Rooms at Royal Academy, Burlington House
Architect R. Smitt, Surveyor to the Royal Academy of Arts
Lighting designer DPA Lighting Consultants
Client Royal Academy of Arts
In order to ensure that the Royal Academy
keeps pace with the daylighting requirements
of fine art galleries, the lecture room,
together with a number of related spaces,
were studied in terms of their daylighting
control, on the assumption their existing
glazed roof forms might be retained, but
modified as needed.
The general brief for the daylighting was to
provide a flexible and easily controlled system
suitable for all of the top lit galleries,
irrespective of their orientation which allows
for the average daylight level to vary from nil
to 500 lux or more. One of the important
factors is the need to cater for ‘indemnified
exhibitions’ or ‘loan collections’ where specific
daylight levels are specified, from nil daylight
to 300 lux, and where the gallery has a
responsibility for its provision. This is
different to the ‘Summer collection’, there for
only a short period, and where it is not too
important if the general level of daylight
specified varies upwards on occasions.
After model studies were made the lighting
consultants suggested a four-part solution,
which was applied to the large lecture room,
but formed the basis for a unified system
which might be applied to a series of related
areas.
The system is shown in the diagram below
and consists of four layers:- The outer layer is a black tarpaulin
supported on stainless steel suspension
wires. This is installed manually on those
occasions when a complete blackout is
desired. The system is not used on a day to
day basis. - External motorized louvre blinds. Placed
above the glazing to the roof, these are
open to the atmosphere, and needed to be
made to a high specification to withstand
rain, snow and high winds. The blinds are
linked to an automatic control system
which is ‘daylight linked’ to react to the
external level of light, allowing
predetermined maximum daylight levels to
be set, for the display areas below.
When the room is closed to the public
the blinds can be closed to reduce the
daylight level, in order to minimize
degradation of the exhibits.- The internal face of the glass to the
rooflight is protected by a diffuse privacy
film. The film is designed to match that
used in the other galleries. The film
provides both safety and anti UV control as
well as diffusing direct sunlight. - The lowest level of control is formed by
motorized and tensioned blinds formed of
white close-weave fabric, each half of the
sloping roof being separately controlled.
The blinds can be seen by the public, and
can either allow maximum daylight
through, when open, or reduce the amount
by adding a further degree of diffusion of
the light to the space below.
The design intent has been met within a
realistic budget, to provide the flexibility
necessary to satisfy the needs of daylighting
in different types of exhibition, whilst
allowing a quick turnround time between
one to another, by means of the simplicity of
control.
162 Daylighting: Natural Light in Architecture
Interior during the day, using controlled
daylight for an exhibition View up to rooflightDP Archive DP Archive DP Archive