Charles Benton

Building Science, Lighting, Energy & Energy Conservation, Computer Applications & Design.

Architects establish in their designs a frame for our daily lives, a setting that reflects culture, region, and place; that contributes to our well-being as building occupants; and - of principal concern to me - a frame that shapes patterns of energy use. As physical objects our buildings often perform poorly, waste energy, dissatisfy occupants, and form a less than satisfactory architectural whole. We can do better and efforts to do so produce a more interesting architecture.

Professor Benton has lectured and published extensively on topics of curriculum development, field evaluation methods, thermal comfort, and daylighting. He has received two Progressive Architecture Research Awards and an AIA Education Honors Honorable Mention. Professor Benton teaches courses in the areas of energy and environmental management, daylighting, technology transfer, field evaluation of building performance, and documentary photography. Current research interests include field investigation of thermal comfort, visualization of sunlight and shadow patterns, and post-occupancy measurement of physical building performance. As an Artist-in-Residence at the Exploratorium, Professor Benton combines novel techniques for aerial photography and new media to develop readings of several transitional geographies along San Francisco Bay - in ways that juxtapose scales, collect different points of view, and encourage the sharing of ideas.

ARCH 140 Introduction to Energy and Environmental Management ARCH 245 Daylighting Analysis Using Physical Models ARCH 249X Special Topics: The Physical Environment in Buildings