In 1995, Jim Benya became involved in the
Portland AIA Architecture+Energy Program and became inspired by the
prospects of daylighting to further reduce building energy use. Since
then, Benya Lighting Design has become increasingly involved in the
daylighting of its projects, and is now serving as the primary daylighting
consultant on several significant projects including the new Sloan School of
Business at MIT, the new Main Library at the University of Nevada at Reno,
the Aqua Caliente Cultural Museum in Palm Springs, the Kavli Institute for
Astrophysics at Stanford, and the Washington School for the Deaf. We
work closely with the Portland Better Bricks Daylighting Lab, the Seattle
Lighting Design Lab, and top daylighting gurus like Lisa Heschong to
maximize the performance of the daylighting systems being designed for
buildings.
We use the latest tools to augment the
architect's skills, including:
Helping develop daylighting and
fenestration concepts using SkyCalc and other software to test each
concept.
Helping analyze glazing systems for
thermal, light transmission and light color qualities using Optic 5.
Helping study interior spaces in detail
using Lumen Designer or Lumen Micro, ensuring optimum daylighting under
all conditions.
Designing electric lighting and lighting
controls that perfectly harvest every daylight lumen.
In November 2003, Jim was quoted in the Wall
Street Journal about the growing interest and need for daylighting.
Among his comments, he noted that a building is not daylighted unless the
electric lights are off during the day.
Portland
International Airport Concourse "C"
ZGF
Partnership, Architects
(left)
Day mode, all lights except retail and signage off (right) Night
Mode
The
project uses a programmed cross fade dimming system for seamless
transitions.
To see photos from the recently completed Lillis
School of Business at the University of Oregon, click
here.
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