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Daylighting Performance of Buildings: 60 European case studies
Marc Fontoynont
Département Génie Civil et Bâtiment (DGCB - URA CNRS), Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de l?Etat (ENTPE),France
Abstract
The results of a three-year monitoring campaign of buildings throughout Europe are presented. The daylighting behaviour of 60 buildings was observed and measured. Various types of buildings were involved, from offices to museums, libraries to churches and more specific buildings such as airports or factories. Classical buildings (such as the Pantheon in Rome built in 128 A.D.) are included, some of which are historical landmarks (such as Ronchamp church by Le Corbusier), others are more recent (such as the Stansted Air Terminal by Foster & Associates). The sizes range from one single room of 11 metres (Anatomical Theatre, Göteborg, Sweden) to a large scale office building (100,000m2 floor area of the Tractebel building, Brussels).
The study shows the extraordinary potential of daylighting techniques, to improve amenity and energy performances for the benefit of building occupants and managers. However, opportunities are often missed, with performance of daylighting solutions sometimes overestimated by designers, or with significant problems of overheating and insufficient attenuation of glare. Above all, this monitoring campaign shows the broadscope of daylighting design, and the importance of careful assessment of side effects which need to be analysed with the benefit of experience and knowledge of the physical principles; and appropriately managed.
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