ARC4008 – Architectural Focus Writing (STAGE 2)

Kavvya Selvakumar
15BAR0002
VSPARC
 Daylight in Architecture
a way to aesthetic, functional and efficient design

Abstract

The space that exists between columns determines the natural lighting of the interior.
The way a building is designed, how we determine the structure of the building
determines the space that we envision along with how the interior lights up. Form is
the inspiration for the design and choice of shape. Light enters the interior, stemming
from windows and openings. Overhangs, brise-soleil are but corrective devices not
essentially recognizing the window as an element with its own powers-The window
needs its own walls.

Objective

Design can be seen more associated with technology in modern times, which
includes the easy addition of artificial lighting within the interiors. We have to realise
that architecture must accommodate the electronics age. Computer-aided design,
motion control, virtual reality, magnetic resonance imaging, computer animation,
synthetic holography, are all rapidly developing vectors of information which are
characterized by motion and light. This puts a huge responsibility on designers to
incorporate energy efficiency when trying to bring out the most in determining how
light enters the building or if artificial means has to be used. The interest is to
understand the most optimal practices that can be developed in present and future
building design when it comes to pleasing the environment and the aestheticity of
the building in terms of lighting.

Keywords

Daylight, Openings, Open Spaces, Natural Lighting, Sustainability, Orientation,

Aesthetic

Scope

It is definitely possible to explore all aspects of natural lighting that has been
incorporated since the past due to actual case studies and the fact that this topic is
still of large use to the present day. We can understand its variety, uses, limitations
that relate to the human use. We need daylight in the interiors, as well as its
knowledge whether it is due to saving expenses or (accidental) design.
Components of the Research
a) History of Light Integration with Interiors
For centuries prior to all technological development aka the invention of the
electrical light bulb, daylight was the only source of lighting that was available
at households, political structures and public gathering places during the day.
Architecture was designed around this in mind, which led to the spanning of
wide spaces and constructing openings large enough to distribute daylighting
into the interiors and protecting from nature’s other harsh conditions such as
the heat of the sun and rain, snow etc. We need a detailed study of such
structures and the evolution of designing with respect to the invention of
artificial lighting. The possibilities have become much more varied with the
ability to explore smaller openings and minimalistic plans but it is important to
look into the future as well.

b) Varying Style of Natural Lighting according to Mixed Factors

There are many things that affect daylighting in terms of design and what
naturally allows it into the interiors. Daylight availability is important to take
note of. The location of a building will play with the amount and duration of
sunlight that is able to penetrate the interiors. The types of materials, typology
of the building, the orientation steered due to neighbouring buildings, natural
barriers and boundaries, and other obstructions are some of the other factors
that govern the design of a structure that optimise daylighting.

c) Integrating Natural and Artificial Lighting in Interiors – with calculations

It is vital in modern days to learn how to incorporate artificial and natural

lighting into the design of a building due to the modified lifestyle of people. We
have night shifts, desk jobs, invention of high-rise apartment buildings that all
cannot function if they are dependent on daylighting only. The fact of comfort
and aesthetics that has developed can also not be reversed back in time.
There are calculations that allow us to know the level of illumination in a
space and prompts the need for artificial lighting.

Daylight Performance Indicators

Daylight Factor (DF)

The concept of the DF was introduced as one of the indicators for the
daylighting performance of a building. Often the DF is expressed as a
percentage. By definition it is the ratio of daylight illumination at a point on a
given plane due to the light received directly or indirectly from a sky of
assumed or known luminance distribution to the illumination on a horizontal
plane due to an unobstructed hemisphere of the sky.
Daylight Autonomy (DA)
 Daylight Autonomy (DA)
DA is a measure of how often a minimum work plane illuminance threshold of
500 lx can be maintained by daylight alone. It is expressed as the percentage
of occupied time during the year when a minimum work plane illuminance
threshold of 500 lx can be maintained by daylight alone

Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI)

The UDI addresses some of the issues related to DF and DA. It is a climate
based analysis, and represents the indoor illumination distribution for a whole
year as a function of outdoor time-varying sky and sun conditions.

