My final stop in Boise was the Integrated Design Lab, which is actually located several blocks northwest of the Water Center in a historic building just around the corner from an amazing French restaurant called Le Cafe De Paris. (French tuna sandwich and pumpkin soup… yums!)
The IDL is all about designing and building structures that are greener, more energy efficient, smarter and more comfortable to work in. They take into account design features ranging from the shape, size and orientation of windows to provide the optimum amount of natural light to creating naturally flowing air currents to keep the rooms cool and ventilated without necessarily having to turn on any air conditioning units.
To achieve this, they have two very cool modeling tools in their workshop. The first is a giant box completely filled with mirrors and a few lights that can be adjusted to different levels of lighting. The result is that the box creates the same conditions as a cloudy day, where it is lighter overhead but becomes darker as you go down to the horizon.
To test designs, a technician will build their concept model in the center of the box. Then, small cameras are pointed into the model and photos are taken at various light levels as well as for various window orientations and designs. The photos are then analyzed on a computer program to find the optimum design.
Similarly, sitting just a few feet from this “cloudy day” box is a platform that rotates on all three axis. A theater spotlight is bounced off of an overhead mirror to simulate a sunny day. The platform can then be rotated to simulate different times of year and different times of day; basically any angle of direct sunlight imaginable. Photos are again taken and analyzed as described for the box.
The result is a wide suite of options that can be presented to the customer. An example is pictured below, which was from a building being modeled for a project in conjunction with CTA Architects and Engineers of Boise, one of the many local collaborations and projects the IDL is involved in.
But Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, director of the IDL, is taking customer service to a whole new level.
Kevin currently is working on a research project for an integrated automated lighting system.
Imagine, if you will, an office where there are light sensors connected to the lighting system that adjust automatically - not just to the ambient conditions, but to the individual’s ideal working conditions. Blinds that open and close automatically depending on the outside conditions and the levels of glare produced from with windows.
These are just a few of the possibilities for creating an optimum work enviornment while saving as much energy as possible that Kevin is working on. Coming soon to an office near you…