Atlas Living Lab

2019 | Intelligent lighting research infrastructure

I have been project leader for realising the largest indoor living lab in Europe, the Atlas Living Lab, dedicated to research into sustainable and healthy buildings. This living lab is created in the refurbished Atlas building, the main building of the Eindhoven University of Technology campus in Eindhoven. Important element is an IP based lighting infrastructure that includes sensor-equipped lights and the possibility to override its standard behaviour with research applications.

I worked in close collaboration with architect TeamV, the Total Engineer RSVP,  the university services departments, the researchers, the suppliers Unica and Signify and many building residents, to design and realise the technological and organisational infrastructure of the living lab together. 

During the 5 year project, I have presided over several workgroups that united the parties involved. The process was both a technical and organisational challenge. It required the specification of an intelligent lighting infrastructure that was advanced and open enough to build research applications on top of it, while keeping it robust and useable for day-to-day facility management. On the organisational side, I created an elaborate policy around data use and privacy, in dialogue with the university community to safeguard the burden-to-benefit ratio for all building users.

The Atlas Living Lab was opened in March 2019. The Living Lab was one of the key elements that granted the building design the highest BREEAM sustainability rating in the world for educational buildings. More information at the Atlas Living Lab website.

Client: Intelligent Lighting Institute, Eindhoven University of Technology.

Pictures by Bart van Overbeeke