Designing daylight-based spaces has gained increasing attention due to its numerous benefits and alignment with global sustainability standards. However, limited research has focused on how architectural layouts affect daylight distribution and visual quality, particularly in educational environments. This research aims to address this gap by integrating spatial layout analysis with daylighting and visual quality metrics to enhance daylight benefits across seven school plan layouts as case studies. Using a systematic review and simulation-based methodology, daylight performance is evaluated with Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI up, UDI, UDI low) and Daylight Autonomy (DA) using the Honeybee plugin and Radiance engine in Rhinoceros software. Visual quality is also explored through Isovist and Depth Map analysis, focusing on metrics including connectivity (C), Isovist area (A), drift angle (DA), Maximum radial line (RL(L)), Minimum radial line (RL(S)), and Visual Mean Depth. Simulation validation is conducted through a lux meter in a real classroom in Tehran, Iran, along with SPSS analysis to explore the accuracy and correlations between the results. Findings reveal that well-designed interior layouts significantly enhance both daylight distribution and visual quality. School with layout C, by higher Drift Angle (DA) and longer visual range (Max radial) can provide a dynamic and open environment, outperforming other layouts in both daylighting (DA = 52.93%, UDI = 68.17%) and visual quality metrics (Drift Angle ≈ 220, Connectivity ≈ 600). Layouts F and E also perform well, while Models D and G show less daylight performance (UDI-low ≈ 31–34%). The outcomes emphasize the importance of an integrated design approach including DA, UDI, Isovist metrics, and plan layouts, offering a new framework to enhance daylight benefits in educational spaces. It also provides valuable insights to improve architectural schools’ designs, contributing to more sustainable, visually enriched, and energy-efficient learning environments.

Perforated solar screens (PSSs) have been widely used as an outer skin for the fully glazed façades of office buildings for their environmental and aesthetic benefits. However, PSS have several parameters that can affect their efficiency, including perforation percentage, thickness, material properties, and others. Controlling and balancing the influence of these parameters is critical for optimizing the quality of the indoor environment while meeting the required demands and needs. This paper investigates the impact of balancing the effect of four design parameters—matrix, perforation percentage, thickness, and separation distance—on promoting the daylighting and glare performance of south façades in office buildings in a hot, dry climate. The analyses were performed with Honeybee and Ladybug plugins through Grasshopper interface in Rhinoceros 3D software on a base case (without PSS), four independently optimized solutions for each parameter, and a balanced solution at three times per four days around the year. Genetic algorithms and the Python component in Grasshopper were utilized to identify the optimal balanced solutions. The results showed a noticeable reduction in the overlit areas in the balanced solutions by 21-61% compared to the base case, outperforming independent parameter optimizations by up to 36%. Additionally, the balanced solutions effectively eliminated glare across all analyzed periods and provided more effective solutions in terms of visual access and material sustainability. These findings suggest that balancing the influence of multiple design parameters is more effective than optimizing individual parameters, providing better control over daylight efficiency and glare reduction.

The design and evaluation of adaptive facades (AFs) have become increasingly complex due to advancements in morphology, control strategies, and adaptability techniques. This study introduces a Novel Kinetic Adaptive Facade (NKAF) incorporating photovoltaic (PV) panels and Plexiglas to enhance daylight and view performance in office buildings. The research focuses on two objectives: (1) the innovative design of the NKAF, and (2) dynamic assessment of its daylight performance using advanced simulation methodologies. Annual daylight simulations, conducted with Radiance and a cutting-edge dynamic-objects workflow, evaluated three adaptability strategies: blocking direct sunlight, tracking solar trajectories, and minimizing facade movement. Results indicate that the fully dynamic sun-blocking logic significantly improved useful daylight illuminance (UDI 100-3000 lux) from 49% to 90%. Additionally, post-processing with NSGA-II multi-objective optimization provided an optimal framework for annual performance, effectively balancing multiple design goals. This novel methodology enables the simulation of dynamic environments and facades, addressing a key gap in previous daylighting research.

Passive lighting design plays an important role in providing natural lighting to save electricity consumption in buildings. This study aims to investigate the performance of natural lighting and the potential of alternative designs through sidelights with 3 shading device models and light shelves with different sizes in north, west, east, and south orientations. This research method is quantitative, which describes the measurement results in existing conditions and radiance illuminance software simulations. The results showed that at the beginning of field measurements, it was known that there were rooms with lighting intensity too high, too low, and uneven distribution. The simulation results use Radiance Illuminance software to determine the illuminance value of light distribution into space in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Improvised designs are applied with shading device models on the building envelope, namely horizontal, vertical, and egg-crate models in spaces oriented toward the East and West. This study also applied an interior-exterior light self-model measuring 50 cm, 100 cm, and 150 cm of space with the orientation of window openings towards the North and South. The simulation results in this study, show that without a shading device and using a horizontal model, there will be a decrease of 0.4% at a distance of 2 m from window openings oriented to the East, while to the West will be able to increase the illuminance value by 11.5% at a distance of 10.5 m from the window opening. Buildings without using light self and using interior-exterior light shelves measuring 50 cm can increase the illuminance value by 0.5% at a distance of 10.5 m from window openings in a space oriented towards the North, while the orientation towards the south, which can be increased the illuminance value by 0.4% at a distance of 6 m from the window opening. Based on this research analysis, it concluded that the best-improvised design in rooms oriented toward North and South is a 50 cm interior-exterior light shelf and horizontal shading device models are the best for spaces oriented to the East and West. This study, also concluded that the orientation of the building, the passive device model, and the distance of the measuring point in the building envelope, affect the intensity and distribution of daylight entering the building.

