The Introduction of Daylight in Buildings: A Study of Facade and Shading Systems
Open Access
- Author:
- Riedinger, Victoria
- Area of Honors:
- Architectural Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Architectural Engineering
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Kevin William Houser, Thesis Supervisor
Richard George Mistrick, Thesis Honors Advisor
Richard George Mistrick, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- Daylighting
Lighting
Structural
Mechanical
Electrical - Abstract:
- The building studied in this thesis report is a Bioengineering Building located in the Eastern United States. It serves as a research facility that houses labs, classrooms, offices, and conference rooms. The entirety of this thesis focuses on the redesign of four spaces located on the first floor of the building. The redesign includes topics in lighting, electrical, mechanical, structural, and daylighting design. The daylighting, structural, and mechanical portion of the thesis were designed based on the preliminary research conducted in Chapter 1 of this report. A new façade shading system was designed to maximize daylighting benefits and improve occupant comfort in the work space. The daylighting design was analyzed for illuminance and glare properties and found that they both improved greatly after the implementation of the new louver system. The structural study analyzed the loading of the new louvers on the façade to ensure that the concrete beams in the Flex Lab could support the addition. It was discovered that the structural properties of the existing column were more than capable of supporting the new louvers across the façade. The mechanical study discovered that the louver system raised the heating and cooling loads in the space. While both were raised slightly, the energy saved from utilizing daylight instead of electric light can compensate for the increase. The lighting redesigned in the four spaces reflects the idea of a building functioning much like a human body. Each space has its own use, but because they’re all connected, the design requires an integration of systems and aesthetics. The Exterior Plaza, Lobby, Flex Classroom, and Flex Lab space are all located on the first floor of the building and are open to each other. A detailed analysis of each space was conducted and reported in this thesis.