Constraint Satisfaction Software for Architectural Lighting Design: A Case Study

Software based on Constraint Satisfaction Optimization is described which allows experienced lighting designers to select multiple bright and dark areas in architectural scenes and specify their desired and undesired appearance in terms of gloss, texture, surface relief and brightness of diffuse areas. Employing heuristics, the software determines desirable and undesirable light source locations. The method can handle multiple objects and extended surfaces such as walls, leading to the computer aided generation of lighting solutions and their visualizations within minutes to less than two hours of computer time. Additional constraints can be added, such as the height of targets above the floor, their orientation and tilt, their distance to illuminated objects, glare potential, and the casting of undesired shadows.