Daylight conditions in housing–Its role and priority in Danish building regulations

Abstract

AbstractIn a Danish context, the Building Regulation is the legislation for our built environment. Therefore, the focus of this survey is to investigate how Danish legislation treats questions on daylight in relation to the build environment. Furthermore, it looks at whether the specific ways of looking at daylight influence the general understanding of light and the processing of daylight design in the built environment. When acknowledging both its multifaceted character and the impact daylight has, as well as the inherent implications regulation can have on the practices that apply to them, the question remains as to how Danish building regulations treat questions of daylight in relation to the built environment. Furthermore, what is the implication of understanding these ways of looking at daylight? This survey is a profound study of 14 Danish building regulations, from the first historical regulations in 1856 up to the latest regulation of 2018. To investigate the role of daylight and its priority in Danish building regulations, daylight is defined through three theoretical topics: vision, energy, and health. This survey focuses on daylight in relation to private housing. Reviewing the 14 Danish Building Regulations illustrates how the understanding of daylight in relation to the built environment has changed. The different requirements on daylight design varies through time and reflects the political agenda of each specific historical period. This underlines how daylight is subject to changing agendas; however, it is rarely an agenda on its own.