By David Gilbey
As architectural lighting designers daylight is our friend and although cynics would say that we are specialists in artificial light, incorporating daylight is an important element of what we do, it is a key element of creating engaging space that keeps us healthy, alert, and inspired and a crucial component of modern architecture, the results can be as inspirational as any artificially illuminated project that we have ever put before you.
Architecturally, there are wonderful practitioners of bringing daylight into their projects, Tadao Ando uses natural light with inspiring, purposeful, and dramatic effects with light wells, slots, and deliberate views, Jean Nouvel use of natural light in the Louvre Abu Dhabi is deliberate, authentic and is part of the personality of the building and Sir Richard Rogers appreciation of the importance of and handling of daylight in the Lloyds of London Building in London, back in the ’80s, was inspiring and still as relevant today.
Daylight is the oft-ignored element of Biophilic Design, why we all concentrating on bringing greenery into our projects and keeping it alive, we can take for granted this natural resource that we all have a natural attraction to, we can think of no better place to study than the Seattle Library or swim than the award-winning Royal Guildford School in Dubai.
We can harvest natural light in our projects to reduce energy, we can bring it into the building in creative ways and we can duplicate its moods artificially, it is the grand controller of our circadian rhythms. It is a skill because, at the same time as we are introducing daylight and the sun, we are also martially controlling glare or solar heat gains.
We have to give special mention to companies and individuals whose studies and advocacy on the subject are inspirational Arup, Hoare Lea, Ruth Kelly Waskett, Dr. Shelley James and Seda Kaçel.
We see daylight incorporated into projects across all sectors and we hope that the images below are inspiring to you, we would love to hear about any gems or important projects that you know of and we don’t. Thank you.
