Although we may spend most of the day indoors, thoughtful design can ensure quality access to daylight. Through research backed by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Upjohn Research Initiative, we partnered with researchers from the University of Oregon to identify effective architectural design approaches that can improve circadian health, even in existing buildings.
In the video below, hear directly from Julia Siple, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP; Denise Gravelle, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, and Thalia Chrousos, AIA, Fitwel Amb., as they introduce our AIA-sponsored research and break down the importance of designing for circadian health.
Want to dive deeper? Download our full research here.
Introduction to Daylighting Design for Circadian Health in Existing Buildings
Video Transcript
THALIA CHROUSOS
We spend the majority of our lives inside, and making sure that we have that connection to daylight is really important to our health.
DENISE GRAVELLE
We received an AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grant that allowed us to research circadian lighting design for circadian health in existing buildings.
JULIA SIPLE
Circadian health is how well our body's natural 24-hour clock is synced with light and dark. So, those natural cycles are our circadian rhythm. So, that's tied to things like sleep and mood and hormone regulation.
DENISE GRAVELLE
It's really important because if that cycle gets off, it can result in problems with alertness and sleep and other problems with your health.
JULIA SIPLE
We published our report in three parts. There's the really in-depth, technical, all the details of our report. There's an executive summary and then there's a design guide. The key takeaway from our research is renovations of any scale can have an impact on circadian health.
THALIA CHROUSOS
Daylight already works perfectly. So, you don't have to get fancy lights or have specialized lighting controls. We saw in our projects and case studies and our shoe box models that we do think it's possible to make it work in an existing building. We are encouraged by our results that we can keep finding potential in our design solutions to make daylight work for us because it already works really well.
JULIA SIPLE
There are often situations where you're limited in renovations of existing buildings. You might not be able to touch something like the envelope of a building, but those buildings have some of the greatest potential to be long-lasting and healthy places for people, and are places that we can actually work to improve, and we want to have those tools at our fingertips.
THALIA CHROUSOS
There are so many variables that go into design, and we've been able to parse those out and give some information that can help you make decisions about your specific project because every project is unique. Every daylighting story is different.
