building fabric
Good quality daylight helps maximise student performance and productivity whilst minimising building energy use.
T
HE DfE’s BB90 says school designers “should assume that daylight will be the prime means of lighting when it is available.” With windows only admitting daylight six metres into buildings, specifiers can use rooflights to help achieve these goals Adding to the task of maximising the
transmission of natural light to the interior of a school, solutions must also offer thermal and acoustic performance and glare control. To meet the requirements of Part L 2010, the minimum performance standard for rooflights is 2.2W/m²K which means all rooflights should be at least triple skin. However, for a building to meet its CO2 emission targets, specifying rooflights with a U-Value of 1.8 W/m²K (to match the performance of the rooflights in the Notional Building) is recommended. Installing 15% of the roof area in
rooflights is a practical solution to ensure the lighting levels within the building are adequate and will reduce the artificial lighting requirement and energy use which in turn reduces a building’s CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the passive solar gain achieved can provide free heat to the building too. By introducing rooflights which might include domes, vaults, pitched skylights or panel glazing systems, specifiers can deliver educational spaces that encourage learning, concentration and positive student behaviour.
Refurbishment market In addition to the wave of new school construction under the Priority Schools Programme, architects and designers are reviewing options for refurbishing and upgrading many older school buildings. This can involve transforming courtyards into classrooms, providing canopies and covered walkways, replacing existing rooflights and developing bespoke daylight solutions for halls and circulation areas, leisure facilities and classrooms. For the £17m refurbishment of Stoke Newington School and Sixth Form in north London, the architect wanted the rooflights to meet specific acoustic and light transmission levels. Collaboration with rooflight specialist Brett Martin Daylight Systems led to the installation of five Ritchlight mono north lights. By creating an impressive feature above the
Maximising the delivery of natural light
courtyard turned dining room, these were ideal for avoiding solar glare and hot spots to ensure a comfortable and pleasant internal environment in the dining hall. Rooflights also captured the light at a school in Leighton Buzzard with more than 100 triple skin Mardome Trade dome rooflights installed on the flat roofs of the teaching blocks during refurbishment works undertaken at Van Dyke Upper School. The domes, glazed in triple skin opal polycarbonate to overcome the problem of direct sunlight distracting students, have made a significant contribution to improving the learning environment and teaching facilities at the school.
www.brettmartin.com/daylight-systems www.h-m-g.com
Student
performance IN 1999, a rigorously documented study conducted by the Heschong Mahone Group looked at the effect of daylighting on human performance. Analysing maths and reading test scores for over 21,000 students from elementary schools in different regions of the western United States, the results found that students with the most daylighting in their classrooms progressed 20% faster in maths and 26% in reading in one year than those with the least.
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