Natural light in design

Lectures: 3 sessions over 2 weeks, 8 hours / session

Daylighting, or more generally lighting, is one of the fundamental components of architecture. Not only is it the key element in revealing built volumes and providing a character to a space, it must also adequately respond to our needs for visual comfort and for a healthy environment, and has to be carefully planned to be ecologically viable. Today, computer-based simulations are becoming increasingly popular, especially when daylighting and energy conservation are amongst the key goals for a project. This workshop will introduce participants to using Radiance, Ecotect, and Daysim as a toolset to carry out a state-of-the-art daylighting analysis of buildings. The analysis will combine traditional performance metrics - such as daylight factor and avoidance of direct sunlight - with emerging metrics based on dynamic annual daylight simulations. Two days of formal instruction and hands-on exercises will be followed by a day during which participants will be able to apply the concepts learnt to a design project of their choosing.

This workshop will be open to students and practitioners. It will be organized in two parts:

Tuesday and Wednesday, January 24-25: Lectures and hands-on exercises

Tuesday, January 31: Presentations, discussion and feedback on design projects

During the week in-between, each team will apply the learned concepts to a design project of their choosing so as to generate an "added value" from the daylighting/energy consumption standpoint; they will benefit from feedback during that time and present their results on this third day of the workshop.

The class size will be strictly limited; early applications will receive first consideration. Although bringing a laptop to class is not a requirement for this course, it is highly recommended. Please arrive one hour before class begins in order to install the necessary software.

Don't show me this again

This is one of over 2,200 courses on OCW. Find materials for this course in the pages linked along the left.

MIT OpenCourseWare is a free & open publication of material from thousands of MIT courses, covering the entire MIT curriculum.

No enrollment or registration. Freely browse and use OCW materials at your own pace. There's no signup, and no start or end dates.

Knowledge is your reward. Use OCW to guide your own life-long learning, or to teach others. We don't offer credit or certification for using OCW.

Made for sharing. Download files for later. Send to friends and colleagues. Modify, remix, and reuse (just remember to cite OCW as the source.)

Learn more at Get Started with MIT OpenCourseWare