{"id":748954,"date":"2024-07-15T10:49:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T09:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=748954"},"modified":"2024-08-13T11:41:15","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T10:41:15","slug":"lessons-from-daylight-in-architecture-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/specification\/lessons-from-daylight-in-architecture-conference","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from the Daylight in Architecture conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.\u2019 Le Corbusier\u2019s famous quote kicked off proceedings at an AJ event on daylight in architecture, held in collaboration with Velux.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The free-to-attend, half-day conference explored the modelling and manipulation of natural light in interiors and its importance in making great spaces to inhabit. Attended by around 100 people, it was held at the appropriately light-filled Spitalfields Conservatory in London. A wide-ranging series of presentations, followed by a panel discussion, brought together a series of different perspectives \u2013 from the technical to the sensory \u2013 on built space and natural light.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Pashenko Works\u2019 White Patio House<\/p>\n\t

Source:Stijn Bollaert<\/p><\/div>\n

Richard Williams, senior architectural development manager at Velux, spoke first about tools to bring more daylight into buildings and why these are needed. He was followed by John Mardaljevic, professor emeritus at Loughborough School of Architecture, who presented his landmark case studies and latest research into daylight modelling and its importance for planning.<\/p>\n

Three practitioners also presented recent projects focused on the importance of natural light in animating architectural space. This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by the AJ\u2019s Rob Wilson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What came through strongly throughout the morning was the key importance of daylighting in architectural design throughout history and today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018There are 2,500 years of thinking around daylight,\u2019 summarised Mardaljevic at the start of his lecture, referring to Socrates\u2019 mention of the use of overhangs to block the summer sun from entering a building. \u2018Just look at any passive solar guide,\u2019 said Mardaljevic. \u2018It\u2019s exactly the same [line of thinking].\u2019 Vitruvius, he noted, was the first to identify the importance of the visibility of the sky, in simplistic terms: if you can\u2019t see the sky, you\u2019ve lost a lot of illumination.<\/p>\n

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Pashenko Works\u2019 White Patio House<\/p>\n\t

Source:Stijn Bollaert<\/p><\/div>\n

Fast forward to the mid-1800s, when the \u2018right to light\u2019 was first proposed, along with ideas around measuring illumination. The \u2018grumble point\u2019 \u2013 defined as 0.2 per cent of unobstructed light \u2013 remains the basis of this historical English law and is still used in courts today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Light has health benefits. Williams explained: \u2018We are the indoor generation. We spend an alarming 90 per cent of our time indoors.\u2019 Yet 90 per cent of our vitamin D comes from the sun. \u2018It keeps us functioning,\u2019 added Williams, pointing to its importance in maintaining circadian rhythms and productivity.<\/p>\n

He also spoke about the importance of windows for fresh air, as well as light. Relating this to the issue of heat poverty, he pointed out: \u2018People won\u2019t open windows, because they think they will lose heat. But, ironically, it\u2019s more cost-effective to warm cooler air from the outside than warmer humid air that has built up inside.\u2019 Ventilation prevents damp and, importantly, by opening rooflights, you get a chimney-stack effect that aids natural ventilation.<\/p>\n

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Pashenko Works\u2019 White Patio House<\/p>\n

So how are natural light levels measured in architectural design? This is usually done through daylight factor \u2013 the ratio of light level inside a structure to light levels outside the structure, which should average 2 per cent. This ratio can be improved by increasing the direct light from a patch of sky visible at the point considered, known as the sky component (SC), for example by placing a window so it exposes more of the sky, rather than adjacent buildings, or by increasing the light reflected from an exterior surface and then reaching the point being considered, known as the externally reflected component (ERC).<\/p>\n

It can also be improved by increasing\u00a0 <\/span>the internally reflected component (IRC) by using light-coloured finishes internally. The sum of these three components gives the illuminance level, measured in lux, as Mardaljevic explained in his technical presentation. \u2018Daylight factor is most important when it comes from above,\u2019 agreed Williams. \u2018But it\u2019s not a case of \u201cone size fits all\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n

This is where aperture-based daylight modelling comes in, and what Mardaljevic described as the \u2018missing link\u2019 between planning and performance for daylight and sunlight. He was involved in developing this in the 1990s using weather data and simulating sky conditions and brightness patterns. Thirty years on, the modelling has become a lot more precise, and Mardaljevic is an expert in this field. It has been tested on many real-world projects but perhaps most famously on Renzo Piano\u2019s 2007 52-storey New York Times Building, enabling its distinctive double fa\u00e7ade of 175,000 horizontal off-white ceramic rods screening the floor-to-ceiling glass to be extensively tested to maintain as much permeability and transparency as possible.<\/p>\n

