Natural lighting in architecture

Table Of Contents

The light on the building. Natural lighting before architecture.

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The light on the building. Natural lighting before architecture.

A suitable natural lighting It is no longer a purpose to be fulfilled by the designer, it is an obligation, and that the great architect knew well Oscar Niemeyer in many of its works and constructions.

I used the natural light indoors not only as a means of saving, improving the health of the occupant or habitability of the space, but also amplifying its value to a tool for the classification of spaces and forms, as a requirement of expression and meaning.

From what we can consider, the natural light it has more importance in architecture than most of us think. There are many secrets that we must discover, and we will explain it to you in detail …

As a prologue, we want to leave an interesting video that highlights the most essential points.

Lighting in architecture

The concept of architectural lighting What "Space shaped by light" It must be one of the premises for the most careful luminous environmental design.

The natural lighting in buildings It is one of the environmental factors that most conditions the architectural and constructive design of any building. The lighting project in architecture It must be a resource that must be managed consistently.

The following image perfectly represents the emotions that the light architecture, a work of the famous architect Tadao Ando.

Many architects throughout history have defended natural light as an indispensable complement in architecture and interior design, indeed, many use different techniques to strengthen the interior design style adopted in a home.

Although there are many architects who work with light exceptionally, as the previous naming, Tadao Ando or from the famousGaudi with his famous phrase … «Architecture is the ordering of light; sculpture is the play of light » a example of luminosity We can see it palpably in this video of Casa Batllo. Even the nicknamed "the master of light," The architect Henning Larsen.

We want to highlight two points that appear important to us based on two studies that have been carried out with reference to natural light:

The Mexican architecture studio SPACE carried out a natural lighting study on productivity and efficiency in companies whose results should be noted that people who work with natural light are 20% faster and make around 15% fewer errors.

The VELUX Group with researchers from different universities carried out the study "Daylighting, Artificial Lighting and Non-Visual Effects Study for Residential Buildings", they investigated the sequels that occurred in real life of a family of four after renovating their house by installing eight windows on the roof to increase the natural lighting in the home.

Obviously the data showed energy savings, in this case between 16-20% but the novelty was found in the effects it produced on its inhabitants, an estimated 55% increase in the benefits on the non-visual effects of its inhabitants, directly affected the quality of well-being and sleep, improving them dramatically.

We can also see the article on which are the best windows for home; PVC or aluminum, of interest to recognize the need from within the house.

Types of architectural lighting

Specifically, types of light in architecture that we can find before a building or any construction are those listed below, regardless of the artificial natural lighting systems:

Direct sunlight (CSH)
Diffused Sunlight (CSdf)
Light reflected off obstacles (CRO)
Reflected ground light (CRT)

In the following graph we can better understand the types of natural lighting with reference to types of light on a surface:

Outdoor lighting level range

Given the weather conditions, the «temporal stability» enters here, the external light level will vary according to the solar time, although there may be large fluctuations with cloudy skies due to the sudden transit between clouds and clearings.

It is recommended to limit the fluctuation of the light level to a factor of 1/3 with respect to the average level (For example, 100 1000 lux) in short periods (Seconds). To keep natural light stable, the diffuse lux captured from the celestial vault should predominate and direct sunlight should be avoided by designing suitable solar protections.

To clarify the subject a bit and to be able to have a global vision we have made a diagram - infographic of the key points in the ranges andoutdoor lighting levels and the light sensation according to Lux. (To understand the LUX concept You can opt for the manuals attached at the end of the article that speak more about the lighting with natural light)

Remember that the light and color play an important role and that at the same time are coupled in symbiosis so it is necessary to know the lighting effects before the color and the effect of light on a building according to colors.

In this sense, we make an article of color interest in architecture and buildings where we try to reel off the different color techniques to be used.

Interior lighting. Impact of natural light in a space

This theme involves a series of concepts such as the lighting zoning, transit spaces before the light and the glare that it provokes before the eyes. Given the amount of information that these concepts represent, we have chosen to outline them in the following image.

Remember that we have an excellent article on lighting with led lamps where we learn all about the use of led bulbs based on questions.

One project that we find interesting is the “Daylight design variatons book”Which has been developed as a toolkit for designing daylight recesses with relevant interior lighting (windows, skylights, skylights, etc.).

The objective is to show a large number of illuminations and their impact on the space of a local, a direct natural lighting. It is a very interesting tool that provides us with different information of interest about the calculation of light:

In addition to the visualization, it also proposes a detailed analysis of the chosen hole, a comparison between types of holes and in some cases it reviews photographs of examples.

As information of interest, an article that deals with natural lighting in rooms from here.

We are talking about optimizing and enhancingnatural resources (Sun or natural light, vegetation, wind, etc) that will bring tangible benefits, sensations, shapes and other gains that are adopted at a relatively low cost, and should not be forgotten and wasted by designers.

The harmony of natural light should be one of the first resources to take into account in any project.

There are also projects o ideas with light that represents a milestone of change, of natural creativity and concept. An example is seen from the article urban creativity, represented in the following image …

The best video to learn about architecture and light

We have found a video that perfectly explains from a technical perspective what we should consider when carrying out a natural lighting project, very good!

To understand the scope and be able to "play" with light in a reasoned way, we have compiled a series of manuals or guides in light that will help us to better understand the binomial Natural light - Architecture:

Manuals and guides natural and interior lighting

Lighting manual (ICARO Manual Highly recommended reading) … HERE.
Taking advantage of the natural light in lighting of Buildings …HERE.
Lighting redirection techniques… (HERE - In English)

Note: A colleague has told us that a simulation of the sun would be missing throughout the day to complement the post, I leave you different free tools for positioning and calculating the sun that I think are of interest:

Tools and applications natural lighting calculation

ESRL Global Monitoring Tools
Calculation of Sunshine in Windows (Excel Program - Direct Download)
From Aquinstal. Description: Listing "Software D.A.C." from the Aquinstal portal of the National University of La Plata, with freely available programs for calculating energy efficiency and Sustainable Architecture. HERE. It includes:
RADIAC2Calculation of hourly radiation for any plane and orientation. DOS version (47 Kb).
DIAGSOLSun path graphs, rectangular and orthographic diagrams. DOS version (49 Kb).
RAD-EXTR Calculation of solar radiation outside the atmosphere. DOS version (46 Kb).
RENT Calculation of the payback time of an investment in bioclimatic systems by simple interest. DOS version (47 Kb).
Eval_K Evaluation of the thermal quality of constructive parts of walls and ceilings. DOS version (46 Kb).
Eval_G Evaluation of the thermal quality of buildings. DOS version (59 Kb).
BIOCLIM Computerized tool to support the teaching of bioclimatic and solar design. DOS version (258 Kb).
ENERNORM Computerized system for the bioenvironmental evaluation of buildings and their parts according to national standards.