Chances are that over the last few months you’ve found yourself trying to adapt to a new working environment as the nation gets to grips with home working and/or schooling. As few people are fortunate enough to have a dedicated home office space, many will no doubt have found themselves sprawled out on the sofa, taking over a kitchen worktop or even working from their beds (we’ve all done it!).
Wherever you have managed to find space, you have most likely been drawn to the brightest spot in the house. It’s no great surprise that people are attracted to natural light and that most of us feel better when the sun comes out. However, beyond the “feel good” factor there are many tangible benefits to increasing the amount of natural daylight entering a building, none more so than improved productivity levels.
Daylight is a vital natural resource that will significantly improve the environment within any building. Evidence from the numerous physical and psychological studies undertaken on the subject, suggests that buildings enjoying high levels of natural light are literally more successful than those more reliant on artificial light. In all environments our brains respond better to natural light, which means people perform better.
If your home has all of a sudden also become your workplace, the presence of natural daylight has never been so important. Daylight is proven to increase concentration levels in working environments, with numerous studies showing that well-lit spaces often achieve improved productivity, over those that are not.
Health
Many scientific studies conducted in the healthcare sector also support the conclusion that natural daylight has proven health benefits. Daylight helps to shorten patient recovery times, improves their mood and generally promotes well-being. So it’s no surprise that architects involved with hospitals, housing for the elderly and other healthcare buildings are constantly adjusting and updating their designs to reflect the importance of introducing daylight and, more specifically, natural sunlight.
But it’s not just the elderly or unwell that can reap the health benefits of natural light. It is estimated that up to 20 per cent of the UK population suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a form of winter depression. These individuals are known to respond to the hormone serotonin, whose production is triggered by natural daylight.
The environmental and financial benefits
Natural light also offers an environmentally friendly means of saving money on energy costs. It stands to reason that the more natural light entering a building, the less energy for lights and heating is required. If home working is to become the new norm for you or those in your household, then the longer-term cost savings of natural daylight are not to be dismissed, especially as the increase in lighting and power consumption is likely to be required at peak-demand prices. Effective use of day lighting may save up to about 50 percent of your energy cost requirements, depending upon how natural light is used.
Even in our rather dull climate, passive solar gain provides significant potential to reduce energy usage. Buildings that enjoy high levels of natural light evenly spread throughout will be heated naturally for a considerable percentage of the year.
Education
Natural daylight is not only beneficial to those working from home. If you are among the millions of households that have been home schooling your children over the lockdown period you may be interested to know that natural daylight also has a significant impact on education.
Much of the research on the benefits of natural daylight has focused on the learning environment. Enhanced student performance and motivation, increased teacher and student attendance, reduced energy costs, as well as a positive effect on the environment are some of the improvements seen in school buildings that use well-planned day lighting concepts.
One study by Sacramento California, ‘Light Helps Pupils Learn’, is one of the largest ever undertaken on natural light in schools. It suggests that children learn faster and perform better in exams in classrooms with more daylight. It identified that exam results were up to 26 percent higher for schoolchildren in classrooms with plentiful natural light than for those in classrooms with little or no daylight. These findings are reinforced by Alberta Education’s, ‘A Study into the Effects of Light on Children of ElementarySchoolAge’, which showed that natural light also has a positive effect on the health of children, as well as on rates of attendance and achievement.
These are all benefits that can be transferred from school buildings to the home learning environment.
The role of the rooflight
Rooflights let in light from the brightest part of the sky and are not generally affected by external obstructions, such as trees or other buildings. They also provide a more even pattern of light than vertical windows.
Rooflights can form part of an effective technical lighting scheme, particularly in conjunction with efficiently controlled artificial lighting, to produce specified illumination levels for particular tasks. According to leading consultants, horizontal rooflights provide three times more light than vertical windows (the equivalent of 10,000 candles on a sunny day), which is more than 200 times the light needed for most educational or work related tasks.
In addition, rooflights can also add to the more subjective qualities of spaces as an integral part of the building’s architecture. They can provide views of the sky and promote a sense of well-being and connection with the outside without the distractions encountered with views through vertical glass windows.
These facts are well understood by most people involved in building design. However the huge potential of rooflights to provide exactly the amount, type and distribution of natural light required to meet any given specification is not always appreciated by the homeowner. So, whether home working and home schooling is a short-term solution, or something that we all must get used to, the role of natural daylight in the home and the physical and psychological benefits that it brings, cannot be underestimated.
For further information or to discuss your bespoke rooflight requirement contact the Stella Rooflight team on 01794 745445 or email info@stellarooflight.co.uk
Stella Rooflight designs and manufactures high quality stainless steel bespoke rooflights. From design and production through to customer service, Stella has a single vision of doing things better than the industry standard.
Stella produces exceptional rooflights that combine a flush fitting profile, while utilising the very best of materials and has become the first choice for discerning clients looking to bring natural daylight into their living spaces through premium quality rooflights.
Fresh off from a Guinness World Record for thelargest water fountain, Dubai is now looking to set the benchmark in architecture after completing the ‘longest cantilevered building.’
