ROOMS: Zoned Organizations

A SKYLIGHT BUILDING admits light from above to

daylight thick plans and top floors [daylighting].

N-s L T

c
h
no dark spots
work plane
s s i
(1.4 x c h) + (2 x s w ) + s w

c
h

s s i
(1.4 x c h) + s wh

work plane

M R R, B N,
P, F, 1868, H L, a

S S G

also revealing and highlighting the intricate perforated

structure of the arches.
Two design guidelines are commonly given for laying out skylights, whether linear or a field of individual
skylights. These are rough starting points that can be
refined with more detailed tools later. The Skylight
Spacing Guidelines suggest that usable daylight will
project at about a 45 angle from the bottom of the skylight well and if the well is splayed, the top of these
lines may be extended to the top of the splay, resulting
in the possibility of a lower ceiling height or wider spacing with better daylight distribution.
Recommended maximum center-to-center spacing

between two skylights is given as (Heschong Mahone

Group, 2003):
Skylight spacing (1.4 x ceiling height)+

(2 x splay width)+ skylight width
Splay width is the offset of the outer splay edge horizontally from the edge of the skylight. At the edge of
the room, the spacing required from wall to skylight center is about 0.5 x the ceiling height or less.
As another check, the diagram of the No-sky Line
Technique shows a method of constructing lines for the
limits of the areas within a room that can 'see' a portion of the sky (Tregenza and Wilson, 2011). These areas

38 ROOMS: Zoned Organizations

As discussed in daylight building , buildings with a

thin plan can be sidelighted while thick-plan multistory
buildings require holes cut from their massing to create
an atrium building . A third category of building form
is the single story building, which can be thick or
thin. Single story buildings constitute the majority of
structures in the USA, so strategies for admitting light
through the roof are more widely applicable than one
might assume from their current use. Hybrid toplight and
sidelight or toplight and atrium schemes are also possible
[daylight building ] where the top floor is treated as a
toplight building.
Among the benefits of the skylight building are its
greater illumination on horizontal surfaces than sidelight provides plus the freedom of plan thickness, which,
like the Packard Forge Shop example in daylight aper tures , can be quite large. When light is admitted from
above, the walls are free and the daylight distribution
can be more uniform. Common examples of skylight
buildings include large plan buildings like warehouses,
big-box retail buildings, supermarkets and factories and
large rooms like gymnasiums, indoor swimming pools,
convention halls. Buildings with large or small rooms,
such as art museums, libraries and even offices are also
common types for this strategy.
Rooflight size and design is covered in daylight aper tures and skylight wells . Guidance on selecting roof
systems for their visible transmission is given in top light roof . At the building scale, the main design issue
is the type and spacing of the rooflights. The most common rooflight systems are linear, strip-like designs,
which are spaced in only one direction and more individual rectangular or round skylights that are spaced in two
directions.
In the Main Reading Room of the Bibliothque
National in Paris, Henri Labrouste brought in light
through evenly spaced round occuli in domes atop tall,
slender, iron-structured columns and arches. These are
combined with high north-facing windows in the contrasting heavy masonry enclosing walls, leaving room on
the walls for book storage. The scheme provides an even
distribution of light for reading in a dynamic space while

LEVEL 5: ROOM ORGANIZATIONS

38

E.108

800

400

400

S1

S2

5
10
15
20
25
U N S
I Sed
2 x2 Array of Square Apertures

W P
5
10
15
20
25
U N S
I Sed
3 x3 Array of Square Apertures

D D a t W P f S S

S M U D C S C, Sa, C, 2007,
W + P, a
will have a portion of their daylight provided directly
form the sky. Areas without a sky view will depend on
reflected light and are likely to be less bright. In both
techniques, the lines can be studied either at the floor
or at a work plane, such as 30 in (76 cm) above the floor.
If the lines overlap, the minimum daylight factor will
likely be acceptable. Make sure to size the skylight glazing in daylight apertures .
Given the same total area of skylights, fewer large
skylights will give a less uniform distribution pattern
than more numerous, smaller skylights which will create a more uniform pattern. For the same ceiling height,
splayed wells provide more even light and more usable

S o S-T R
rooflight type

C s o 4t f, day

light at the work plane, as shown in Daylight Distribution at the Work Plane from Square Skylights
(Ghobad, et al, 2012).
Skylights with a vertical shaft and 45 splayed wells
are spaced to give uniform light without glare in the top
Sacramento Municipal Utility District Customer Service Center. Employees working on the skylighted floor
give the highest rating for lighting quality as compared
to other sidelighted floors (EDR, 2007; LRC, 2007).
The second major type of skylight buildings employ
linear skylights. Guidance is given in Spacing-to-Height
Ratios to Meet Uniformity Criteria in the CIBSE Code
(CIBSE, 1994 as defined by Dewey and Littlefair, 1998).