Glare Indices
The aim of a good daylight design is first, to provide ample light for efficient
visual performance and second, to ensure a visually comfortable and pleasing
environment that is appropriate for its purpose. Glare has been one of the
major issues in daylight design—many experimental studies were conducted
to come up with indices to measure glare. The BRS glare equation is limited
and can only account glare from small sources. It also does not take into
account the glare contributed from multiple, large sources.

COMFEN is a tool designed to support the systematic evaluation of

alternative fenestration systems for project-specific commercial building
applications. It provides a simplified user interface that focuses attention on
key variables in fenestration design. Under the hood is Energy Plus, a
sophisticated analysis engine that dynamically simulates the effects of these
key fenestration variables on energy consumption, peak energy demand, and
thermal and visual comfort. The results from the Energy Plus simulations are
presented in graphical and tabular format within the simplified user interface
for comparative fenestration design cases to help users move toward optimal
fenestration design choices for their project.

d) Technological innovations designed to optimise and strategize natural

lighting (also as priority) compared to artificial

The ultimate criteria is the performance of the overall design solution, and
lighting definitely plays a major role. It is important to learn about the
different systems that revolve around fenestrations and roof lights and their
properties. These systems also need the addition of glare control systems,
shading systems and redirection systems. These are done with or without
technology as well. It can be mandatory to include smart technology which
will determine the need for artificial lighting based on motion sensing, the
fluctuation of daylight inside etc. in order to initiate the use of artificial
 lighting. An Important guide is the data and calculations given by LEED to
follow its principles in the design of buildings.

e) Case studies on architects and buildings that give attention to allowing

sunlight into the building.

Church of St. Mary of the Angels by WOHA, Singapore

The Church of St. Mary of the Angels is a Roman Catholic Church in the
western region of Singapore completed in 2004 by WOHA Architects Pte. Ltd. The
church is home to both a parish community and Franciscan monastery. The
building was awarded the Singapore Institute of Architects Religious Building
Category award in 2004 and Design of the Year award at the first President’s
Award in 2006.

The sanctuary,
like with all Catholic
churches is being
dominated by a
crucifix but the main
attraction of the
church is St Mary’s
ultra-modern
centrepiece of a
600kg bronze
sculpture of Christ that
is being hung from the
ceiling at a size of 4
metres high and 4
meters wide. It is
being hung on thin, almost invincible stainless steel cables, so that it appears to
be floating above all.

` The central plaza is placed as the core with its surrounding buildings – the
Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the work sacristy, vesting sacristy and
restrooms, allowing for various social gatherings and events to take place. The
hilly site created various levels within the development that were linked by
covered walkways and ramped outdoor spaces, creating many opportunities for
processions and celebrations. There are entrances provided on the Eastern, and
Western sides – one for vehicular access and residents who live in the apartments
on one part and the other directly connecting the church with the nearest bus-stop
and main road. The pathways in the periphery are double heighted, and all
 sheltered,
with half the
lateral sides
clad with
perforated
aluminium
panels to
prevent
excess
sunlight
from hitting
a person
and also
provide
aesthetic
shadow play
throughout the day. The reflective pool in the plaza is kept very minimal in terms
of shape and ornamentation amidst the stone paving, followed by benches and a
couple of stone tables from which people can collect pamphlets and souvenirs
from the church. The design also took inspiration from the forms of the Franciscan
Friar’s head church St. Francis of Assisi in Italy where a large garden, colonnade
and ramped entrances flow out from the main cathedral.

The glass wall of the main sanctuary has entrances on both corners of its
length as well as the middle so the entire system has been well thought of in
terms of accessibility and priority to the comfort of the people who will have to
move between all the spaces. This wall is also provided with tall mechanically
operated blinds that could be adjusted to screen the interiors from the harsh
sunlight during certain timings in the day, despite the long 10 metres of cantilever
from the roof of the building. A rather unique shadow of the reflective pool is also
cast on the blinds occasionally.

