Light Into Architecture

Daylighting offers a general theory and introduction to the use of natural light in architecture. The fourth of Derek Phillip's lighting books draws on his experience to illustrate how best to bring natural light into building design. As sustainability becomes a core principal for designers, daylighting comes to the fore as an alternative to artificial, energy consuming, light. Here, Phillips makes a rational argument for considering daylight first, outlining the arguments in favour of a daylight approach, and goes on to show, through a series of beautifully illustrated case studies, how architects have created buildings in which natural light has been shown to play a major strategic role in the development of the design of a building.

The image of open working and living spaces flooded with light has, more than any other, become fixed in our minds as a symbol of modernity and the spirit of the times. While the workplace has always been the focus of ergonomic studies and optimization with respect to a good provision of daylight, large glass surfaces have now become the order of the day for living spaces as well. But does this automatically make for better illumination? Taking this question as its starting point, the publication Illuminating thematizes central aspects of light planning, including the connection between the provision of daylight and architectural design, building orientation, the nature of the facade, the ground plan, comfort, and the proportions and atmosphere of rooms. In the process, general characteristics and fundamental principles as well as subtle facets of an intelligent treatment of daylight are discussed and critically examined within an expanded architecture- and culture-historical context.

Reviewing the use of natural light by architects in the era of electricity, this book aims to show that natural light not only remains a potential source of order in architecture, but that natural lighting strategies impose a usefully creative discipline on design. Considering an approach to environmental context that sees light as a critical aspect of place, this book explores current attitudes to natural light by offering a series of in-depth studies of recent projects and the particular lighting issues they have addressed. It gives a more nuanced appraisal of these lighting strategies by setting them within their broader topographic, climatic and cultural contexts.

This authoritative and multi-disciplinary book provides architects, lighting specialists, and anyone else working daylight into design, with all the tools needed to incorporate this most fundamental element of architecture. It includes: an overview of current practice of daylighting in architecture and urban planning a review of recent research on daylighting and what this means to the practitioner a global vision of architectural lighting which is linked to the climates of the world and which integrates view, sunlight, diffuse skylight and electric lighting up-to-date tools for design in practice delivery of information in a variety of ways for interdisciplinary readers: graphics, mathematics, text, photographs and in-depth illustrations a clear structure: eleven chapters covering different aspects of lighting, a set of worksheets giving step-by-step examples of calculations and design procedures for use in practice, and a collection of algorithms and equations for reference by specialists and software designers. This book should trigger creative thought. It recognizes that good lighting design needs both knowledge and imagination.

The Wessex Institute of Technology has for years been convening conferences on sustainable architecture and planning, design in nature, heritage architecture, and environmental health. With the growing importance of lighting in the creation of better, healthier environments, the enhancement of heritage architecture, and the recovery of urban areas, as well as new developments in more sustainable lighting it became clear that a conference focusing on lighting issues would be useful. This book contains the papers to be presented at the first International Conference on Lighting in Engineering, Architecture and the Environment, discussing the latest developments in a variety of topics related to light and illumination, from its engineering aspects to its use in art and architecture and the effect of light on living systems and human health. Ranging from discussions of technical issues regarding equipment design and light measurement to human perception of light and the effect of light on human health, the book will be of interest to architectures, planners, environmental health experts, and stage designers in academia, industry and government, as well as colleagues discussing the latest developments in a variety of topics related to light and illumination, from its engineering aspects to its use in art and architecture and the effect of light on living systems and human health.

Light is the soul of space, a breath that runs through it and gives it life. It chases the shadows relentlessly in a ritual that makes the passing of time visible. Architecture is, above all else, the implementation of this ritual, which ignites the dialectic between the immobility of space and the dynamic action of light, between the finiteness of the dimensions and the incommensurability of the natural element, and between the concreteness of the material and the abstraction of the vacuum. This book attempts to outline some basic principles that govern the relationship between daylight and architectural space to place it at the centre of the architect’s work.

Typically one third of the energy used in many buildings may be consumed by electric lighting. Good daylighting design can reduce electricity consumption for lighting and improve standards of visual comfort, health and amenity for the occupants.As the only comprehensive text on the subject written in the last decade, the book will be welcomed by all architects and building services engineers interested in good daylighting design. The book is based on the work of 25 experts from all parts of Europe who have collected, evaluated and developed the material under the auspices of the European Commission's Solar Energy and Energy Conservation R&D Programmes.

"High On ... Light + Architecture explores the role and use of light in and around modern buildings. This full colour book illustrates how a greater understanding of this intangible and free material leads to better architecture and improves our quality of life. It explains why light is so fundamental to human perception, how its nature and use are influenced by time and place and how it has come to be used as a tool for abstract architectural design. Drawing on centuries of thinking and over 30 international examples, the author explores the different ways that light can be harnessed and manipulated to achieve particular objectives, emotions or experiences, as well as how the technologies and techniques for doing so have developed over time"--Publisher's description