For Spring 2002, this lab will be conducted in two sections if class schedules of participants require it. All students are expected to attend the Tuesday session each week, during which new concepts will be introduced in an informal lecture format. All are also expected to attend either the Monday or Thursday afternoon session, which will focus on experimental investigations.

This course will consist of a series of extended experiments. Possibilities include:

1. Daylighting design and evaluation, via models and simulation;

2. Measurements of indoor air pollutants;

3. Natural ventilation;

4. Passive solar design and evaluation.

All experiments will draw on recent or ongoing work by Department of Architecture faculty and students in the Hunza Valley of Northern Pakistan, in the state of Gujarat, India, and in Beijing and Shanghai, China. While experiments are subject to change, the first lab will likely focus on how to size and locate windows to provide adequate natural light in houses in rural villages in Gujarat. This work will require construction of realistic models, use of daylighting design procedures to size windows, and testing of the models under natural light with illuminance meters. The second experiment will address natural ventilation in houses, either in Pakistan or China. Investigations will focus on airflow around the outside of buildings as well as within them, and will be based on both measurement in models and on simulations using computational-fluid-dynamics programs. The third experiment will consider passive solar heating in buildings and will feature design and construction of models and testing them outdoors, using temperature sensors to record variations in indoor temperatures due to changes in solar radiation and outdoor temperature.

Lab projects are best done in small teams. A commitment to consistent attendance is expected from all. Lab reports will form the basis for a class-level document which, if it accurately describes work well done, will contribute directly to the well being of inhabitants of developing countries.

Text:
Murdoch, J.P., Illumination Engineering: From Edison's Lamp to the Laser,
Visions Communications, 1994
ISBN 1885750005