Daylight Deconstructed

LightStanza’s 2016 SketchUp Plugin is ready for download! This plugin is compatible with the newest version of SketchUp.To download, log into my.lightstanza.com, click on “LS Plugin” under “More,” and follow the download instructions.

As 2016 kicks off, the LightStanza team is proud to announce advanced new features based on months of in-depth user testing iterations!

1. Custom Graphics: Our new interface for editing grids’ graphic styles allows more flexibility, where users can choose from one of the default color schemes, whether they want their grid points to appear as gradient or segmented, the shape of their grid points, and whether or not they want to see illuminance values!
2. Material editor
   1. Our current material library allows users to edit their designs’ details inline with minimal clicks in order to eliminate some of the tediousness from previous versions. We also implemented a multi-select option so that more multiple materials can be edited at once.
   2. We have also improved our Manufacturer panel so that it’s much easier to directly apply daylighting products directly to a model in LightStanza.
3. Automatic Modeling of Blinds: When uploading a model, we now automatically place blinds on windows for you. When you run calculations you can also ask for realistic blind operation. So when the sun is hitting the windows, the blinds automatically close, and then open when the sun is behind the building.
4. New UI
   1. We’ve implemented more modern graphics throughout the application based on user tests that suggested more organization and less overwhelming pages.
   2. We’ve reworked our parameter space for users to simply scroll through images of the viewpoints or illuminance grids that they’ve run, with a much clearer display of details. Then just click on the desired detail card and it immediately appears below.
5. Compare Page: Users expressed need to see
   renderings and grids side by side, so we added a comparison page, where they can compare renderings, annuals, and LEED 2009 scores, along with animating grids and viewpoints together.
6. Activity Bar: We implemented a new and improved version of our
   activity bar that users can use for reference when navigating through LightStanza. It also shows simulations that are currently running with an orange outline and a pulsating animation. Scroll through and click on one of your recent designs to view it!

LightStanza is happy to announce the launch of our new blog!  We released our public beta at Rocky Mountain Green in April and have kept the ball rolling, bringing you a faster, sleeker, more effective daylighting tool. And we’re still moving, so check in regularly for relevant news and discussions, and more feature updates that will help you explore and implement daylight into all of your projects.