Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning
202 Wurster Hall
Website: http://www-laep.ced.berkeley.edu/research/simlab/

In 1997 the Berkeley Environmental Simulation Laboratory completed its 25th year of operation. Originally funded by the National Science Foundation, the Lab has a threefold mission:

• RESEARCH in visual perception,
• SERVICE to local governments regarding project visualization for decision-making purposes, and
• INSTRUCTION in environmental simulation and public communication.
   

During 2003-04 the Sim Lab worked on visualizations for the Transbay Terminal-Rincon Hill area in San Francisco. The simulations were created by Peter Bosselmann, Cheryl Parker: Urban Explorer, John Bela, and Maria Vasileva.The Lab has become known as a research facility that produces highly realistic visual simulations. The laboratory's animations and videos are used to measure subject responses to environments that do not exist but can only be created through controlled experiments.