Assistant professor of Interior Design Dr. Negar Matin recently published her study entitled “A data-driven optimized daylight pattern for responsive facades design” in the journal Intelligent Buildings International. Dr. Matin is lead author of the publication, with collaborator Ali Eydgahi.
Abstract:
This study presents a data-driven approach for investigating practical aspects of responsive facades illuminance optimization. In this approach, the hourly indoor illuminance data and spatial information are integrated to form an objective function. Then, the objective function is used to assess the visual performance of responsive facade systems by matching a wide range of angle movements with hourly daylight patterns. An office room with a responsive facade was simulated parametrically to test the proposed optimization function through design scenarios. Raw indoor illuminance data was generated for a year of both horizontal and vertical facade configurations in four different facade orientations and four facade locations/climate zones. Data analytic techniques were deployed for quality assurance, pre-processing, managing and analyzing the simulated data. A Brute-force search algorithm was utilized to determine the hourly optimum angle of the facade configuration. The result reveals hourly optimum adaptation angles can significantly improve indoor illuminance of all possible scenarios such as various facade configurations, facade orientations, and facade locations/climate zones in comparison with no-louvers and fixed louvers scenarios.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Thinh "Henry" Duong, a master's student in the Division of Interior Design, for earning first place in the 2026 Robert Bruce Thompson Annual Student Light Fixture Design Competition.
Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Director and Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD) faculty member Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., recently published a new book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum.
In May, students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture's Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design programs participated in an intensive five-day Studio in Residence at Taliesin West, the iconic winter home and desert laboratory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
