Towards new design of laser cut acrylic panels for windows

Abstract

This paper builds upon existing research into laser cut panels and aims to find new design-patterns that would improve daylighting conditions of existing rooms when applying the laser-cut panels on vertical windows. The primary area of exploration is looking for new design patterns and their ability to both deflect and spread the incoming light into the simulated room. Repeating wave patterns and a parametric pattern of laser cuts in a transparent acrylic sheet were studied in a scale model. The original linear design invented by Ian Edmond was also included. The study was carried out using artificial sun at the Daylighting laboratory at NTNU. The results indicate that deflecting of light is closely related to the panels’ D/W-ratio (distance between cuts/width of the panel) and the panels’ ability to spread light is related to the magnitude of curvature in the pattern-design. The parametric pattern and the wave pattern have both shown very promising results and are recommended for application in real buildings. The paper also describes a new research method based on the analysis of false colour images developed from HDR images, created from a series of photos taken with a fish-eye camera in a scale model.