Derring Hall is known on the Virginia Tech campus for its Geology science labs, but may be better known for it’s limited windows and dark interior spaces. The light study project aimed to find ways of bringing more light into these classrooms without significant architectural intervention, using a range of reflective surfaces.

For the study, our team selected classroom 1084 on the ground floor of Derring Hall where each of us had previously taken classes. In this room, the only window bringing light into the space had been tucked beyond the corner of the nearly square room so that the rear wall needed to angle back to accept the full 4’ window.

Five concepts for increasing light reflection were tested. These included covering the wall opposite the window with polished metal, brushed metal, mirrors, and a whiteboard, as well as a light shelf made of brushed metal projecting approximately 2’ from the window and raised 2’ from the ground.

To test these interventions a DSLR camera was fitted to a scale model at the classroom door’s location. The camera’s shutter speed and aperture (depth of field) were then locked, leaving ISO, or the camera’s light sensitivity, to automatically adjust as the only variable. A decrease in ISO numbers would mean the camera required less sensitivity to take an equivalently light and balanced photo, indicating an increase in the room’s overall brightness.

Photo sets were then taken at 10:00am, 12:30pm, and 4:00pm on a sunny day, rotating each concept out and documenting the camera’s automatic ISO level changes for comparison.

From the tests shown below it was concluded that when direct sunlight was most limited, the addition of mirrors, polished metal, or whiteboards to the angled wall would best increase the amount of light reflected into the space.