The New Orchard Heliodon at UCLouvain’s LOCI Faculty Officially Unveiled

The Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning (LOCI) at UCLouvain has officially unveiled its new Orchard Heliodon, supplied by Nitter-Betanit. The inauguration took place at LOCI Brussels in the presence of its patron, Christian Leleux, whose support contributed to making the project possible.

The acquisition of the instrument, promoted by Professor Sergio Altomonte, will enhance the teaching and research activities of the Architecture et Climat (A&C) research group, part of the Louvain Research Institute for Landscape, Architecture, Built Environment (LAB).

A Tool for Understanding and Designing with the Sun

The Orchard Heliodon can simulate the angle of incidence of sunlight on scale models of buildings, urban areas and landscapes. By reproducing the sun’s path according to latitude, time of year and time of day, it enables students, lecturers and researchers to observe and assess:

• natural lighting in indoor spaces;
• shadow patterns;
• the effectiveness of solar shading systems;
• the solar exposure of buildings and public spaces;
• the conditions that influence comfort and the environmental performance of a design.

The ability to visually assess design choices makes the heliodon an effective link between theory, experimentation and practical application.

A Solid Foundation for Education and Research

As the supplier of the Orchard Heliodon, we are proud to have contributed to the creation of this new facility for teaching, research and experimentation.

We extend our best wishes to the entire LOCI Faculty, Professor Sergio Altomonte, the Architecture et Climat research group and everyone who helped make this project possible.

We are confident that, thanks to this solid foundation and the quality of the education they receive, LOCI students will distinguish themselves through their commitment, creativity and ability to develop increasingly responsible and sustainable architectural solutions. At the same time, the daily dedication of lecturers, researchers and educators will be rewarded through the achievements and professional careers of future generations.

We look forward to discovering the projects, research and experiments that will take shape with the support of the new Orchard Heliodon.

We wish the entire LOCI community every success in its work!

Source: UCLouvain – LOCI s’équipe d’un héliodon