Harnessing natural light

Using the most recent generation windows, architects and lighting designers can to control daylight, directing it where they want within a room. Researchers have developed a simulation tool to make access to this technology more widely available. How can the diffusion of natural light be sent into the farthest corners of a room - optimized, among other things, to save energy? It's an architectural conundrum. The light source should be neither blinding nor too low, in summer and winter alike. To achieve this tour de force, without using skylights or mirrors, new kinds of increasingly complex glass are being developed, but they have not caught on, due to their high cost and difficulty of implementation. Architects are not trained specifically in these technologies. But Geronimo, a simple visual simulation software developed at EPFL, should make their task easier.