Daylighting

Architecture is the masterly, correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light. -Le Corbusier

Course Description
Picture a space, one that feels vibrant, comfortable, warm, and healthy. Now visualize someplace cheerless, depressing, and dull. What changed in your mind\’s eye? Most likely, lighting –specifically natural lighting– played a significant role. Yet, none of these terms explicitly relate to light or darkness. Behold the emotive power of daylighting. In addition to enlivening a space, daylight can connect us to nature, mark the passage of time, maintain circadian rhythms, and save energy. Conversely, it can lead to overheating, visual discomfort, and wasted energy.

This course explores the theme of daylighting in architecture. Because daylight design can be an unintuitive process, and because today\’s computerized tools offer designers a powerful tool for evaluating their ideas, this course includes a detailed focus on daylight simulation. Other topics include, design precedents, rules of thumb, and shading strategies, as well as the fundamentals of light, sun position, solar heat gain, and glare. Both studio-based and research-based students are encouraged to participate.

Learning Objectives
In this course students will…
– explore how light shapes architecture
– perform computerized daylight simulation to aid the design process
– learn to accurately visualize the play of daylight in their designs
– understand and apply the metrics used to evaluate daylight performance
– hone their design intuition with regard to natural light and shading design

Class Format
The class format includes lectures, in-class exercises, group discussions, and student presentations. Assignments consist of a series of short software tutorials, a design project, and ultimately a small-group design or research project.

Software
Students will learn to use the DIVA 2.0 daylighting plug-in for the Rhino 3D modeling program. However, students will find the concepts applicable to daylight simulation in general.

Prerequisite
1. GSD 06125 or 06250 Environmental Technologies in Buildings, or equivalent
2. a laptop running Rhino V4.0 Service Release 9 or higher (available on the GSD network)
3. Familiarity with Rhino, such as the completion of beginner tutorials, will be helpful.