This award provides partial funding for the design and development of a daylighting and lighting simulation facility being constructed at the University of Michigan's College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The facility includes various research and design tools, including a 30-foot diameter hemispherical sky simulator for daylighting studies; a full scale photometric simulation laboratory; an integrating sphere for window and shading systems studies. The facility also provides state-of-the art computer simulation modeling in daylighting, lighting, and energy. The objectives are to provide a facility in which various architectural spaces can be modeled and tested, and will be available to research, teaching, and design faculties, as well as professionals in design communities. Due to the high cost of energy, the contributions of this type of facility have been recognized by the research, education, and design communities throughout the country. The University of Michigan is a member of Daylighting Network of North America and has regional research center designation. This new facility is designed in such a way as to be used as a prototype for fabrication by other interested educational and research institutions.
