::the work

I begin with conducting experiments to learn more about the LEDs as a material, and the interaction between LED lighting and other materials. This step is important, so that I can create a catelog of behaviors and effects of LEDs, which will help me a lot in future design. I set up an experiment to see how the angle of incident and distance will affect the visual perception combined with different materials. Below is one snapshot that shows three different materials (white paper, ½ inch sandblasted acrylic sheet, and thin white plastic sheet) with four different distances (10cm, 5cm, 2cm, and 0cm) between LED and the material. In addition to what are shown below, I also use the same testing with other materials such as mirror, transparent glass, magnifying lens and amber color transparent acrylic sheet.

Another experiment with materials is about creating interesting effects with LED. Below are some of the images I took for future reference. Treating LED as a point source, adding the possibility of behavior programming, will possibly change radically how lighting can be used.

::Final Design

Below are the four design projects and prototypes I made for the final review of the class. Common to these proposals is the idea of using LEDs as a display to make the invisible visible. With the help of matured sensor technologies, an architectural element can inform and interact with the inhabitants of a space.

(1) LEDs with short fiber optics

In this design I tried to create the illusion of lighting dots floating in the air, and its lighting behavior corresponds to people’s walking traces left in the space. I built a small model with about 80 short fiber optics coming down from the ceiling. On top of the model, I put a 4X3 grid of white LEDs that are controlled by a microcontroller program. The figure below shows the setting.

And the figure below shows some snapshots of the lighting effects when different LEDs are lit up.

(2) LEDs, ceiling, and public spaces

In this design, I elevated the floor to create a public space below a building, and position LEDs downward to the ground. By making the LEDs lighting reacts to the behavior inside the building, we will be able to create a public projecting lighting that enable the pedestrians to interact with the happening inside the architecture above them. Images of some of the effects are shown below. An interesting dialogue between the inside and outside of a building can be created.

(3) LEDs matrix with adjustable focus

From the two designs above, I started to think about making a whole wall with grid of LEDs, while each of the LED not only being controlled by microcontroller, but a servo motor to move it toward or leaving the diffusing surface. It creates an illusion of the change of focus. Figures below show the setup and some snapshots taken in dark environment.

(4) LEDs with extremely fine fiber optics

I got this material from Michelle ’s material lab, and what I intended to create with it is a waterfall like effect with a strip of LEDs and pointing them to fiber optics. I built an acrylic waterproof tank as shown below.

But it turned out the effect is bad. One reason is that when I put fibers in water, because they are so fine, they tend to stick together in the water. Originally I desired to create an effect that the perception of those lighting dots floating in the water will be affected by water pouring down along the fiber optics. But since many of them are stuck together, the floating effect is very difficult to produce.

::acknowledgement

thanks Michelle and the class for valuable inputs!