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Writer's pictureŞeyma Kılıç

The Relationship Between Natural Light and Interior Space in Architecture

"I increasingly believe that light is the element that makes a building beautiful."  

Frank Lloyd Wright


The Earth's 24-hour cycle around the sun plays a vital role in planning our daily activities and regulating our biological rhythm. From sunrise to sunset, natural daylight changes dynamically in colour temperature and light intensity.



The human body's circadian rhythm also works according to these light properties that change throughout the day. The importance of natural light for living things has been known since humanity existed. Since the first surviving examples in the history of architecture, light tubes have been developed for skylights, building facades with large glass surfaces, bay windows, and even basements to bring more daylight into the interior.


https://www.bluemountainautoparts.com/natural-lighting-techniques-in-architecture
Natural Light in Architecture

However, due to geographical and economic conditions and the usage characteristics of the spaces, we can no longer benefit from enough daylight in the indoor spaces where we spend our lives.

While we spend more time outdoors in the summer months when the weather is sunny and the days are long, in the cold winter days when the daylight is intense, we spend our time in closed, artificially lit indoor spaces such as meeting rooms, offices, classrooms, operating rooms or shopping malls that do not receive enough daylight.


Seasonal Affective Disorder
Natural light directly affects our hormones and therefore our mood.

Since spaces in buildings that do not receive enough daylight or are not connected to the exterior receive no daylight all day long, people working or living in these spaces cannot perceive the day cycle outside in any way, causing incompatibilities between their internal biological clock and the perceived time.


While the areas near the windows of buildings with daylight glass facades benefit from daylight on sunny days, as you move towards the interior of the space, the daylight effect decreases rapidly, and the light level remains insufficient to release hormones that balance the circadian rhythm.




https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037877881632076X
Daylight Effect Indoors


In winter, when the weather is overcast primarily, and the sun rises late and sets early, we cannot sufficiently feel the colour transitions and intensity of natural daylight, even though we are in a place with daylight.


To prevent the effects of physical and psychological disorders such as circadian rhythm shifts, SAD (seasonal affective disorder), and attention deficit caused by not benefiting from sufficient daylight, "healthy illuminated spaces" should be created in closed areas with lighting designs and scenarios in accordance with the circadian rhythm.

 


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