Shadow Play.

An ingenious new computer-generated visualization program from German lighting manufacturers Erco enables the effects of light to be very precisely assessed.

Designing with light has always been an important element of architecture, yet the ways in which architects can visualize this intangible building material have hitherto been imprecise. More than ever, the integration of natural and increasingly sophisticated artificial lighting offers potential for spatial, material and functional expression and there is great demand from architects and designers for increasingly realistic light simulations that go beyond photographs and product catalogues. In response, German lighting manufacturer Erco has developed an ingenious 3D CAD program which visualizes efficiently and realistically the effects of light in space. Now available on the Internet, this recent innovation reproduces exactly the photometric properties of various Erco luminaires in conjunction with daylighting, so that designers can accurately assess how light penetrates, modulates and animates different sorts of spaces.

Developed in collaboration with Autodesk, the visualization program creates an accurate tool for analysis and design. Lighting conditions in both completed buildings and those at project stage can be very precisely anticipated. The 3D luminaire models enable photorealistic visualization from various angles, as well as taking account of physical data about light and its atmospheric effect on rooms. The quantitative analysis of the lighting conditions provides information about the brightness at every point in the space and the degree of reflection of the walls and objects around the space. Real time simulation of observers around the space is also possible. So light can be experienced much more accurately and lighting designs can be modified and evaluated in response to the simulations.

A large proportion of Erco's product range is already available in the form of virtual luminaires on the Internet. Architects and designers can integrate these virtual luminaires into their own building simulations directly from the Internet through a drag and drop technique. In this way, they can test and analyse light conditions and define particular lighting effects. The possibilities and benefits of the system have already been explored in projects such as Richard Meier's competitionwinning design for Chiesa 2000, in Rome (AR September 1998) and an office block by Schneider + Schumacher in Frankfurt. These simulations draw on experience accumulated by Erco from lighting systems installed in recent major projects, including the Reichstag, the new Louvre and Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. C. S.