Laboratories on Architecture
In our Architecture Labs visualizations and models are designed and built.
Architecture Lab
The Architecture Lab is a modelling and design facility located in the F-building. It is used daily by students. It is equipped with foam cutters, light tables, drawing tables, a big format printer and soon it will feature a 3D printing farm for students to improve their models and test their creativity.
The facility is also equipped with a CNC cutting machine for students to build their prototypes and mockups.
Urban climate lab
Urban Climate Lab has various sets of high-precision microclimatic instruments and numerical modelling software, which will be used by researchers and students in studies of urban microclimate and climate-sensitive urban design.
Urban climate is important to the living quality of urban dwellers and the inter-relationships between urban climate and urban morphology are critical to urban planning and design practices. The Urban Climate Lab provides instruments that help researchers and students to investigate how our built environment and its geometry affect the microclimate of outdoor public spaces. They provide empirical data for the microclimatic conditions of different urban settings. Researchers can therefore develop the optimal design of buildings and outdoor spaces for more sustainable and liveable cities.
Numerical modelling
Numerical modelling software like ENVI-met is used in the Urban Climate Lab for researchers to evaluate how different scenarios of urban geometry affect the microclimate and hence thermal comfort of outdoor spaces. Various strategies of climate-sensitive design can be tested for its applicability and performance based on the simulation results.
In collaborations funded by the SUN Seed Funding Project, Dr Kevin Lau and Dr Constantinos Vasselidas used the numerical model ENVI-met to investigate how urban geometry affects the solar energy potential and microclimate of outdoor spaces in Luleå, Sweden and Limassol, Cyprus. This form the basis of the parametric understanding of how Building-integrated Photovoltaic Systems should be designed for façade renovation with regard to building geometry and orientation.
Microclimatic Measurements
Students in the course Climate, Landscape and Built-up Areas, Technical Assessments used the instruments to examine the microclimatic conditions in Porsön Centrum and applied the knowledge from course lectures in understanding the effect of urban geometry such as orientation, aspect ratio, sky view factor on different microclimatic variables, which later forms an integral part of the course assignments. The measurement results are also used in validating the microclimatic simulation for the FORMAS project on Positive Energy District.
Collaboration with Industry and Municipality
Since 2022, the Urban Climate Lab started to collaborate with Autodesk Spacemaker in applying the software in the course Climate, Landscape and Built-up Areas, Technical Assessments for evaluating the design proposal developed for a designated case study area in Skellefteå. We also worked with Skellefteå municipality to allow students to contribute to existing projects conducted by the municipality.
Virtual Reality Lab
VR-studio, which has two 4K projectors will be used by researchers and students in areas such as in construction, architecture, ore geology and mining and rock engineering.
In the studio, it is possible for example to create lifelike environments for urban planning and mining research. The VR studio will be rented by external actors for VR applications, workshops, meetings and presentations.
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