Disciplines
Architectural Engineering | Environmental Design | Interior Architecture
Abstract (300 words maximum)
One of the key ways of improving the energy efficiency of a building is to enhance the daylight levels and reduce the need for artificial lighting. Good daylight levels are also associated with increased productivity and the well-being of a building's occupants. Daylight levels are often a direct function of the floorplate depth, where locations near the windows receive more daylight, and those deep inside the buildings receive less. As a result, shallow floorplates and elongated buildings are usually related to higher daylight levels. However, shallow buildings that have more natural light are also associated with greater construction costs due to larger envelope areas, as well as greater operating costs due to the energy loss through the envelope. This research addresses the question of identifying basic design strategies for buildings that optimize between two opposing trends: enhancing daylighting in buildings while also reducing the amount of building envelope and energy transfer loss. We analyze a sample of fifty floorplates of key buildings of the 20th century, considering best practice examples of architectural precedents, and inquire about the effect of building size on the complex relationship between natural lighting and building compactness, which is linked to cost. First, all the buildings are scaled and brought to the same floorplate size in order to evaluate the effect of the building's formal typology on daylighting. Second, the shapes of building floorplates are analyzed and categorized according to their shape, compactness, and fragmentation. The statistical analysis of the sample enables the identification of the cases that perform best regarding both daylight levels and the extent of the outer envelope. The findings can be used to propose architectural design guidelines that highlight the importance of daylighting with implications for the sustainability of the built environment, well-being, and feasibility.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CACM - Architecture
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ermal Shpuza
Included in
Architectural Engineering Commons, Environmental Design Commons, Interior Architecture Commons
Daylighting in Buildings: Investigating the Relationship between Daylight Levels and Building Compactness in Various Contemporary Architectural Types. [Efficient Typology classification]
One of the key ways of improving the energy efficiency of a building is to enhance the daylight levels and reduce the need for artificial lighting. Good daylight levels are also associated with increased productivity and the well-being of a building's occupants. Daylight levels are often a direct function of the floorplate depth, where locations near the windows receive more daylight, and those deep inside the buildings receive less. As a result, shallow floorplates and elongated buildings are usually related to higher daylight levels. However, shallow buildings that have more natural light are also associated with greater construction costs due to larger envelope areas, as well as greater operating costs due to the energy loss through the envelope. This research addresses the question of identifying basic design strategies for buildings that optimize between two opposing trends: enhancing daylighting in buildings while also reducing the amount of building envelope and energy transfer loss. We analyze a sample of fifty floorplates of key buildings of the 20th century, considering best practice examples of architectural precedents, and inquire about the effect of building size on the complex relationship between natural lighting and building compactness, which is linked to cost. First, all the buildings are scaled and brought to the same floorplate size in order to evaluate the effect of the building's formal typology on daylighting. Second, the shapes of building floorplates are analyzed and categorized according to their shape, compactness, and fragmentation. The statistical analysis of the sample enables the identification of the cases that perform best regarding both daylight levels and the extent of the outer envelope. The findings can be used to propose architectural design guidelines that highlight the importance of daylighting with implications for the sustainability of the built environment, well-being, and feasibility.