Daylighting in linear atrium buildings at high latitudes

The main objective of the project consists in developing and evaluati ng daylighting strategies for atrium buildings in high latitudes. The study is limited to linear atrium buildings, but many of the examine d daylighting systems can be used in atrium buildings having other sh apes, too. The strategies are divided into three groups: ® the atriu m space and facades as light conductor/reflector, ® the glazed roof as a light conductor, and ® light reflectors on the neighbouring roo f. The strategies connected to the atrium space and facades are furt her divided into passive and active. The active strategies rely on th e use of daylight systems in the atrium space, such as specular refle ctors or laser cut panels. The passive strategies rely on the design of the facades. The thesis includes also two theoretical chapters. I n the first one a new criteria for visual comfort based on knowledge about visual perception, are proposed. The visual environment of an i ndoor space is divided into form, shape, and space, and visual comfor t in vision of objects from each of these categories is discussed in detail. The modelling ability of light connected to the vision of sma ll three-dimensional objects is discussed comprehensively. Radiance s imulations are used for analysing the luminance distribution on small shapes. The visual comfort in atrium buildings is also discussed. T he second theoretical chapter consists of simplified calculations of the daylight factor in linear building structures, using the projecte d solid angle principle. The calculations are done for uniform sky an d for CIE overcast sky conditions. The results of calculations are pr omising, because they are very close to the results from the model st udies.