SUN STUDY ANALYSIS – PROFESSORS STUDIO
A sun study was created through Archicad to try and gauge the effect of the sun on the studio in terms of lighting, shading and shadows.
Initially 2 sun studies were done with views of the main studio and the upstairs/balcony part of the studio. These sun studies were set at January 1 in Wellington and take into account the high mid-summer elevation of the sun during the peak of summer.
Moreover, another 2 initial sun studies were done of the same 2 views as above but at June 31 to take into account the lower angles of the sun in the middle of the winter, and the implications on the studio.
The results seem to mainly show the direct line of the sun hitting different parts of the studio. It seems hard to accurately gauge the effect of shading and shadows, and it is also hard to gauge the amount of illumination the space would receive from the sun.
It would, however be safe to assume that the natural light entering the space from the atrium through the large louvre openings would not be efficient to illuminate the studio to adequate levels of around 600 lux. Thus electric lighting needs to be installed and used, even during the daytime.
The desirable result would be to have a lot of direct sunlight in the apartment (main) space, as this is for living not working. Moreover, it would be desirable to have little direct sunlight in the upstairs studio space, as it is a working environment and direct sunlight could be annoying.
The construction of the roof of the studio, being corrugated iron does limit the amount of natural light entering the main space from the atrium glass roof above.
The main studio in summer does get a lot of direct sun in the morning which enters through the atrium, however this sharp direct light stops around noon and only a diffuse hue is left to light the studio through the afternoon, (as shown sunjan1.avi).
To try and get more sunlight into the studio in the afternoon would be difficult considering there is an upstairs space to consider and a large existing studio on the western side of the studio.
The upstairs/balcony part of the studio seems to receive plenty of light through the large sliding door on the western side and the glass blocks on the eastern side. The glass blocks also help in minimizing the sharp shadow effect that is apparent down stairs thus provides a more consistent light for the workspace, whilst allowing the balcony to receive great direct sunlight in the afternoons, (as shown, sunjan2.avi).
The winter sunlight effects are more dramatic due to the lower elevation angle of the sun.
The down stairs main studio receives a minute bit of direct sunlight in the early morning but nothing for the rest of the day, (as shown in sunjun1.avi). To try and allow more direct sunlight into this space penetration could be made in the roof, which is cosmetic as is covered by the atrium roof.
The upstairs part on the other hand receives a lot of direct sunlight through the glass sliding door for most of the day, creating sharp shadows across the computer work station, which is not desirable, (as shown in sunjun2.avi). To remedy this situation, blinds could be installed across the door, but this would illuminate the view. So possibly a shading device positioned above the door could help.
To see if there is a possibility of getting more sunlight into the apartment space, 4 dome like skylights have been placed in the interior roof of the studio to allow light to penetrate through from the glass atrium roof to brighten up the apartment.
Furthermore, to diminish the effects of direct sunlight into the upstairs studio space in winter, a sunshade has been placed above the door.
The results of the dome sky lights show a small improvement in direct sunlight to the apartment in January and June, but not great. This would indicate that the atrium glass roof now limits the sun penetration into the space as the sun rotates around the building (as shown modifysunjan1.avi and modifysunjun1.avi)
The results of the sunshade over the upstairs door seem to show a reduction in direct sunlight into the workspace in winter, but direct sunlight still shines onto the computer workstation in the late afternoon during winter (as shown modifysunjun2.avi.). To get over this a drawable blind could be installed inside the door to be utilised on the few sunny winter afternoons where direct sunlight is annoying.
The summer sunlight is fine with or without the sunshade as the roof overhang protects the interior of the space (as shown modifysunjan2.avi).
An overall sun study has been done of the studio from a view in the atrium to show the sun shining on the studio during summer, (as shown atriumview.avi). It reinforces the point that the atrium roof limits the direct sunlight available to the studio.
It is still considered that electric lighting will be needed in the space, even during the day to adequately illuminate it. To achieve an adequate level of 600 lux in the studio GEC luminaires are used - the SLM 520 SLM25R direct luminaires. These luminaires are 2 x 58W, 1900mm fluorescent lamps. Providing direct lighting to the work plane.
The layout of the lights are positioned so all the direct lighting is above the workspace. Also the orientation has been set to east west so when occupants look up from their desks they see only a small lighting line rather than a long one so therefore glare is reduced.
In terms of construction, the main part of the studio is contained within the atrium and is thermally controlled by the central heating and cooling systems within the building. Therefore, the materiality of the studio is not a big issue in terms of the thermal environment, the main aspect being the weather tightness of the penetration through the roof to the exterior.
The Archicad sun study is not effective in gauging the illumination of the space and can only be used as a rough indicator of where the sun directly hits.