1. ArchDaily
  2. Daylight

Daylight: The Latest Architecture and News

Reimagining The Mashrabiya: Functionality and Symbolism in Contemporary Architecture

For centuries, arid environments have solved the problem of light, privacy, and heat through a statement architectural feature of Islamic and Arab architecture, the mashrabiya. Crafted from geometric patterns traditionally made from short lengths of turned wood, the mashrabiya features lattice-like patterns that form large areas. Traditionally, it was used to catch wind and offer passive cooling in the dry Middle Eastern desert heat. Frequently used on the side street of a built structure, water jars, and basins were placed inside it to activate evaporative cooling. The cool air from the street would pass through the wooden screen, providing air movement for the occupants.

Similar to the Indian jali, the vernacular language also offers a playful experience with daylight while still maintaining a certain degree of privacy. Traced back to Ottoman origins, the perforated screens protected occupants’ from the sun while simultaneously letting daylight through in calculated doses. Although the mashrabiya was a statement in arab and Islamic architecture languages, it wasn’t until 1987 that the archetypal element began appearing with a revised contemporary application.

Reimagining The Mashrabiya: Functionality and Symbolism in Contemporary Architecture  - Image 1 of 4Reimagining The Mashrabiya: Functionality and Symbolism in Contemporary Architecture  - Image 2 of 4Reimagining The Mashrabiya: Functionality and Symbolism in Contemporary Architecture  - Image 3 of 4Reimagining The Mashrabiya: Functionality and Symbolism in Contemporary Architecture  - Image 4 of 4Reimagining The Mashrabiya: Functionality and Symbolism in Contemporary Architecture  - More Images+ 7

Finnish ‘Architect of Light’ Juha Ilmari Leiviskä Passes Away at 87

Juha Ilmari Leiviskä, one of Finland´s foremost architects recognized for his design of light-filled poetic spaces, passed away on November 9, 2023, at the age of 87. Born in Helsinki and educated at Helsinki University of Technology, Leiviskä developed a personal style throughout his six decades-long career, working with his own family of forms to design buildings with unique identities, yet unified by their treatment of light and geometry. His architecture has been praised for its serene, hones, and timeless qualities, earning him numerous awards and international recognition.

Finnish ‘Architect of Light’ Juha Ilmari Leiviskä Passes Away at 87 - Image 1 of 4Finnish ‘Architect of Light’ Juha Ilmari Leiviskä Passes Away at 87 - Image 2 of 4Finnish ‘Architect of Light’ Juha Ilmari Leiviskä Passes Away at 87 - Image 3 of 4Finnish ‘Architect of Light’ Juha Ilmari Leiviskä Passes Away at 87 - Image 4 of 4Finnish ‘Architect of Light’ Juha Ilmari Leiviskä Passes Away at 87 - More Images+ 6

How to Make the Most of Double-Height Ceilings in Residential Architecture: Explore Various Examples

Double-height ceilings, commonly found in museums and industrial warehouses to accommodate large objects, offer both aesthetic and functional advantages. This concept seamlessly translates to residential designs, where these ceilings are often strategically placed near social areas or stairs. By doing so, they enhance the overall space, increase illumination, and add an impressive sense of height. In this context, we present examples to illustrate how to maximize the benefits of double-height ceilings in your home.

How to Make the Most of Double-Height Ceilings in Residential Architecture: Explore Various Examples - Image 1 of 4How to Make the Most of Double-Height Ceilings in Residential Architecture: Explore Various Examples - Image 2 of 4How to Make the Most of Double-Height Ceilings in Residential Architecture: Explore Various Examples - Image 3 of 4How to Make the Most of Double-Height Ceilings in Residential Architecture: Explore Various Examples - Image 4 of 4How to Make the Most of Double-Height Ceilings in Residential Architecture: Explore Various Examples - More Images+ 15

Uses of Wood in Contemporary Mexican Architecture

Wood has played an important role in contemporary Mexican architecture due to its versatility, sustainability, and cultural connection to the architectural history of the country. Currently, architecture in Mexico has gained worldwide recognition for its sensitivity and mastery in designing everyday spaces using various techniques that prioritize sustainability, aesthetics, and bioclimatic design.

