This new paperback, is the first publication to consider the many effects of natural illumination in contemporary buildings. This comprehensive and thoughtful survey begins with a brief introduction to the history of architecture, seen through the advances and experimentation put forward by architects over the centuries.

Daylighting offers a general theory and introduction to the use of natural light in architecture. The fourth of Derek Phillip's lighting books draws on his experience to illustrate how best to bring natural light into building design. As sustainability becomes a core principal for designers, daylighting comes to the fore as an alternative to artificial, energy consuming, light. Here, Phillips makes a rational argument for considering daylight first, outlining the arguments in favour of a daylight approach, and goes on to show, through a series of beautifully illustrated case studies, how architects have created buildings in which natural light has been shown to play a major strategic role in the development of the design of a building.

In this planning guide, the renowned lighting designer Ulrike Brandi documents all her findings on the topics of lighting design, daylight, sustainability and healthy living spaces. It is a challenge to create holistic lighting design in times of advancing mechanization, but it is the right thing to do in terms of achieving sustainability in the use of light and energy. The renowned lighting designer Ulrike Brandi explains this attitude with the words, “It’s better to make the most of natural light from the start, rather than compensating with artificial light afterwards”. The guideline Light Nature Architecture proves how essential, but also simple, it is to integrate natural light into architectural planning and thus into the design of healthy and pleasant living and working environments. This richly illustrated handbook is structured based on natural light phenomena and combines Ulrike Brandi’s wealth of experience, theoretical principles, and design methods to create a reference work and source of inspiration. Richly illustrated basic work for holistic lighting design Insight into the extensive practical experience and the individual approach of the renowned lighting designer Ulrike Brandi Source of inspiration for professional planners, architects and laypeople Available in English and German (Licht Natur Architektur, ISBN 9783035624083)

A classic examination of superb design through the centuries. Widely regarded as a classic in the field, Experiencing Architecture explores the history and promise of good design. Generously illustrated with historical examples of designing excellence—ranging from teacups, riding boots, and golf balls to the villas of Palladio and the fish-feeding pavilion of Beijing's Winter Palace—Rasmussen's accessible guide invites us to appreciate architecture not only as a profession, but as an art that shapes everyday experience. In the past, Rasmussen argues, architecture was not just an individual pursuit, but a community undertaking. Dwellings were built with a natural feeling for place, materials and use, resulting in “a remarkably suitable comeliness.” While we cannot return to a former age, Rasmussen notes, we can still design spaces that are beautiful and useful by seeking to understand architecture as an art form that must be experienced. An understanding of good design comes not only from one's professional experience of architecture as an abstract, individual pursuit, but also from one's shared, everyday experience of architecture in real time—its particular use of light, color, shape, scale, texture, rhythm and sound. Experiencing Architecture reminds us of what good architectural design has accomplished over time, what it can accomplish still, and why it is worth pursuing. Wide-ranging and approachable, it is for anyone who has ever wondered “what instrument the architect plays on.”

The image of open working and living spaces flooded with light has, more than any other, become fixed in our minds as a symbol of modernity and the spirit of the times. While the workplace has always been the focus of ergonomic studies and optimization with respect to a good provision of daylight, large glass surfaces have now become the order of the day for living spaces as well. But does this automatically make for better illumination? Taking this question as its starting point, the publication Illuminating thematizes central aspects of light planning, including the connection between the provision of daylight and architectural design, building orientation, the nature of the facade, the ground plan, comfort, and the proportions and atmosphere of rooms. In the process, general characteristics and fundamental principles as well as subtle facets of an intelligent treatment of daylight are discussed and critically examined within an expanded architecture- and culture-historical context.

Our thermal environment is as rich in cultural associations as our visual, acoustic, olfactory, and tactile environments. This book explores the potential for using thermal qualities as an expressive element in building design. Until quite recently, building technology and design has favored high-energy-consuming mechanical methods of neutralizing the thermal environment. It has not responded to the various ways that people use, remember, and care about the thermal environment and how they associate their thermal sense with their other senses. The hearth fire, the sauna, the Roman and Japanese baths, and the Islamic garden are discussed as archetypes of thermal delight about which rituals have developed—reinforcing bonds of affection and ceremony forged in the thermal experience. Not only is thermal symbolism now obsolete but the modern emphasis on central heating systems and air conditioning and hermetically sealed buildings has actually damaged our thermal coping and sensing mechanisms. This book for the solar age could help change all that and open up for us a new dimension of architectural experience. As the cost of energy continues to skyrocket, alternatives to the use of mechanical force must be developed to meet our thermal needs. A major alternative is the use of passive solar energy, and the book will provide those interested in solar design with a reservoir of ideas.

The Wessex Institute of Technology has for years been convening conferences on sustainable architecture and planning, design in nature, heritage architecture, and environmental health. With the growing importance of lighting in the creation of better, healthier environments, the enhancement of heritage architecture, and the recovery of urban areas, as well as new developments in more sustainable lighting it became clear that a conference focusing on lighting issues would be useful. This book contains the papers to be presented at the first International Conference on Lighting in Engineering, Architecture and the Environment, discussing the latest developments in a variety of topics related to light and illumination, from its engineering aspects to its use in art and architecture and the effect of light on living systems and human health. Ranging from discussions of technical issues regarding equipment design and light measurement to human perception of light and the effect of light on human health, the book will be of interest to architectures, planners, environmental health experts, and stage designers in academia, industry and government, as well as colleagues discussing the latest developments in a variety of topics related to light and illumination, from its engineering aspects to its use in art and architecture and the effect of light on living systems and human health.

This authoritative and multi-disciplinary book provides architects, lighting specialists, and anyone else working daylight into design, with all the tools needed to incorporate this most fundamental element of architecture. It includes: an overview of current practice of daylighting in architecture and urban planning a review of recent research on daylighting and what this means to the practitioner a global vision of architectural lighting which is linked to the climates of the world and which integrates view, sunlight, diffuse skylight and electric lighting up-to-date tools for design in practice delivery of information in a variety of ways for interdisciplinary readers: graphics, mathematics, text, photographs and in-depth illustrations a clear structure: eleven chapters covering different aspects of lighting, a set of worksheets giving step-by-step examples of calculations and design procedures for use in practice, and a collection of algorithms and equations for reference by specialists and software designers. This book should trigger creative thought. It recognizes that good lighting design needs both knowledge and imagination.

Imparts a true sense of the magical light that has shaped great buildings in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden

Visual Delight in Architecture examines the many ways that our lives are enriched by the presence of natural daylight and window views within our buildings. It makes a compelling case that daily exposure to the rhythms of daylight is essential to our health and well-being, tied to the very genetic foundations of our physiology and cognitive function. It describes all the subtlety, beauty, and pleasures of well-daylit spaces and attractive window views, and explains how these are woven into the fabric of both our everyday sensory experience and enduring cultural perspectives. All types of environmental designers, along with anyone interested in human health and well- being, will fi nd new insights offered by Visual Delight in Architecture. The book is both accessible and provocative, full of personal stories and persuasive research, helping designers to gain a deeper understanding of the scientific basis of their designs, scientists to better grasp the real-world implications of their work, and everyone to more fully appreciate the role of windows in their lives.