, Nute and Weiss plan to seek private investment to turn the water light shelf into a commercial product for use on both new and existing buildings.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 63 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Media Contact: Joe Mosley, media relations associate, 541-346-3606, jmosley@uoregon.edu
Source: Kevin Nute, UO architecture professor, 541-346-0048, knute@uoregon.edu
Links: for video of the water light shelf, http://www.youtube.com/uoregon#p/u/12/kG2TdyachSU