S3

required spacing - to - height ratio

Minimum/average
illuminance 0.8

Minimum/average
illuminance 0.2

Flat

1.5

3.5

Shed
s1/h1
s2/h2
s3/h3

1.5
1.5
1.5

3.0
2.5
3.5

Vertical Sawtooth

1.5

3.0

Northlight
(sloping sawtooth)

2.0

3.5

Vertical Monitor

3.0

4.5

Domes

1.5

2.5

S-t-H R t M U
C i t CIBSE C.
Use the spacing-to-height ratios in the left column
(min/ave.) to meet the 0.8 code criterion for areas
where a single principle task is conducted. Use the
right column (min/max) to meet the 0.2 code criteria
for the overall appearance of the space. Critical tasks
can occur nearer the rooflights where illuminance is
greater.
The right column meets a more 'relaxed' criterion. Diagrams of the linear rooflight types are shown on the next
page, along with spacing proportions for the shed type.
The effect of spacing linear toplight apertures that
are continuous across the width of a space is shown in
Uniformity of Illuminance for Rooflight Types at

38 ROOMS: Zoned Organizations

800

LEVEL 5: ROOM ORGANIZATIONS

1200

H3

1200

H2

1600

H1

1600

E.109

R L A G i N B, P E, S A, 2012, N W, a

0.6

Flat

Shed

Domes

F
N

0.4

Dome
M
Shed
Sawtooth

0.2

0
5 to 1

4.5 to 1

4 to 1

3.5 to 1

3 to 1

2.5 to 1

2 to 1

1.5 to 1

1 to 1

0.5 to 1

R S/ H o R F W P t C o R (S/H)

U o I f R T a D S/H R
Different Spacing/Height Ratios (Dewey and Littlefair
(1998). For most rooms the 'diversity of illuminance' metric (ratio of maximum to minimum illuminance) in the
graph, is sufficient. If a more strict uniformity is desired,
refer to the original source for studies of 'uniformity of

illuminance' (minimum to average illuminance).

Noero and Wolff used large, tightly spaced linear
southern (polar-facing) monitors in the Red Location
Art Gallery in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, South
Africa. The light scoops structure the internal gallery

38 ROOMS: Zoned Organizations

0.8

LEVEL 5: ROOM ORGANIZATIONS

D o I (r o m t m)

1.0

spaces and are carefully modulated to exclude any direct

light. With glazing areas about as large as the floor area,
the toplight scheme provides high levels of reflected
light on vertical display surfaces.
E.110

S F Ls,
M S i C

P L D,
M S i C

effective shading and reflecting, the angle of the louvers

can be adjusted seasonally with a system of hand cranks.
This allows the building to benefit from the high heat
reflectance of the metal in winter when heat is needed
and outdoor illuminance is lower, but avoid the liability of heat gain in summer (because reflections can be
adjusted away from the glass) when the extra light is
less needed because of the much brighter skies (Davey,
1990; Williams, 1991).
Low angle sun from the east and west can be harder
to shade without blocking view and light. Movable
shades can be used in place during the sunny part of the
day, when daylight levels will also be higher, and then
moved to an open position that will not obstruct daylight during the portion of the day when the window will
be in shade and the daylight is only from the diffuse sky.
Similarly, fixed shades will often obstruct the windows
view of the sky in both summer and winter. A moveable
or seasonal shade can allow a greater sky view in winter
when daylight levels outside are lowest and shading the
sun is not required.
When a fixed shading element, such as a trellis, is
covered with deciduous vines, winter daylighting is similarly enhanced. See external shades .

90 WINDOWS: Layers

Reflectances of colors can be found in daylight

Avoid using for shading devices
materials and finishes that make good solar heat
reflectors (see solar reflectors ). Heat reflectance of
materials is also shown on the graph in double skin
materials . The best options for shading devices are in
the upper left quadrant of that chart.
Opaque shading devices on sunny facades can appear
dark on the side in shade, such as underneath an overhang. This apparent darkness, in contrast to the more
well lit surfaces can cause the perception of glare. Therefore, shady sides of shading devices should be very
light in color. A perforated shade allows a small amount
of light to penetrate the shading surface, lightening the
appearance of the underside while still blocking most of
the solar radiation.
This strategy was used by the Hampshire County
Architect's Department for the Queen's Inclosure at the
Middle School in Cowplain, England. Perforated curved
metal louvers are used to block sun on both of the
building's long facades: on the south side to shade the
window wall and on the north, to reflect low-angle winter sun and light into the north side rooms. The north
facade faces a forest, so the windows' small sky view
is increased by reflection from the louvers. To ensure
reflecting surfaces .

LEVEL2: ELEMENTS

Q' I, M S, C, E,
H C A ' D

E.238