Siobhan Rockcastle, School of Architecture & Environment

Siobhan Rockcastle, School of Architecture & Environment

Siobhan Rockcastle

Assistant Professor
Chair, Baker Lighting Lab
Co-founder, OCULIGHT dynamics
Practice Areas: Lighting, Occupant Health, Space Perception, Environmental Dynamics

Faculty bio | Research website

Siobhan Rockcastle's research explores topics at the intersection of architectural design, environmental dynamics, human perception, and daylight performance with a focus on well-being. Her current work uses simulation and virtual reality to model and design experiential lighting environments. Her work looks at the ways in which architecture, lighting design, and occupant behavior can impact inequities in light exposure. She was awarded the 2021 ARCC New Researcher Award and serves on the Board of SimAUD (Simulation in Architecture and Urban Design). 

Siobhan was on the organizing committee of two SimAUD symposia as Scientific Chair in 2018 and General Chair in 2019. She received her PhD in 2017 from the LIPID lab in the Doctoral Program in Architecture and Sciences of the City (EDAR) at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Lausanne, Switzerland (EPFL). Her doctoral dissertation was awarded a ‘special distinction’ as one of 9 dissertations short-listed for the Top Thesis Prize from across all EPFL doctoral programs in 2017.

Before her transition into academia, Siobhan’s professional work experience includes two years of project management at KVA matX in Boston where she worked on the Minneapolis riverFIRST development initiative, Beaver Wood Vault, Solar Soft Rockers and 3M Sunlight Delivery project. Since her transition to co-founder and Director of Design at OCULIGHT dynamics, she has consulted on daylight design projects in the United States, Denmark, Germany, France, and Switzerland.

Recent Media:
ARCC announces the award recipients of the 2021 awards program (Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Dec. 16, 2020)
Working together: Siobhan Rockcastle on learning from others and sharing what you know (Madame Architect, March 1, 2018)