This building technology seminar will examine the reciprocal relationships between daylight and architecture. Students will learn to understand and analyze daylight as a highly-integrated series of systems that depend on climate, material properties and geometry, glazing, shading, the eye's biology, and the brain's sensory perception of light and space. A series of phased design exercises will guide the class' explorations of luminous space and allow students to experiment with the complex interdependencies among architectural form, dynamic sky conditions, and human visual perception. The course will move quickly through the fundamentals such as surface brightness and contrast ratios to advanced concepts such as daylight autonomy and building automation. Prospective simulation and retrospective measurement and documentation will form the means to analyze and verify both quantitative and qualitative performance. Along the way, we will examine the role that daylight plays in occupant health and comfort as well as building energy consumption. For motivated students, this course will serve as a platform for experimentation into the ineffable effects of light on material that defines space and brings delight. Prerequisite: Architecture Studio 1 or equivalent as well as proficiency in Rhinoceros and Grasshopper.

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