Improving the daylighting conditions of existing buildings : the benefits and limitations of integrating anidolic daylighting systems using the American classroom as a model

Abstract

Awareness of the benefits of good daylighting has risen in recent years, and the designs of many new buildings take daylighting into consideration. However, the majority of our built environment is older than this recent trend, and was not designed with daylighting as a top priority. A need exists, therefore, to find an efficient means of improving the daylighting of existing buildings. Furthermore, along with the development of such a daylighting technique, a set of guidelines should be developed to determine this technique's applicability to a given existing space, thus facilitating its acceptance into the toolbox of current building practice. This paper focuses particularly on the integration and adaptation of anidolic daylighting systems into existing buildings. By using mostly RADIANCE simulations, this thesis seeks to discover a range of conditions for optimal integration of an anidolic daylighting system. These conditions are then simplified and displayed in the form of a set of recommendations and guidelines for the benefit of architectural practitioners.