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Urban Digital Twins as Tools for Sustainable Lighting Design: The Assessment of NorDark-DT
Department of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 11315, Chile; Department of ICT and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, NTNU–Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 8900 Ålesund, Norway.ORCID iD: 0009-0004-7030-3864
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Architecture, Lighting Design.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3791-3981
Department of ICT and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, NTNU–Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 8900 Ålesund, Norway.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6132-1252
Department of ICT and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, NTNU–Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 8900 Ålesund, Norway.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0385-2770
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2025 (English)In: Buildings, E-ISSN 2075-5309, Vol. 15, no 24, p. 4425-4425Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Reducing light pollution and promoting sustainable lighting practices require new tools that integrate environmental, social, and technical considerations in design processes. Urban Digital Twins are emerging as powerful instruments for this purpose, enabling integrated evaluation of lighting impacts on both people and ecosystems. This paper presents an exploratory evaluation of NorDark-DT, a recently developed urban digital twin designed to support the sustainable planning of lighting infrastructure in green urban areas. This exploratory assessment was conducted with master’s students engaged in lighting design practices. Participants performed two task-oriented exercises of planning and comparing lighting configurations after-dark for a site in Uppsala, Sweden. Results show that NorDark-DT effectively facilitates the exploration of alternative lighting solutions within realistic green urban area contexts and encourages reflection on issues such as light pollution, biodiversity, and ecological preservation. Nevertheless, further improvements are required to enhance the user interface, expand analytical capabilities, strengthen integration with professional lighting software, and optimize performance for varying hardware setups. Beyond professional practice, the tool also proved valuable for educational purposes by promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and broadening students’ understanding of sustainability in lighting design. Overall, this study provides an initial step in a usability assessment of NorDark-DT, confirming its potential to support environmentally responsible, socially aware, and well-informed lighting interventions.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI AG , 2025. Vol. 15, no 24, p. 4425-4425
Keywords [en]
digital twin, urban digital twin, urban lighting design, urban data visualization, assessment
National Category
Architectural Engineering Architecture Building Technologies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-373773DOI: 10.3390/buildings15244425ISI: 001646966600001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105025756705OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-373773DiVA, id: diva2:2019732
Projects
NorDark
Funder
NordForsk, 105116
Note

QC 20260108

Available from: 2025-12-08 Created: 2025-12-08 Last updated: 2026-01-08Bibliographically approved

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Dincel, SerenBesenecker, Ute

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