A Table Top Heliodon With A Moving Light Source For Use In An Architect's Office

Abstract

Heliodons have been developed to simulate sunlight direction in relation to a building model. In the pursuit of a heliodon capable of producing quasi-parallel light impinging on physical building models for simulating sunlight impingement for various hours of the day and various days of the year, and for varying latitudes, yet occupying a space generally affordable in an architect’s design studio, a new table top heliodon has been developed.

This paper reports on this heliodon which simulates the directional and parallelity aspects of sunlight. It employs a movable artificial directional light source assembly giving light onto a building model which is placed on a horizontal model stand. The light source assembly is adjustable for giving simulated sunlight (only simulating for the directional and parallelity aspects of sunlight) onto the building model, for the desirable day, time, and latitude of the location of the modelled building. This directional adjustment of light is effected by moving the simulated light generator about the simulated earth axis, thus also allowing strong demonstration of physical solar movement around the building model. In order to receive the simulated sunlight which comes out in a limited face area of the lens, the building model and/or its stand have to be moved to ensure that the simulated quasi-parallel light will fall onto the desirable parts of the building model. This model movement is a simple movement just for keeping the correct north-south orientation of the building model, and for catching the simulated sunlight, without tilting the building model.