Environmental Control Systems I
Architecture 591
Fall 1999
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Vital Signs Case Study

Wade Jensen, Matt Larson, Edwin Santos, Chad Weltzin

The building selected for study was the William W. Knight Law Center, located on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene.  It was designed by Yost Grube Hall Architects out of Portland, Oregon, and is in its first year of occupancy.
 

In touring the building, the following pertinent questions were raised:

• Are lighting/shading levels in the second-floor computer lab conducive to computer work?
• How does the orientation of the second-floor computer lab, with its south-facing windows, affect the light in the room?
• How does the orientation of the second-floor computer lab, with its south-facing windows, affect the temperature in the room?
• Why does the computer lab require southern exposure, whereas most of the law library does not have southern exposure?

The second-floor computer lab, located in the southeast corner of the building, contains south-facing windows.  The windows are fitted with two layers of operable shades.  The inner shade is a heavy plastic mesh, which allows some light through, and the outer shade is a plastic black-out shade, which is more-or-less impermeable to light.  Computer users in the lab during our visit informed us that the shades are "always" closed.  This seemed unfortunate to us, given the potential for south light to improve the atmosphere in any room.  In pondering why the shades would always be closed, we wondered whether the need was to reduce glare off the computer monitors or if it was to reduce the temperature in the room caused by direct solar exposure.  This led us to the following hypothesis:
 
 

The shades in the Carl R. Hertig Computer Lab (rm. 281) of the William W. Knight Law Center are always closed in order to avoid the problem of glare off the computer monitors.

To determine the validity of this hypothesis, we will investigate the following variables:

• Time of day (no exterior light infiltration at night)
• Weather conditions (sunny vs. overcast, affects light levels in the room)
• Position in the room (computer users nearer the windows may experience a more severe glare problem)
• Positions of operable shades (perhaps the glare could be reduced enough by having the mesh shade drawn, and not the opaque shade)
• Orientation of monitors (the room is currently oriented such that the monitors face the windows)

If the hypothesis is found to be valid, we will discuss whether the problem of glare could be overcome by other means, which would allow the shades to remain (at least partially) open.  Such means may include a re-orientation of the desks and the instructor position in the room, as well as the use of glare-reducing screens over each monitor.
 
 

View Floor Plans (& Room Location)
View Methodology
View Data

View Analysis and Results