Daylighting and Health

Daylighting already appeared in the 1970s as a key element of sustainable architecture as result of the energy crisis. But most of the buildings in the last two decades have not adopted any strategy for the active use of daylighting and regulations in favor of making its use compulsory are rare if non-existent. However obvious as it may seem, the relationship between daylighting, or lack thereof, and health is becoming a central focus of researchers and the professional community as it was in past decades.

The active use of daylight in a controlled way allows a defined design ob­jective to be achieved which aims at both energy savings and an improvement in health. In this context, appropriate strategies must be applied for daylighting which take account of the geographical location, ­the climate and the type of building construction. Furthermore, it is essential to combine architecture, sustainable technologies and the energy/environmental performance of the building. 

The lecture reflected upon the connection between daylight and health and showed the health issues related to the presence or absence of ­daylight in buildings.