| The sun delivers an incredible amount of light energy to us each day. To get an idea of just how much, it helps to understand the standard by which we use to measure light intensity: the foot-candle. The... |
| Harnessing this light energy isn’t as simple as placing a window on an exterior wall. Interior rooms without access to an exterior wall or spaces oriented in a way that restricts access to adequate daylight... |
| The white walls of the same bathroom act as the indirect light source for the nearby bedroom. Bright, neutral colors work well for an indirect borrowed-lighting strategy. Good solar exposure is borrowed... |
| Because translucent materials reflect, absorb and scatter light, they make great walls for borrowing light. The degree of translucency will affect just how much light is scattered. The effect is similar... |
| Translucency can be achieved in a variety of ways. Glass can be sandblasted or acid etched. It can also be textured or laminated. With laminated glass, a plastic interlayer lends a translucent effect similar... |
| Full-height glass walls offer auditory but not visual privacy. When there’s limited access to exterior window space, they’re an obvious choice. |
| The perceived dimensions of our rooms are naturally increased when we use the borrowed-light concept too. This means it works particularly well for spaces with floor-area constraints. |
| In this project the concept of borrowed light has been applied to the overall ordering system in place. There’s a logic to the order of solid and void, and it offers plenty of light to the bedroom space.... |
| Stairs. Another option and an efficient vehicle for borrowing light in a home is the stairway. It’s a natural conduit for illuminating an often light-starved lower level. If the stair can be positioned... |
| The combination of glass guard and white walls has made this stairway a light source for the surrounding rooms. A solid wall used here would have changed this space dramatically. |
| Interior windows. Whether they’re clear or frosted, there are plenty of functional incentives to borrow light using interior windows. The ones here bring in light from the adjacent living area while preserving... |
| Interior windows aren’t subject to the same weathering and insulation restrictions as exterior windows, so they’re less expensive to buy and install. Making them operable, especially in a stairwell where... |
| Functional reasons aside, interior windows can offer unexpected delight. Why connect a bar and a powder room? I don’t have a good reason, but I don’t need one. I love the idea that the powder room will... |
| Skylights. Because the sky dome above is a giant light source, it’s hard to find a more efficient means for borrowing light here than the skylight. On tight urban lots, a skylight can be used in conjunction... |
| This project utilizes a light well of sorts, allowing the lower level to borrow light from the upper skylights. The second floor hovers in the space instead of being extended to the full width of the gable,... |
| This luminous shower is an example of how a light well and skylight can transform a tight space into a pleasant one. |
| Additions to existing structures often compromise the amount of daylight the original building receives. Not here, though. The skylight ensures that the existing home borrows daylight at its perimeter.... |
| Transoms. Similar in concept to the ideas seen in the first images in this story, a glass transom extends the dimension of a space and introduces light to a room without compromising its privacy. |
