In the late 1960s, UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design established the Environmental Simulation Laboratory in response to people's growing concern for the environment and ecological well-being. The Lab developed methods for measuring and communicating the effects of urbanization on cities and landscapes, utilizing bespoke scale models and in-house cinematographic technical innovations. According to retired lab director and urban design professor Peter Bosselmann, the films were produced as studies "to test how model simulation could aid the decision-making process in the approval of large planning and engineering projects. A computer-guided camera mounted on a moving crane traveled at eye level through a model landscape and recorded, on 16mm film, the experience" of moving through simulated spaces. John Dykstra, working with the Lab prior to achieving fame for his Academy Award-winning visual effects work on the first Star Wars film, helped to develop the Lab's special camera system, which was a precursor to the Dykstraflex system used in Star Wars.
505 Montgomery St. simulation project is a simulated street-level exploration of the area around 505 Montgomery Street (corner of Montgomery and Sacramento) in downtown San Francisco. Using models and the lab's computer-guided roving camera, the film considers the effects of widening sidewalks and adding trees on vehicle traffic and the pedestrian experience.
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