VELUX Commercial discusses the importance of daylighting solutions in commercial buildings

In association with

Buildings.

The availability of artificial light over the last two centuries and the restructuring of the working day means that we are fast becoming the ‘Indoor Generation’. Our weekday experience of daylight and fresh air is often restricted to the morning commute to work or school, a quick lunch break or a stop at the supermarket on the way home. The influence that architecture has on our lives cannot be overstated, and the need to create healthier, brighter indoor spaces with greater access to daylight and the outdoors is a pressing one.

Buildings.

The impact of daylight on occupants in commercial buildings
Research on office buildings has shown that office workers highly value access to a window and to varying degrees of daylight. In a study of seven office buildings in the Pacific Northwest (Heerwagen et al, 1992) more than 83 per cent of the occupants said they ‘very much’ liked daylight and sunlight in their workspace, and valued the seasonal changes in daylight. Even in darker locations within a building, the occupants still expressed satisfaction with the daylight level, as long as they could look into a daylit space. In the YouGov survey, 39 per cent of respondents said that daylight significantly impacts their mood.

Buildings.

The indoor environment can influence work productivity quite significantly. Many studies show that the performance and productivity of workers in industrial, office and retail environments can be positively enhanced with the quality of light. Staff are the most valuable resource in most organisations – typically accounting for 90 per cent of business operating costs – so even a one per cent increase in productivity can have a major impact on the competitiveness of any business.

UKHO by AHR Architects

Delivering daylight solutions for commercial buildings
By designing sustainable buildings and making use of abundant daylight, we can decrease our dependency on artificial light, resulting in greater energy savings, reduced environmental impact, and improved physical and mental health for workers. Good building design should facilitate our reconnection to the rhythms of nature, and not just focus on quantifiable parameters, such as levels of humidity and temperature. And yet, whilst there is a deepening consensus amongst building owners, employers and investors that they have a moral responsibility, as well as a financial incentive to create vibrant, healthy spaces for occupants, defining a suitable daylighting scheme for any building can be a challenge as there are many factors to consider.

Buildings.

The new European Standard EN 17037 aims to help building designers achieve appropriate levels of daylight in any type of building. Its intent is to change the focus of building design and the role of glazing in those designs to improve occupant comfort and overall energy efficiency. Roof glazing, and modular skylights particularly, provide greater access to sunlight and unobstructed sky-only views, and are the perfect complement to vertical windows in external walls that might be faced with significant constraints from adjacent buildings or other obstructions.

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To find out more on how to design commercial buildings for improved health and productivity by utilising daylight, download your free copy of the whitepaper, ‘Designing daylight solutions for commercial buildings’.