University of Oregon research leads to new light shelf

Enlarge Image

Water light shelves installed at the Women's Care Medical Clinic in Eugene

It’s both a light shelf and a shade awning. An implement for the pursuit of greener building design and a way to bring the ever-changing elements of the outdoors into the rooms we spend our days in.

That’s how Kevin Nute, a professor of architecture at the University of Oregon, describes the water light shelf that he and graduate student Aaron Weiss invented.

With the help of a $33,000 research grant from the University Venture Development Fund and a $10,000 grant from the architecture firm Mulvanny G2, Nute and Weiss came up with a prototype of the water light shelf, a water-filled device to reflect natural light into an interior space.

The shelves have been installed in three test areas — a doctor’s office, an orthodontist office and a school — with positive results. The light effect in the room retains the qualities of rippling water. Traditional light shelves use reflective material such as aluminum.

“Our ancestors evolved outdoors,” Nute said. “Now we spend all our time indoors and we’re missing that contact with nature.”

Nute said the use of natural light reflected by the water brings nature inside while mimicking the constant change that is outdoor weather.

“It keeps people alert without being distracted,” Nute said.

Now that the prototype has shown how the shelves work in the real world, the UO pair are ready to talk to potential investors and partners about bringing them to market.

“We’ve taken it pretty much as far as we can take it,” Nute said.