Consultancy for solar convergence problem at Amsterdam Universitair Medisch Centrum

Description

During the completion of the new main entrance of Amsterdam UMC in the summer and fall of 2021, it became clear that reflections of sunlight in curved glass panels of the facades at some dates and times cause local focal points or areas. These focal areas, when they occur, can result in a quite concentrated bundle of solar light and heat that may cause local (over)heating of pavement and objects such as cars. Although the appearance of the bundled focal areas depends on date, time and weather conditions, and the areas gradually move from west to east with changing sun angle throughout the day, surface temperatures incidentally approach 150 degrees C, as reported and documented by the client. The model and field study carried out by Dr. Roel Schipper (Faculty of Civil Engineering) and Dr. Eleonora Brembilla (Faculty of Architecture), has revealed in detail the cause of the problem, and has given direction to mitigating measures.

Period	Oct 2021 → Mar 2022
Work for	Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands
Degree of Recognition	Local