Window Design IV

Architecture Design

Below we will develop a brief study on the position and spacing between windows. So far we have conducted three previous notes, as follows:

Window Design III

Window Design II

Window Design I

In previous posts we have studied how the area and position of the window affects the daylight in a room. As we know, the amount of light that comes into a room is directly proportional to the surface of the window. We also know that as higher the window lintel, the deeper the light.

A study to develop is the spacing between windows. We are going to observe the office model where different vertical windows are located. The window is resized, keeping the height of the lintel and varying the spacing between the jambs:

As we can see, the windows that are located far apart leave dark areas between them, causing uneven illumination. Moreover, the closer windows allow greater uniformity of light.

Accordingly, we conclude that the optimal spacing between windows is ½ the height of the lintel. If the windows are separated more than that distance, dark areas occur. If the windows spacing is less than that measure, the uniformity is preserved.

This work has been developed by the New Buildings Institute, which has done a great job in collaboration with the University of Idaho and Washington. My sincere congratulations for this study.

I hope that with this final note we will know more about the design of windows. Much remains to be discovered, such as how to quantify light produced by a window, but these issues will develop in future extensive notes.

Greetings:

Overture

As many others before me, for years I wished to write a blog because I've always liked to express my thoughts, opinions and limited knowledge through words. Maybe I only need the substance... 

And the substance could not be other than the light in the architecture, the element that allows the perception of the project, because as one guy, who seemed like a crow, told:

"Architecture is the wise, correct and magnificent play of volumes collected together under the light." 

My fascination for light and architecture comes from my childhood, when on a family trip I discovered the Pantheon in Rome. That same day I had the chance to return to visit it. I just sat on the marble floor and looked at the large central oculus.

For me, at ten years old, the Pantheon represented the highest expression of art and that perception was due to the massive dome and the light coming through the oculus. I suspect that many others before and after me have had a similar feeling, the perception of something so perfect that catches our attention and thoughts. Without going too far, a few years ago, an amateur boxer who visited it thought something like: 

"When I saw the light from the oculus of the Pantheon in Rome, I knew I wanted to be an architect."

Yes, that's what the amateur boxer but extraordinary architect Tadao Ando thought, reason why he hung up the gloves and picked up the pen.

My journey took me to practice as an architect and devote to teaching. My work at the University has always been linked to the investigation of light in architecture, so short time later I was able to deliver my doctoral thesis, a dense study of daylight through the skylights. The tribunal president arrived a little earlier the thesis show, so I had a chance to talk with him. Basically, he said to me:

"I really liked your thesis, although it is as thick as a brick."

That, more or less, was what Alberto Campo Baeza told me. He liked the result, but would have preferred something more didactic, closer to the architect. For what little I know, Alberto Campo is a humble person, away from the typical stereotypes of famous architects. He invited me to share the little knowledge I have learned with others like him, which is why I have decided to start this blog. I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I write it.

Finally, I apologize for my poor fluence writing in English. I trust it is not a major obstacle to enjoy with the paper.