The Design Value of Tropical Light at the Tecnológico de Costa Rica

A narrative of the teaching experience with the Heliodon, through the experience of Arch. Enmanuel Salazar Ceciliano

At the School of Architecture and Urbanism (EAU) of the Tecnológico de Costa Rica, the Heliodon Orchard is an integral part of the teaching process in the Bioclimatic Design courses and in the Project Laboratories V and VI.

The Heliodon Orchard allows students to practically understand the incidence of solar radiation on scale models of buildings during the design phase and to verify passive strategies related to orientation, openings, and solar control devices such as eaves, sunshades, green or porous roofs — all essential in a territory characterized by strong climatic and geographical contrasts such as Costa Rica.

Thanks to the possibility of adjusting the inclination of the lamp group, the Heliodon also makes it possible to reproduce lighting conditions corresponding to any latitude on the planet. This feature facilitates the analysis of project behavior not only within the Costa Rican context but in any part of the world.

Since its introduction, the TEC Heliodon has been used in numerous academic exercises — from social housing projects to proposals for a wellness center or a naval fire station — offering students the opportunity to experiment with the design value of tropical light in real and diverse contexts.

Under the attentive guidance of Arch. Enmanuel Salazar Ceciliano and Arch. Danilo Valerio Alfaro, students can verify, through scale models, the variations of light and shadow on the buildings they design — a fundamental formative experience for those preparing for the architecture profession.

As the professors explain, the Heliodon has been used in courses to explore different themes and typologies, offering a broad perspective on the role of natural light in shaping built space.

Beyond verifying climatic strategies, working with the Heliodon has encouraged reflection on the different requirements of light use and perception: from the domestic scale — focused on daily well-being and respect for the circadian cycle — to wellness centers, where natural and emotional light contribute to creating atmospheres of temporal happiness and sensory comfort; and to safety spaces, such as fire stations, where visual comfort and operational readiness must coexist in balance.

In each of these scenarios, experimentation with the Heliodon represents a way of bringing students closer to the complexity of tropical design, where light is at once a technical, perceptive, and ethical material.

We would like to thank the professors for their valuable contribution to teaching and for sharing with us at Betanit and with the entire academic community their experiences in using the Heliodon as a teaching tool.

We also thank SATEC for its important contribution and strategic collaboration with Betanit in Costa Rica, supporting universities and their faculty in promoting best daylighting practices for the well-being of people and the planet.