Evening star., 1928-10-28
Solving riddles of nat
ural illumination in glass
house.
through the standardized skill of the
designer who planned the house.
x 4 K x

WHEN DR.. L. r. Thompson several
years ago first engaged in public
health service experimentation he hit
the nail on the head by inaugurating
important studies of the illuminative
possibilities of daylight 1t was a SUBJ
ject concerning which there was as lit
tie general knowledge in circulation as
about the South Pole. One of DR..
ThompsonS pet hobbies was the build
ing of the most unusual glass house
ever constructed in order to use it as
a reliable source of information as to
the best use of daylight as a natural
illuminapt of homes, offices, factories,
schools and other structures Of public
and private Importance.
On Federal land once used as a mule
corral by the War Department and
since employed as an agricultural prov
ing ground where the theories Of crop
production and generalized farming are
tested, the Government building made
largely of windows was erected. Nearly
one and one-half centuries ago our
great George Washington walked and
rode over the grounds where the curious
glass-faced structure now stands. Those
were the days before Arlington Farm
came into being when the parcel of
land from which it was staked was
known as the Parke Gusts estate, a
center of hospitality, home OF some OF
Americas first purebred live stock and
foundation of the agricultural fair sys-
tenn which has girdled our countryside.
There DR.. Thompson, chief OF the in
dustrial hygiene section OF Public Health
Service, aided by DR.. j. E. Ives and his
technically trained assistants, has
built frame building which looks like
a cross between an isolated rural church
and q district school house except that
it is honeycombed on all sides with
glass windows.
The building is 80 feet square and Is
feet from floor to caves. Large glass
windows set in metal frames, extending
from a point three feet above the floor
to the roof plate form the sides and
ends of this strange structure. AL
together there are "a windows, whose
combined area amounts to l, ,440 square
feet of glass surface. Each window
frame is 5 feet by IL feet in surface.
A readily removable interior shutter
made of wall board covers each window
on the inside of the glass house. One
or several of these shutters are removed
in preparing the room for certain
illumination study test. AICer IL mas
been completed, the light from such
windows is blocked off by the shutters
while other windows are eXposed-and
the scientific test is repeated.
The ceiling in the experimental
house is composed of four sections
of wall board, all of which can be
raised or lowered at the will OF the
experimenters. The ceiling can be ad-
justed at any desired height from 6
to Is feet above the floor. This facili-
tates study of the effects of ceiling
height on illumination at given points
in the room under various light ex-
posures - factors concerning which
science has previously been ignorant.
Perpendicular measuring gauges are
placed at each corner of the ceiling
section so that it is a simple matter
to adjust the ceiling to any required
elevation above the floor. The ceiling
is raised and lowered by means of
ropes like those used on ordinary avn
ings.
The effect of wall color on daylight
illumination at given stations in the
test chamber can be studied by paint"