By Carson Alsop, WELL Faculty & Manager of Lutron Electronics’ two New York City Experience Centers
We now spend nearly 90 percent of our time indoors, making interior design more critical than ever to our health and well-being. Across green building standards like WELL and the Living Building Challenge, daylight and biophilia are central themes. Connecting people with nature, by inviting the outdoors in, can improve comfort, mood, and performance.
Lighting is a vital part of this connection. By combining automated shading with tunable electric light, buildings can extend the benefits of daylight deeper into interior spaces, creating environments that better adapt to people’s needs throughout the day and feel better to be in.
The Science of Daylight and Wellness
Research continues to reaffirm the benefits of access to natural light. Forty-four percent of 7,600 employees surveyed in an international study ranked natural light as their most-wanted element in their workplace. In a survey of 1,614 North American employees, over half ranked natural light as their most important office perk, higher than on-site cafeterias, fitness centers, childcare, and medical care. And a 2019 study, published in Science Direct, demonstrates “that providing access to daylight and views in an office environment using modern shading methods can improve occupants’ cognitive performance and satisfaction while reducing eyestrain.”
Image: Integrated shading and tunable white lighting can bring the feeling of natural light further into a space, giving everyone a window seat. Photo Credit: Jake Holt Photography.
We know how essential bringing daylighting into a space is, but contending with that daylight can be challenging. Light intensity and color shift constantly, and these dynamic changes can be at odds with the standardized light levels typically required in the workplace. Successful design, therefore, requires lighting and shading to work in tandem. In response to daylight sensors, intelligent lighting systems gradually and subtly adjust to supplement waning natural light or dim to conserve energy when daylight is sufficient. The result is a consistent, comfortable environment for the people in the space.
Automated shades help manage glare and heat gain, while high-quality fabrics and openness factor levels control how far daylight penetrates a floorplate. Rather than thinking of shades as accessories, designers might view windows as “light fixtures” in their own right. The way a shade reflects or diffuses light can transform how a space feels — supporting energy efficiency, productivity, and wellness.
Code compliance is another major design influencer. While energy codes often mandate daylight harvesting for efficiency, wellness certifications such as the WELL Building Standard and the Living Building Challenge underscore a parallel truth: daylight is not just good for the planet, it is good for people. The two goals are inextricably intertwined.
Beyond Illumination: How Lighting Systems Extend Daylight
Sunlight is inherently dynamic, tracing its way across the sky each day. Its color and intensity shift, creating beauty and variation, but also increasing potential for glare, heat gain, and inconsistent lighting that can undermine the benefits of natural light if it’s not managed correctly.
Use tunable white lighting as a key design strategy to supplement and complement daylight, fill in the gaps, and adjust the interior environment to match the daylight quality at the window. The result is a seamless, cohesive environment that feels natural and comfortable whether the sun is rising, clouds are rolling in, or the workday extends into the evening.
Wellness-Driven Lighting Across Sectors
The benefits of integrating daylight and dynamic lighting extend across applications and industries. Designers are applying these strategies to support wellness and enhance experience where people work, dine, shop, and heal.
Workplace: Employees benefit from greater visual comfort, improved focus, and reduced fatigue. These factors directly support productivity and help organizations attract and retain talent.
Hospitality: Hotels are adopting personalized lighting controls that let guests choose scenes for relaxation, focus, or restorative sleep. Wellness-driven environments improve satisfaction scores, elevate brand identity, and encourage repeat visits.
Healthcare and Education: Daylight access supports healing and learning, reinforcing the idea that human-centered lighting design creates better outcomes in sensitive environments.
The shift toward experience-driven design connects all these spaces. Office developers borrow from hospitality by treating employees like valued guests, and hotels borrow from workplace design by offering flexibility and control. In each case, lighting and shading strategies are leveraged for functionality and their ability to improve quality of life.
A Case in Point: BlackRock Headquarters
Few projects illustrate the power of daylight integration more clearly than BlackRock’s new global headquarters at 50 Hudson Yards in New York City. The more than one-million-square-foot workplace is designed to be both sustainable and people-centered, reflecting BlackRock’s dual priorities of performance and well-being.
By integrating advanced lighting controls and automated shading, BlackRock balances abundant daylight with visual comfort. Shades adjust throughout the day to manage glare while maximizing natural light, and tunable electric lighting ensures consistency across diverse spaces. The result is an environment where employees feel energized and supported, while the building achieves impressive efficiency targets.
Image: Double height shades control light in an employee gathering space at BlackRock HQ. Photo Credit: Eric Laignel.
By treating daylight as a design asset rather than a variable to be managed, BlackRock demonstrates how organizations can deliver high-performance spaces that align with both sustainability and human wellness.
Designing for People, Planet, and Profit
Sustainable development has long been described as a balance of three pillars: people, planet, and profit. Lighting and shading strategies uniquely support all three. By extending daylight deeper into floorplates, buildings reduce reliance on electric light and cut energy costs. They improve occupant comfort, health, and satisfaction by aligning with natural rhythms. And by delivering measurable ROI through performance and retention, they make a compelling business case.
Standards such as WELL and LEED reflect this convergence. WELL emphasizes health, and LEED emphasizes environmental performance. Together, they highlight the growing recognition that healthier environments are more sustainable and profitable.
Conclusion
Daylight is a powerful and often underutilized element of space design. With thoughtful integration of shading, tunable lighting, and smart controls, designers can transform daylight from a passive resource into an active driver of wellness, comfort, and performance.
As industries from workplaces to hotels embrace wellness-centered lighting strategies, the message is clear: bringing the outdoors in is no longer just an aesthetic preference. It is a strategy that helps people thrive, strengthens organizational performance, and advances sustainability goals. In the end, daylight is a bridge between indoors and out, design and nature, people and the planet we share.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Carson Alsop, WELL Faculty, currently manages Lutron Electronics’ two New York City Experience Centers. With a passion for promoting lighting’s role in occupant well-being and environmental sustainability, Carson has authored multiple presentations and publications on sustainability in the built environment, including an AIA/HSW, IDCEC, USGBC, and WELL-certified CEU. She is also an active member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York chapter.
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