Parametric tools and digital fabrication for the design of luminous ceilings

The digital phenomena constitute a fundamental change in how designers accomplish a wide range of the complex processes of design. This thesis investigates the use of computation in the context of architectural lighting design. It particularly looks into how cutting edge computational tools -- such as digital fabrication and parametric tools -- can be combined with the Light Emitting Diodes (LED) technology to create luminous architectural elements. Work in this field is of most relevance in a moment when the implementation of LED systems is expected to establish a new paradigm in architectural illumination. Results from recent technology roadmaps show that by the year 2020 LEDs will be replacing incandescent, halogen and fluorescent lamps and will become the primary choice for general lighting applications. Because LED architectural applications are not widely understood by the industry, a successful implementation process will be highly dependant on multidisciplinary design research, where many design experimentations will have to occur. New approaches are needed where the technical advantages of LEDs - they are more efficient, have longer life of operation, are rugged and compact, produce the entire color spectrum, and are fully controllable - are used to promote better lighting design quality. It is in this context that my research takes place, utilizing advanced computational tools to explore innovative design possibilities for lighting systems with embedded LEDs. This thesis describes a sequence of experiments to design and build a system of luminous ceiling tiles made of acrylic pieces and equipped with embedded LEDs. First, I use programming to generate parametric 3D models of the ceiling tiles. A series of

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Saad, Rita, 1980-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lawrence Sass and William Lyman Porter.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69770

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/69770