Daylighting

Translucent concrete, also known as light-transmitting concrete, is a building material that allows light to pass through it. It is made by embedding optical fibers in a concrete matrix, which allows the material to transmit light while still maintaining its structural integrity. The fibers used in translucent concrete are typically made of glass or plastic [...]

Visual Delight in Architecture by Lisa Heschong (‎Routledge, April 2021, 398 pp.) examines the many ways in which the time we spend indoors is enriched by daylight and window views.

Anca D. Galasiu, National Research Council Canada and C. F. Reinhart, Massachusetts Institute of Technology have co-authored a report, Current Daylighting Design Practice: A Survey, which attempts to create a snapshot of current daylight design practices.

The New Buildings Institute just released a new market guide, Controlling Comfort and Energy in Offices, which outlines the benefits and best practices to implement lighting and shading retrofits in today’s market.

HLB Lighting Design’s daylighting guru Matthew Tanteri wrote a short article defining the daylight zone and how to determine its dimensions within a building.

The University of Oregon recently published a new white paper, “The Impact of Lighting and Views in the Workplace of the Future.” The paper concludes that daylighted spaces with controlled lighting and views can improve occupant well-being, workplace productivity, and satisfaction by positively influencing various physiological and psychological processes. Lighting and views also impact property value and employee recruitment and retention.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon has issued a call for applications for the 2019-2020 Design Challenge.

It sounds obvious, but it isn’t. The fact is daylighting designs often assume a uniform “white canvas” of exterior daylight to work with, when numerous factors affect daylight availability. This is the subject of an insightful short article by HLB daylighting experts Matthew Tanteri and Amaia Puras-Ustarroz.

The Illuminating Engineering Society has published DG-31-18, Design Guide on Active Core Sunlighting for Buildings, which provides an introduction to active core sunlighting systems and their implementation in buildings.