2 Environment

Change and variety... modelling... orientation... sunlight... colour...

view... health

Various aspects of the environment which affect the interior appearance
of buildings have been identified in the introductory chapter, and it is the
purpose here to illustrate these aspects in more detail.

CHANGE/VARIETY

Perhaps the most obvious and certainly the most important aspect of
daylighting is its capacity for change, leading to the infinite variety in
appearance of the daylit interior. Change is at the heart of daylighting,
the human body has a capacity for adaptation, particularly in vision, and
the need to exercise this response.
Perception reacts to a degree of change; it is the natural order of things
that the appearance of interior spaces alter with time; and if we have
confidence in their continuing reality, it is because change in their lit
appearance allows us to continue an exploration of the spaces we inhabit;
an entirely different measure of experience to the static qualities of spaces
lit entirely by artificial sources of light during the day; or where there is
no access to the daylight outside. There is a natural process of renewal in
the photochemical processes of the eye as it adapts to accommodate
changes in daylight
First there is the natural change from day to night, from first light until
dark and the need for artificial sources to take over when daylight fades.
Then there are the changes associated with changes of the weather; from
bright sunny days to dark and cloudy or rainy days, there is little doubt that
the human spirit soars when rising in the morning on a bright day, an
experience which is less likely to happen when it is dark and gloomy outside.
Closely associated with changes in the weather are those of the
changes of season, from the winter snows to summer sunlight; each
season will have its own character, which as human beings we
accommodate to in our own way; but what is important is that the
world outside, as experienced through the window, provides necessary
information of the variety of the exterior world; whilst leading to subtle
changes in the appearance of the interior.

DP Archive

Statue at the Tate Modern in the Turbine

Hall, daylit