UIA World Congress of Architects 2023: The International VELUX Award

ArchDaily and VELUX have joined forces to provide you with an exclusive coverage of the highly anticipated UIA World Congress of Architects 2023. Watch the unveiling of the next International VELUX Award and a captivating presentation showcasing the past winners.

How to Improve Natural Lighting in Apartments?

Old and compartmentalized plants, small openings, and lower floors receive scarce natural light. Improving natural lighting in an apartment can be challenging. However, some strategies can help maximize light entry into interiors and bring benefits such as comfort, spaciousness, well-being, and energy savings.

How to Improve Natural Lighting in Apartments? - Image 1 of 4How to Improve Natural Lighting in Apartments? - Image 2 of 4How to Improve Natural Lighting in Apartments? - Image 3 of 4How to Improve Natural Lighting in Apartments? - Image 4 of 4How to Improve Natural Lighting in Apartments? - More Images+ 8

Designing Naturally Illuminated Learning Environments on a Tight Budget

 | Sponsored Content

As societies evolve, educational facilities also undergo continuous transformation processes to keep up. In terms of their design strategies, they must embrace modern approaches that respond to the changing needs of students and teachers. Including flexible, inclusive, and engaging spaces that seamlessly integrate technological advances, contemporary educational design aims to enhance learning and collaborative work, as well as comfort and wellbeing.

Kalwall focuses on developing forward-thinking solutions for human-centered design that address these evolving needs, while responding to a tight budget. Through a collaborative strategy with architecture and engineering projects, they focus on four ways to design optimal learning environments, including daylight design, energy efficiency, safety, and cost savings through renovation and installation.

Sunlight Shadows for Slow but Colorful Façade Movements with Pierre Brault

When transparent facade elements deliberately evolve from the course of the sun, we can explore a fascinating slow movement in stark contrast to the hectic urban street life on the ground. Especially the French designer Pierre Brault has responded to the accelerated rhythm of our society with facade installations that combine the principle of the sundial with colorful pop design. His three-dimensional works made of recycled colored plexiglass mesmerize through simple but dramatic movements of colored shadows. In the interview, Brault explains his inspiration, the experimental approach and his interest in working responsibly with material.

The Threshold Between Daylight and Architecture: Flat Roof Access Hatches

 | Sponsored Content

Beyond light as a physical phenomenon perceptible by the human eye, daylight is an inexhaustible architectural resource that is sometimes taken for granted. Just like the air we breathe, we are all aware of the existence of light, but rarely do we seek to do anything else with it. It is essential to recognize its presence as an enabler of experiences in space, due to its intrinsic relationship with architecture and human beings.

The incidence of light in architecture directly influences the way we perceive the passage of time. Since ancient times, constructions such as ziggurats have integrated strategies to capture the changing daylight through their roofs, evolving and remaining present in modern constructions such as the Villa Savoye. More recently, the flatness of roofs in contemporary buildings has been a great resource for incorporating architectural elements that also allow them to be inhabited, such as roof access hatches, which serve as a link between natural light and roof terraces.

Below, we review some of the latest technologies in skylights and access hatches, such as those developed by LAMILUX.

Glazed Facades: Increasing Access to Natural Light with See-Through Surfaces

Sunshine has been an integral part of life ever since the sun and the earth began their merry dance. The feel-good ambiance provided by natural light is a recurring theme in human culture, from popular music, fashion, and photography, to our most luxurious environments.

But our bodies’ craving for sunlight is more than just a feeling. Scientific research has proven it helps our bodies to produce more melatonin which aids sleep and reduces stress, vitamin D which improves immunity and strengthens bones, and serotonin which fights depression. As well as helping us to live healthier and happier lives, research suggests the sun also helps us to live longer, too.

