ENERGY
STUDIES IN
BUILDINGS
LABORATORY
At ESBL, we aim to improve global health and sustainability through science-informed architectural design.
Congratulations to Dean Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg
by Mira | October 26, 2022 | Media, Staff News | 0 Comments
ESBL Director Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg has accepted a new position as Dean of the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska and will begin the new role January 2023. We wish him well on his new journey, as he leaves with a legacy of significant work that...
Resilient Housing: Partnering with Net Zero Fellow Jessy Ledesma
by Mira | February 14, 2022 | Media, Research | 0 Comments
We are excited to announce our partnership with Net Zero Fellow Jessy Ledesma of HomeWork development. In our continued efforts towards Mass Plywood Panel Housing, Jessy, ESBL, and IHBE are teaming up to develop "new combinations of systems and technologies for...
Awards: ESBL Part of Mass Timber Innovation Coalition
by Mira | December 17, 2021 | Awards, Media | 0 Comments
Lead by the Port of Portland, the University of Oregon's Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory and Institute for Health in the Built Environment are working in tandem with Oregon State's TallWood Design Institute to develop an innovation hub and production campus for...
Students Collaborate to Create Taskshade: The Sustainable Solution to Office Glare
by Mira | July 26, 2021 | Media, Student Work, Uncategorized | 0 Comments
Do you work in a naturally-lit office? You probably have an issue with screen glare. The current fix? Put down the shades and turn on the lights, which undermines energy efficiency. Our Director Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg and a fantastic team of University of Oregon...
New Paper: Material Testing for VOC’s & Microbial Growth
by Mira | July 6, 2021 | Research | 0 Comments
Ever wondered how that fir trim in your house might be impacting you? What about the microbial community on your concrete basement wall? We are studying how these building materials may influence health. We looked at 4 different building materials- timber, concrete,...
New Paper on Grid-Resilient Affordable Housing
by Mira | May 27, 2021 | Research | 0 Comments
As part of our Open Home Project, an interdisciplinary and research driven response to the U.S. housing crisis, we are working to make affordable, efficient and climate resilient housing readily available. From water reclamation systems to energy storage, we are...
The Bright Future of Healthy Buildings: New White Paper
by Mira | May 27, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments
In our ongoing work to design sustainable, efficient, and healthy buildings, we have a new publication out that talks about the future of healthy buildings, informed by a history of design and our current design problems and questions that have blossomed from the...
On Home, Improved: Daylight & Fresh Air in the Bedroom
by Mira | March 19, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments
Open the curtains! Our Director Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg chats on the science of daylight & ventilation with Charlie Luxton in his Podcast "Home, Improved". Research is proving that getting a light and fresh air really is biologically good for you- from impacting...
What’s the Best View for You? Take a Survey on Window View Comfort
by Mira | November 18, 2020 | Research, Student Work | 0 Comments
Help Architecture Master's student Sohrab Ghasemi design the best view quality from your office, home, or school windows by participating in his research survey. Sohrab is working to understand how windows can influence viewer experience and comfort, information that...
2020/02/15 Remembering GZ Brown
by kevinvdw | February 20, 2020 | Staff News, Uncategorized | 25 Comments
Lived fearlessly, transformed lives, forever transforming architecture Phillip H. Knight Professor of Architecture, G.Z. “Charlie” Brown passed away peacefully early Saturday morning (2/15/2020) at his home in Eugene, OR at the age of 77 years. He was surrounded by...
Mass Timber in Offices: A Case Study
by sueishaq | July 5, 2019 | Research | 0 Comments
ESBL has a new study out, which was just published in the journal Buildings. This interdisciplinary case-study examined the indoor environment and air quality of a newly-constructed, cross-laminated timber office building in Portland, OR. Researchers from ESBL,...
ESBL students in BioMimicry Design find inspiration in basking sharks
by sueishaq | May 20, 2019 | Student Work | 0 Comments
ESBL grad students Julia May and Alex Balog worked on the Basking Filter project as an extension of their Biomimicry and Parametric Design course taught by Nancy Cheng, Chair of the Architecture Department at UO. With interests in engineering, industrial processes,...
Metropolis: Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg on Increasing Demands for Lighting Controls
by Mira | March 1, 2019 | Media, Staff News | 0 Comments
Director Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg's interview with Retrofit for Metropolis magazine is published! He is one of a series of experts sharing their insight on the importance of daylighting for human health and comfort.Check out the article...
Stop Motion Science: The Light Box Video
by Mira | February 13, 2019 | Media, Research, Student Work | 0 Comments
Written by Mira Zimmerman and Fiona Curliss At BioBE, we strive to produce scientific research that is clear and understandable to any audience, not only for interdisciplinary collaboration, but also for scientific education. Those unfamiliar with the langauge and...
Perspective on the Role of Light in the Indoor Microbiome
by Mira | October 19, 2018 | Media, Research | 0 Comments
Written by Mark Fretz, Sue Ishaq, and Mira Zimmerman Light is as necessary to the perfect growth and nutrition of the human frame as are air and food; and, whenever it is deficient, health fails, and disease appears… Artificial is but a very bad substitute for natural...
BioBE Receives New UO-OHSU Seed Funding Award
by Mira | June 26, 2018 | Awards, Media, Research | 0 Comments
BioBE has received funding for a new project as part of the new University of Oregon - Oregon Health Sciences University (UO-OHSU) Collaborative Seed Grant Program! BioBE's Dr. Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, and Dr. Bob Martindale, Professor of Surgery, Chief of...
BioBE/ESBL Welcomes Mira to the Team!
by Mira | May 13, 2018 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments
Hello! My name is Mira Zimmerman, and I am the new BioBE/ESBL blogger and web designer! I will be helping with social media and BioBE/ESBL website management. I am currently an undergrad at the University of Oregon, working towards a Humanities major with...
ESBL and TallWood Design Institute awarded grant for acoustics testing facility
by dblanken | May 2, 2018 | Awards, Research | 0 Comments
We are excited to announce that ESBL, with TallWood Design Institute, were awarded a grant from Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC) to create a facility to test acoustics properties of mass timber products. About the project: The new testing facility will provide...
ESBL joins UO’s new Institute for Health in the Built Environment
by s.lim | March 27, 2018 | Events, Past Events | 0 Comments
The ESBL is proud and excited to join BioBE and the Baker Lighting Lab as the founding centers of the University of Oregon's new Institute for Health in the Built Environment! Through interdisciplinary, inter-institutional collaboration, the IHBE aims to...
Technology and Design: New Article About Daylighting
by Mira | February 15, 2018 | Media | 2 Comments
Architectural Lighting Magazine has published an article about the influences of new technology on lighting capability and building design. ESBL's Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg talks about light automation alongside a number of other daylighting design experts. Check out...