SUNLIGHT EFFECT
In his major workSunlight as Formgiver for Architecture, Bill Lam asks the
question... The Sun: Problem or Opportunity? and then proceeds to
show how the answer can really be both, depending very much on the
location of the building. Clearly in hot climates where the sun is overhead
for much of the day the problem is not so much one of welcome, but of
exclusion.
In Britain where the sun is all too rare the answer must clearly be one
of welcome, and an early decison when an architect is planning the
orientation of his building is to encourage the entry of sunlight. Sunlight
adds to the overall level of light when it is available, and adds to those
other environmental factors such as variety and change, modelling and
the creation of delight. There is a different level of experience when
getting up in the morning to a sunlit world, as experienced from the
interior of a building, and it is important that an element of sunlight is
available for some part of the day.
Architects have used the sunlight effect in buildings to create a specific
atmosphere, as for example the shafts of light entering the south side of
our great cathedrals; and on a much smaller scale the use in houses of
daylight and sunlight entry from above to provide necessary functional
light to interior areas, where otherwise little natural light would be
available.
The impression of sunlight is also important seen from windows which
themselves admit no sunlight, but where the view of a sunlit landscape or
buildings may be enjoyed. Whenever sunlight is available there is a
strong desire to perceive it, and disappointment when it is unnecessarily
excluded.
There is of course the obverse side associated with heat gain and glare,
depending upon the orientation of the glazing, and whether people
working in a building are confined to a fixed position. The effects of
direct sunlight can be a disadvantage. Some control may be required in
certain circumstances at certain times of year, and as far as heat gain is
concerned this is best done beyond the window, and is of a sufficiently
12 Daylighting: Natural Light in Architecture
Pathway in Hertfordshire. Daylight
orientation in countryside.Harlequin Centre, Watford. Overhead
daylight provides orientation in an area
without an external viewDP ArchiveDP Archive