Recent research in neuroscience and endocrinology clearly demonstrates that experiencing nature has significant benefits, both psychological and physiological. Bringing nature and references to nature into the built environment is the purpose of biophilic design. This white paper compiles an economic argument for biophilic design in the built environment. Includes a chapter on school environments, discussing daylighting and outdoor learning opportunities as a means to improve test scores and positively impact the stress levels of society’s youngest members. 39p

There is no simple guide to human behavior which architects can use but recommendations rather an understanding of the principles of behavior and of man's interactions with buildings. To investigate the Behaviors of the Elementary School Students, the attitudes and behaviors towards the visual environment of three hundred and fifty primary school students were studied in eleven schools of varying design, with particular reference to factors associated with daylight and fenestration. The survey included social issues, personality characteristics of the primary school students and the varying visual characteristics of the buildings including photometric studies. Considerable proportions of students choose to work or sit near windows, the chief factor being the amount of daylight. View content, view out and nature are important. The most popular children occupy favored window places. Space and comfort both thermal and visual are important. Gender separation is natural. [Authors' abstract] 12p.

Authoritative all-in-one information resource covering energy-efficient lighting design, technologies, and applications for lighting designers, engineers, federal energy managers, contractors and other lighting professionals. Includes authoritative data on energy-efficient lighting practices and integration with daylighting and other green building strategies. The online edition of Advanced Lighting Guidelines is regularly updated by editors and contributors, and enhanced by commentary from visitors.

This video, produced by Douglas County School District along with top Colorado architecture firms that specialize in designs specific to Daylight and Learning, shows a unique prototype of school design that saves energy as well as provides an optimal learning environment for students.

Profiles the successful daylighting of this Colorado school, creating an atmosphere that encourages learning and saves energy.

Daylighting design guide that balances the photobiological benefits of daylighting with well-known daylight design techniques that can be applied in schools. The book is the culmination of a research project that began in 2008, sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to scientifically quantify the impact of daylight design on students’ well-being and performance in K-12 schools and investigate the underlying biological mechanisms associated with this possible link. Gives model designs that can be adapted to a particular school project. The book includes a “daylighting dashboard” to quickly compare the patterns graphically with indicators of cost, comfort, the visual environment, and energy use. The publication offers conceptual daylight approaches for the three most common spaces in schools: classrooms, corridors, and gymnasiums. 74p.

Examines how awareness of the interior architecture of a building, specifically daylighting, affects students academic performance. Extensive research has proven that the use of daylighting in a classroom can significantly enhance students?academic success. The problem statement and purpose of this study is to determine if student awareness of daylighting in their learning environment affects academic performance compared to students with no knowledge of daylighting. Research and surveys in existing and newly constructed high schools were conducted to verify the results of this study. These design ideas and concepts could influence the architecture and design industry to advocate construction and building requirements that incorporate more sustainable design teaching techniques. 60p.

Shows involvement at both local and state level in green, energy-saving school design, resulting in significant cost-savings for Douglas County School District, Colorado. Complementing the use of natural sunlight are automatic on/off light controls to ensure adequate lighting in every part of a classroom. Windows are also equipped with exterior translucent sunshades that admit light but block the direct effects of the sun.

Advises on a variety of building features that impact energy consumption. The publication opens with a discussion of life cycle costing, building modeling, and performance verification. Subsequent sections cover building orientation, architectural design, building materials, plumbing, HVAC systems, building controls, and lighting and power systems.. The publication describes varieties of systems available under each category, advises on their costs, and illustrates the energy impact of each. 27p.

Summarizes results of studies revealing that students in daylit classrooms had statistically significant improvement in math and reading performance. 1p.

Discusses how the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) helped the design firm achieve sustainable features such as placement and daylighting when creating this school. 5p.

Illustrates how four different daylighting strategies were evaluated and implemented in the restoration of Andrew H. Wilson Elementary School, which was significantly damaged in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. The original school building was built in 1909. Due to the existing building's historic nature, constraint from the urban setting and limited size of the site,a 3-story-addition classroom wing and a 2-story-addition cafeteria and gymnasium were designed with three different daylighting strategies. In addition, a major portion of the existing building faces east and west which drove another unique daylighting strategy. 6p.

Documents and outlines a part of the process used in the daylighting performance analysis of a typical classroom design for a proposed K-12 school in Greensburg, KS. A computer simulation program was used for the optimization process because of its ability to compute climate based annual daylight availability and report the results in the form of dynamic daylight metrics such as Daylight Autonomy (DA%), Useful Daylight Illuminances (UDI) and Daylight Saturation Percentage (DSP%). Since there was no established process for utilizing building information modeling geometry with the program, some experimentation was involved. But the overall efficiency and accuracy of the modeling process was greatly improved, compared to recreating 3D geometry from scratch. The focus was on achieving a good glare-free daylighting design and also meeting the LEED rating system's EQ credit 8.1 for daylighting. 7p.

Clean, quiet, safe, comfortable and healthy environments are an important component of successful teaching and learning.

Discusses school lighting strategies that can cut energy use and save money, including daylighting, weighing your options, prioritizing efficiency, comparing modern lighting calculations, going by the book, and modernizing controls

Integrated internal blinds help control classroom daylighting while reducing maintenance.

