The architecture of light: architectural lighting design concepts and techniques. A textbook of procedures and practices for the architect, interior designer and lighting designer pdfdrive com

Diffused sunlight is the product of introducing sunlight into our spaces after it has interacted with some sort of diffusing material. Once we have passed sunlight through tinted or frosted materials, we gain a much more manageable source of light.
SITE LAYOUT AND MASSING
The dynamic nature of the sun and sky demand that we consider the daylight- harvesting goals for a project very early. The first step in recognizing how to make use of daylight is to identify the opportunities based on the project’s orientation and proportions.
There are a few quick rules of solar geometry that will have significant
impact on the potential uses of daylight on a design job. Daylight is simple at its heart, and the relationship created by project orientation is equally simple.
Architectural layout and massing must be considered with daylight
implications in mind. Height and width of forms and facades greatly affect the surface area available for daylighting opportunities. Glazing must be considered for its daylight implications and not simply for its view considerations. Solar orientation, sight lines and solar shadow lines should also be investigated in deciding how and where to locate a project.
Figure16.2 The massing of a structure will determine the opportunities for various forms of daylight harvesting
Latitude
The closer you are to the North and South Pole of the earth, the lower the sun will be in your sky throughout the year. Without burdening ourselves with solar geometry, we can safely say that a project on the equator has the potential for the sun to be directly overhead much of the year, while a project in the Arctic will never see the sun high in the sky.
Figure 16.3 High Latitudes and summer months (left) mean a high sun angle and short shadows. Low latitudes and winter months (right) mean a low sun and long shadows.
Cardinal Orientation
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Spaces facing these directions have the potential for direct sunlight exposure in the mornings and evenings of every day.