The transition from the outside to the inside can be seen as majestic and
rather contrasting, but somehow the harmony of all the components belonging to
the same entity exists. The whole theme of a grey, white and black colour scheme
suddenly gives way to more light wood coloured tones and the awe of seeing a
statue of Christ hanging from the ceiling and not being nailed to a cross will dim
that seemingly sudden change of vibes due to colour. One can only be drawn to
that hefty structure as they find a place to sit in one of the uniform wooden
benches that is being placed in rows, gradually elevating outwards around the
podium. Blackened steel, solid oak and plywood are predominantly found
throughout the interiors of the church buildings. Together, they allow a rich and
complex set of responses, with the plywood and steel used in the more
economical areas while the solid oak highlights the other areas of significance.
 When it comes to the quality of lighting in the interior, one can notice that
natural light floods inwards, from the glass wall mainly, but also from the ceiling
along the corners of the room and crucifix which has been shaped and clad with
glass to allow sunlight to enter. Apart from this, the ceiling is kept completely
pristine, devoid of any odd shaped artificial lighting facilities. During the daytime,
there is absolutely no need for any bulb or tube light to be switched on but the
numerous lamps that line the rows of benches are kept lit throughout the day.
That does not seem to be economical, but on the contrary, utterly useless as well
unless someone takes aestheticity into consideration.

Functionally, the double heighted space proves its purpose and aura,
which is to be grand, yet inviting and this has been achieved by attracting people
to the one thing they came for – Christ and also setting the ambience to be
liberating and airy. The Sunday mass timings has been increased from 4 times to
6 but apparently to no avail, due the large number of residents drawn to that
neighbourhood because of the church. During masses on Sundays, there is also a
lack of seating as many stand around with their toddlers and elderly. There are a
couple of balcony areas overlooking from the top for special guests and also and
AV room that is being controlled by a couple of technicians.

Another specialty of the church in its entirety would be the columbarium.

The central Garden of World Peace is the roof of the columbarium, which was
developed as light, airy crypts. The columbarium is tucked away in the southern
part of the site, slightly downhill and under a more shaded and confined space.
The entrance is not prominent from the outside but certainly draws us as we move
down the slope. The side elevations are staggered with openings on the sides to
allow natural light and ventilation into the various rooms and spaces inside.
Slender dents are also found along the walls, that act as storm-water drainage
channels. A jaw-dropping symmetry welcomes you in the entrance as the seating
creates a very strong axis facing the caskets.

 VSPARC building by Sanjay Mohe Vellore, India

 The design of Le Corbusier’s “Le couvent de la Tourette”
emphasises the different nature of skylight and sidelight. In this
design, skylight is used only in spaces that play a significant role in
religious life; all secular spaces receive sidelight.
 Weidt Group - Iowa DNR Sustainable Design Initiative (Iowa
Association of Municipal Utilities)
 Chichu Art Museum, Naoshima Island, Japan
 Solomon R, Gunggenheim Museum, New York, USA
Outcome

The solution would be to normalise the design of buildings taking natural light into
context first, for aesthetic purposes and energy conservation point of view. It makes
no sense to throw in light bulbs as we please, just because we can and just because
we as humans did not take the time and effort so consider a long term easier way
out to provide a comfortable living environment.

References

https://www.new-learn.info/packages/daymedia/marc/pdf/dayeuro1.pdf
http://www.rearch.umn.edu/downloads/reARCHpart-5.pdf
https://issuu.com/knartstudioartanddesignstudio/docs/final_report_-_thesis
https://facades.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/Downloads/daylighting-c2.pdf
https://windows.lbl.gov/software/comfen
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmtHyzUAI3f/
https://www.architravel.com/architravel/building/church-of-st-mary-of-the-angels/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_of_the_Angels
https://www.designsingapore.org/presidents-design-award/award-recipients/2006/church-of-
st-mary-of-the-angels