Glazed Facades: Increasing Access to Natural Light with See-Through Surfaces - Image 1 of 4Glazed Facades: Increasing Access to Natural Light with See-Through Surfaces - Image 2 of 4Glazed Facades: Increasing Access to Natural Light with See-Through Surfaces - Image 3 of 4Glazed Facades: Increasing Access to Natural Light with See-Through Surfaces - Image 4 of 4Glazed Facades: Increasing Access to Natural Light with See-Through Surfaces - More Images+ 23

The Language of Lighting: How to Read Light and Shadow in Architecture

Imagine if light would not only provide optimum visibility for tasks but convey meanings as well. Standards with recommended lux levels for various visual tasks have led to a quantitative understanding of lighting. However, lighting can also be used to contribute to emotion in rooms and to structure architecture. Would it be adequate to regard lighting as language sent by architects or interior designers and being received by inhabitants and citizens? Adding a semiotic perspective can help to recognize how light and shadow contributes to the meaning of the built environment.

The Complex Culture of Nightrise in Jabal ‘Amil, Lebanon

As farmers water crops by moonlight, undocumented children head to school and villagers scan the sky for surveillance airplanes—these are glimpses of a complex culture that emerges in south Lebanon after dark. In collecting some of these nightly practices, Mohamad Nahleh—lecturer in architecture and urbanism at MIT—journeyed across the landscapes of Jabal ‘Amil hoping to build a new alliance between architecture and the night. His "Path of Nightrise" research has turned into a construction to revive a forgotten river path and was published by Places Journal. The interview with Nahleh argues for a new nocturnal imagination in design and reveals, not only how the night has changed in Lebanon over time, but also how he has changed alongside it.

Reimagining Air Conditioning: Traditional Cooling Methods for the Future

Traditional building solutions tend to work well in their respective contexts, as they have withstood hundreds of years of testing and improvements, and use techniques and materials available locally. Although globalization and the democratization of access to technology have brought more comfort and new opportunities to humanity, it has also led to the homogenization of solutions in the construction sector and a dependence on global supply chains for construction materials and components. This has also caused a rupture in how knowledge is passed on to new generations and, eventually, the disappearance of traditions.

In particular, the topic of passive cooling solutions for buildings is currently having a resurgence, with an effort to recover ancient techniques used throughout history in locations that have always had to deal with hot climates. This is even more evident due to the high energy costs imposed by artificial cooling, the global warming scenario, and mainly because, among the projections of population growth, a significant portion of megacities will be located in the predominantly hot climates of Africa and Asia. When we think about the future, is it possible to be inspired by the past and apply ancient cooling techniques to contemporary buildings?

Tube Houses: 15 Projects Reinterpreting the Narrow Vietnamese Residences

Walking down the streets of cities like Hanoi and Saigon in Vietnam, you might encounter houses with surprisingly narrow facades in contrast to the stacking of three to five floors, with windows for ventilation and natural light only on the front facade. These are the famous traditional Tube Houses. According to ancient popular culture, this type of housing emerged due to property taxes being based on the width of the facade, but the true reason is to optimize land use, allowing a larger number of plots in the same square.

However, this legacy is now being recreated in contemporary designs by Vietnamese architects. Old facades give way to innovative solutions featuring atriums for natural lighting and ventilation, courtyards and interior gardens, greenery incorporated into different environments, split-levels, etc., allowing for high-quality spaces. With that in mind, we have put together a selection of Tube Houses, together with their respective section drawings. Check out below:

Tube Houses: 15 Projects Reinterpreting the Narrow Vietnamese Residences  - Image 1 of 4Tube Houses: 15 Projects Reinterpreting the Narrow Vietnamese Residences  - Image 2 of 4Tube Houses: 15 Projects Reinterpreting the Narrow Vietnamese Residences  - Image 3 of 4Tube Houses: 15 Projects Reinterpreting the Narrow Vietnamese Residences  - Image 4 of 4Tube Houses: 15 Projects Reinterpreting the Narrow Vietnamese Residences  - More Images+ 27