Daylighting in historical centres: the case of an architect's office in Seville

Abstract

Historical towns ¡n Europe usually have as their main feature an extremely dense urban tissue. This, in turn, generates a wide variety of situations which make it difficult to provide adequate light to the ¡nside of buildings. On the other hand, the trend for revitalization of cities often demands a change in the utilization of spaces adding even more difficulties to the case because the previous constraints and standards are heavily modified. Architecture today must face this challenge as a new aim for creativity based on the idea of “design with the environment”. Basically, the achievement of the said urban renewal of oíd towns should not entail the creation of a kind of enclosure where sustainability is absent as the conservationists would have it. With this concept in mind, the complex process of building an architect's office was been launched, and though the starting situation was that of “a windowless fagade", a number of strategies have been devised to provide for sun and light in the working and living spaces. Simulations of the project taking into account the principies of radiant energy transfer have been duly conducted and after some corrections the office was completed and monitored. The procedure yields both the thermal gains and the luminous distribution of the building in order to assess the performance and comfort level on a seasonal basis. Therefore, we consider that the project is a valid example of sustainability in historical cities not merely because of the former but also due to its integration with professional practice and its attempt to address severe urban and political constraints.