Another landmark case study that Mardaljevic was involved in was the design of the USA\u2019s second-tallest building, Central Park Tower, also in New York and completed in 2020, which, due to overshadowing concerns, was remodelled as a skinnier building with a cantilevered shape.<\/p>\n

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Satish Jassal Architects\u2019 Haringey Brick Bungalow<\/p>\n\t

Source:Richard Chivers<\/p><\/div>\n

What are the main takeaways from climate-based daylight modelling? Calculations of the timing and levels of natural illuminance are important, of course, but while within planning processes sunlight is mentioned a lot, there is no discussion of size of aperture, which has a huge impact on the amount of natural light inside a building.<\/p>\n

The discussion moved on to smaller-scale projects by practitioners in the UK in which working with natural light was a key priority.\u00a0 <\/span>Mariia Pashenko spoke about her practice\u2019s White Patio House project, the extension and refurbishment of a house in Camberwell, south London, which sits on a 40m-long plot. This exhibits a rich and \u2018theatrical\u2019 use of materials, with its new fa\u00e7ades clad in off-white corrugated sheets which amplify daylight, while its interiors employ reflective materials to get light deep into the plan.<\/p>\n

Next up, Satish Jassal of Satish Jassal Architects discussed the practice\u2019s Haringey Brick Bungalow, a retirement home with pinwheel plan, in which daylight was sculpted using deep, stepped rooflights \u2013 \u2018timber chandeliers\u2019 – to create both a focal point and essential glimpse to the sky.<\/p>\n

Finally, Tom Benton of Sanchez Benton talked about the practice\u2019s recent refresh of the Institute of Contemporary Art London\u2019s gallery and foyer, which involved opening-up existing windows. Embedded in the lower ground floor, the brief was about making simple moves: shifting the bookshop away from openings, enclosing the gallery to give hanging space away from windows and creating a naturally illuminated ramp access.<\/p>\n

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Sanchez Benton\u2019s ICA London gallery<\/p>\n\t

Source:Rory Gaylor<\/p><\/div>\n

The conclusion from these schemes? Natural light can be manipulated to create striking moments that animate our occupation and enjoyment of space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To wrap up the morning, while acclaimed architectural photographer H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Binet was not able to attend on the day, she kindly allowed the AJ the privilege of sharing some photographs she\u2019d collated responding to the theme of \u2018Daylight in Architecture\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Binet\u2019s chosen images explore the modulation of natural light as an almost spiritual journey through a series of cultural and faith buildings \u2013 including two abbeys by architect Hans Van der Laan and Peter Zumthor\u2019s 2001 Cologne Project Kolumba. The AJ\u2019s Fran Williams introduced and accompanied the photos with quotes taken from an interview with Binet conducted by the AJ\u2019s Rob Wilson in 2019.<\/p>\n

In this Binet said: \u2018I often explain my work and role as a photographer with an analogy to music. I am like a musician with a score. I play the score, which is the building. It\u2019s not a direct parallel \u2013 more a way of expressing a feeling.\u2019<\/p>\n

It was an appropriately poetic way to finish a morning focused on the effects of daylighting in architecture and its profound importance to people\u2019s everyday mental and physical health.<\/p>\n

The half-day conference Daylight in Architecture was held at Spitalfields Conservatory \u2013 FORA-Folgate Street, on 6 June 2024 and was sponsored by Velux. More information on Velux\u2019s CPDs, its new generation of glass rooflights, flat roof windows and its free-to-download tool Daylight Visualizer are all available on its website www.velux.co.uk<\/a><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.\u2019 Le Corbusier\u2019s famous quote kicked off proceedings at an AJ event on daylight in architecture, held in collaboration with Velux.\u00a0 The free-to-attend, half-day conference explored the modelling and manipulation of natural light in interiors and its importance in making great spaces …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59337,"featured_media":748955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[721],"tags":[1564,2258,101024,2259],"yoast_head":"\nLessons from the Daylight in Architecture conference<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Architects gathered at Spitalfields Conservatory last month for a deep dive into the art and science of crafting daylight in architecture\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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