In office buildings, an efficient design of windows and using light shelves as a passive design strategy significantly influence the thermal and visual comfort of occupants while enhancing the productivity and health of users. This study proposes a multi-objective optimization for the optimal design of windows and light shelves in office buildings to improve occupants' comfort. Initially, a parametric model was developed using Grasshopper parametric software. Afterward, the Honeybee energy and daylight plugin was employed for simulating thermal and visual conditions, and finally, multi-objective optimization was conducted with the Octopus plugin. This plugin can determine the best solution as a compromise decision for maximizing occupants' comfort. In this paper, an office building in Tehran has been chosen as a case study. The decision variables are window-to-wall ratio (WWR), shading control strategy, viewpoint, the transmission of glass, light shelf length, and light shelf height. The objective functions of the study are the annual average Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) and the annual average Discomfort Glare Probability (DGP). According to the results, the proposed optimization model leads to an 18.5–70.1% and 9.3–57.1% reduction in DGP and PPD indexes, respectively. The study findings provide practical and useful instruction for architects to select optimal specifications of windows and light shelves to develop occupants' thermal and visual comfort in office buildings.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a significant health determinant in the building environment. Ventilation plays a significant role in providing comfortable working conditions and securing contaminant removal from indoor spaces. The heat and effluents generated by cooking activity need to be exhausted from the kitchen space to control the IAQ and provide thermal comfort. The study investigates the ventilation performance concerning IAQ of five institutional kitchens in an educational campus. This study evaluates the influence of building parameters on ventilation performance and IAQ using experimental research and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The empirical part includes field measurement of indoor airflow and IAQ indicators (particulate matter, CO2, temperature, and RH). The Integrated Environmental Solutions Virtual Environment (IESVE) software performs the CFD analysis. The 'Local Mean Age of air' (LMA) is used as a parameter to analyze IAQ. The findings reveal that the LMA reduces with increased cross-ventilation at the operational level and the presence of local exhaust ventilation, such as chimneys. Moreover, a higher slenderness ratio, lower aspect ratio, and lower building volume reduce the age of air.

The employment of electrochromic glazing can be a solution to balance circadian lighting and avoid glare. This can be achieved by controlling daylight entering the room and may be useful within the context of highly glazed facades in buildings in hot climates. Nevertheless, the use of this technology is rarely discussed in this context. In this regard, the aim of this study is to investigate the electrochromic glazing for the lighting conditions, including visual and non-visual effects within the luminous context of Brasilia, Brazil. The method consisted of computer simulations of a representative highly glazed non-residential room with the comparison of electrochromic glazing and conventional clear glass. Climate Studio was used to evaluate the visual effects of light for the entire year, and ALFA for the evaluation of melanopic daylight illuminance, vertical illuminance, and melanopic daylight efficacy ratio (mel-DER) in four days, including two solstices and two equinoxes encompassing the beginning of the four seasons. Results for the electrochromic glazing showed a better balance between a minimum threshold of 250 lux of mel-EDI without exceeding 1,500 lux of vertical illuminance in comparison with the clear glass. This was achieved in 33.33% of the hours for the north, against 27.78% of the hours for the east, 29.17% for the west, and 24.72% for the south. For the clear glass, this balance was achieved in only 9.17% of the hours for north, 10.28% for east, 12.22% for west, and 15% for south. Regarding the spectrum, higher results of melanopic daylight efficacy ratio were observed for the clear glass over the four simulated days. The main conclusion was that the electrochromic glazing was capable of providing a better balance between visual and non-visual requirements and can be a suitable solution for highly glazed facades in Brasilia. Nevertheless, particularly for the north orientation, the supply of circadian lighting can be jeopardized when the electrochromic glazing remained at the dark state.

The objective of this paper is to outline fundamental principles for the electric lighting design of workplace environments such as offices. The study considers both the suggested guidelines and values for non-visual light design and the specifications for visual tasks dictated by the EN 12464-1:2021. When properly balanced, the two distinct procedures – for the visual task and for the non-visual responses - can lead to an integrated lighting design: This integration ensures that the office environment provides both well-being and optimal visibility for tasks that require good lighting conditions. Various lighting scenarios, using only electric lighting, were analysed under different conditions and parameters (three different photometries, three different spectra and three environmental wall reflectance configurations). The choice of luminaire photometry is critical in achieving a well-rounded integrated design, as observed in the examination of various scenarios. Depending on the goals set, the designer can also decide whether to use a spectrum that stimulates the eye the most: Different spectra with similar correlated colour temperatures were compared to evaluate the impact on design purposes. The next step of the research work is to consider the daylight into the project and an evaluation of the potential energy savings it can offer.