Through energy modeling, shows that daylighting strategies can have a significant impact on energy consumption in educational facilities, particularly those that incorporate advanced solar control, low-e glasses such as double-silver-coated Solarban 60 glass and triple-silver-coated Solarban 70XL glass by PPG.

Discusses integration of direct, indirect, and natural lighting that emphasizes cost savings with use of natural light.

Notes the increased environmental awareness of current students, and advises on sustainable lighting systems to accommodate their awareness. Daylighting, solar power, and energy-efficient bulbs are discussed, as are the aesthetic and psychological benefits of thoughtful lighting schemes.

Reviews tubular daylighting devices that can bring daylight deep into schools, even into rooms with no windows. Examples of installations, energy saving opportunities, and retrofitting strategies are addressed.

Advises on the benefits of daylighting classrooms, strategies to avoid daylighting glare, and how to integrate it with artificial lighting.

Briefly reviews 13 points for designing daylighting, covering widows, artificial lighting, floor plans, calculating daylight penetration, light shelves, climate, geography, and interior finishes.

Promotes the use of controlled daylighting, cautioning against direct sunlight, which produces glare. Basic concepts for bringing daylight into the center of a building are presented, and the superiority of skylights to windows for daylighting is discussed. Advice on assembling an essential team for daylighting design, tuning and maintaining a daylighting system, and treating windows is included.

Advises on window selection for campus buildings, emphasizing energy efficiency, building orientation, appropriate window style, and glass selection. Acoustics, daylighting, thermal comfort, and aesthetics are also addressed.

Profiles the unique lighting of the University of California San Diego Sustainable Research Center. Photovoltaic panels on the roof supply the DC-DC lighting system, augmented by daylight and electricity from the campus grid after dark. Photoluminescent exit signs use no electricity at all.

Profiles the atria in Stanford University?s Y2E2 building, which allow daylight to reach all the way to the basement.

Advises on window selection and placement to keep classrooms properly illuminated without unnecessary heat gain. Design of roof monitors and light shelves are highlighted.

Discusses maximizing daylighting and artificial lighting strategies for schools, addressing floor plans, glare, skylights, fenestration, and glass selection.

Advises on how to use building orientation, materials, and design to appropriately daylight schools.

Discusses the use of photosensors to control artificial lighting in daylit rooms. Light-level response, signal types, photopic correction, and application trends are addressed.

Advises on insulating school buildings against intrusive external and internal noise, daylighting, and HVAC system selection for maximum indoor air quality. A new Teaneck, New Jersey, school is offered as an example.

Focuses on analysis of visual performance and quality issues in classrooms located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The methodology depended on data collection and analysis of design information obtained from architectural drawings of standard schools, design compliance documents set by the relevant governmental bodies, and site visits and photography. It analyzed several important design issues that have significant impact on visual quality, including space size and depth to height ratio, windows orientation, lighting direction and desk position. Several problems concerning contrasting luminance levels in the field of view were identified and described. Mitigation of the problems using recommended daylighting systems was discussed based on the UAE climate. [author's abstract]

Reports the results of a study investigating whether removal of short-wavelength light during the morning hours delayed the onset of melatonin in young adults. Dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) was measured in eleven 8th-grade students before and after wearing orange glasses, which removed short-wavelength light, for a five-day school week. DLMO was significantly delayed (30 minutes) after the five-day intervention, demonstrating that short-wavelength light exposure during the day can be important for advancing circadian rhythms in students. The results show that removal of short-wavelength light in the morning hours can delay DLMO in 8th-grade students. These field data, consistent with results from controlled laboratory studies, are directly relevant to lighting practice in schools.

Makes the case that daylighting benefits include increased productivity for students and staff, improved health, a better connection to the outdoors, energy savings, and better quality of light. The article further describes daylighting contribution to LEED certification, the role of windows, methods for maintenance and repair, and cost.

Discusses the balancing of daylighting and building exterior performance. Siting of the building, quality of windows and doors, and maintenance are emphasized.

Discusses the advantages of daylighting to student achievement and lower energy costs, citing two "green" Texas schools that cost no more to build but are benefitting from reduced energy consumption.

Discusses proper planning and modeling of daylighting. This is done in the design phase and can be difficult or impossible to remedy if done too late. Conditions that the daylighting model will consider include building orientation, climate, seasonality of the sun's path, topography, nearby trees or mountains, surrounding buildings, and reflections from outside the building.

Discusses strategies for achieving balanced and effective daylighting in schools. Computerized modeling, neighboring structures, the ability of occupants to control lighting, and reflectivity of surfaces are addressed.

Outlines the duties of the team members who create a building's daylighting plan, the core principles to be achieved, linkage of daylighting to other sustainable strategies, and concepts for daylighting existing spaces.

Profiles the design and construction of California's American Canyon High School. The 260,000 square foot campus houses four smaller learning communities of 500-550 students, is CHPS verified, and includes sophisticated photovoltaic and geothermal systems. Building information modeling (BIM) impacted the design in a variety of ways, especially in enabling near 100% daylighting of classrooms.

Explores the advantages of transparency in educational facilities. Admitting daylight, supervision, and visual communication between groups is discussed.