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Seasonal Sunlight Chamber: A Lighting Design Concept to Connect Us to the Dynamics of Sunlight and Our Place on Earth

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Design, Learning, and Innovation (DLI 2020)

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Abstract

People currently exist mainly indoors, detached from their natural surroundings. During times of rapid growth, globalization and digitalization, it has never been more important to investigate how to reconnect to our natural environment. In this paper we develop a design to investigate how a lighting design concept can act as a tool to understand the geometry of sunlight on Earth and thereby meet human needs to be in touch with the environment. A design is developed by redefining an ancient analogue technology, the sundial. The path of the Sun is translated into a design concept and is demonstrated in a three dimensional time and sight specific prototype. This design concept creates embodied experiences where viewers interact with their ever-changing daylight and surroundings. The aim with this exploratory design is to create a visual tool for learning about complex natural phenomena and understanding our relation to Earth and the Sun. It thereby discusses how a design can put humans in touch with their natural surroundings to satisfy individual biological needs in order to better understand contemporary environmental needs at large.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lighting Design, Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, Aalborg University, A. C. Meyers Vænge 15, 2450, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Emma Strebel & Ellen Kathrine Hansen

Authors
  1. Emma Strebel
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  2. Ellen Kathrine Hansen
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Eva Irene Brooks

  2. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Anthony Brooks

  3. University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Cristina Sylla

  4. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Anders Kalsgaard Møller

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© 2021 ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering

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Strebel, E., Hansen, E.K. (2021). Seasonal Sunlight Chamber: A Lighting Design Concept to Connect Us to the Dynamics of Sunlight and Our Place on Earth. In: Brooks, E.I., Brooks, A., Sylla, C., Møller, A.K. (eds) Design, Learning, and Innovation. DLI 2020. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 366. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78448-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78448-5_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-78447-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-78448-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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