Simply put, cantilevered buildings are structures built horizontally and are supported only from one end, with the other half left suspended. Chances are you have spotted these gravity-defying architectural marvels in science-fiction or superhero movies.
Spanning a whopping 226 metres and standing tall at 100 metes above ground level, the aptly-named ‘The Link’ is set to break the world record for the ‘longest cantilevered building.’ The structure will connect the two towers of Dubai’s hotly-anticipated mega project, ‘One Za’abeel’ and is slated to complete construction in 2022.
#Dubai's One Za'abeel, one of the world’s most anticipated luxury hotel openings, is set to break the Guinness World Records @GWR title for 'Longest Cantilevered Building in the World'. The cantilever, known as The Link, measures an 226 meters and stands 100 meters above ground. pic.twitter.com/wcn1z1uT47
Once completed, ‘The Link’ will play host to observation decks, Michelin-star restaurants, an infinity pool, a luxury spa and panoramic views of Dubai. The best part, ‘The Link’ will feature a glass-floor and glass-wall section where you can feel like you’re floating mid-air.
Ithra Dubai is the developer behind ‘The Link.’ Lifting the structure took over a span of 12 days and was “one of the heaviest lifting operations in the region” weight more than 8,500 tons. 55 jacks and 1.2 km of strands were used in lifting the building.
Photograph credit: Ithra Dubai
“The completion of The Link at One Za’abeel is the sum of effort, imagination, collaboration and the desire to create a meaningful and timeless contribution to Dubai. We are thrilled to be part of the city’s narrative and to join its long list of firsts.”
When considering “How Will We Live Together”, it is important to note the projective and future tense of the phrase. The idea not only encompasses ways we already share our built environment but targets the anticipated issues that are to be tackled to facilitate communal and mutually beneficial ways of living.
When looking at what is to come, despite the most recent health concerns, economic disparities, and environmental and social calamities the world is still heading towards dense urbanization with more people moving to cities and requiring safe and healthy housing, which is not always easy to come by. In fact, a recent UN report suggested that “nearly one-quarter of the world’s urban population lives in informal settlements or encampments, most in developing countries but increasingly also in the most affluent. Living conditions are shocking and intolerable. Residents often live without water and sanitation, and are in constant fear of eviction.”
However, if these same settlement spaces are well-conceived and provide dignified living conditions, they can surely promote the development of close-knitted communities among individuals from different regions and backgrounds who were joined by similar aspirations and desire for growth. It is therefore important for architects and designers to consider and suggest settlement interventions and social housing projects that offer healthy personal and common spaces.
Below are a few examples of projects that are bringing people together and suggest practical ways of communal and cooperative living, be it through shared space usage (kitchens, halls, courtyards…) or activities engagement and maintenance of the complex (gardening, cooking), all providing opportunities for displaced, disfavored, economically challenged populations to help each other.
The emergency engage to essential architecture. The first question is: How to offer dignity and functional qualities to a vulnerable population, with different cultures? The project is thought like a little town, a common notion of « habiter » regardless of geographic origin. Between public space and the most intimate space, everyone easily accommodates with a life in community.
The expandable house (rumah tambah in Bahasa Indonesia, or rubah for short) offers affordable and sustainable dwelling options to the rapidly growing populations of Asia’s largest cities. Combining lessons from existing informal settlements, incremental housing precedents and principles of sustainable tropical building, the expandable house is designed to adapt to the fluctuating patterns of resource consumption and expenditure, or metabolism, of its residents.
To improve this image, IBUKU was commissioned by a large company to develop a project that would create healthy, well organized housing compounds for garbage collectors while becoming a mean for social transformation.
A – It is a medina for children – A safe environment, with no cars, where the narrow streets and squares become places to play
B – It is a medina with plenty of open spaces – Public and private spaces are clearly defined. And in the private, the inside and outside areas melt, allowing residents to maintain certain outdoors living.
C – It is a medina with lots of vegetation – Where the inhabitants are encouraged to take care of their plants and benefit from the result.
Care is taken to organize separate entrances to the Health Clinic and Short Term Family Housing on different faces of the building. The building is intended to complement the developing SW skyline while creating an optimal living experience for the tenants with natural lighting and views out to the city.
A new social housing project in Saintes has totally reinvented what living together means. A seemingly inhabited cloud effortlessly signals the entrance to a recently rehabilitated working-class neighbourhood, known as ‘Les Boiffiers’, dating back to the 1970s.
Serving underprivileged families, Winnipeg’s Centre Village housing cooperative utilizes design to help revitalize a neglected inner-city neighbourhood and to provide its residents with a unique setting that inspires pride and encourages community-building.
There is an inherent dynamism to the distribution of buildings: the courtyards appear to open and close as you walk through them, establishing an open dialogue between communities.
The central building, within the same modelling and principles, contains all of the common services necessary for proper functioning and quality of living.
The repetitions not only create rhythm in the streetscape, thereby enhancing clarity and recognisability, but also forge a collective identity.
Note: The quoted texts are excerpts from the archived descriptions of each project, previously sent by the architects. Find more reference projects in this My ArchDaily folder created by the author.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topic: How Will We Live Together. Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and projects. Learn more about our monthly topics here. As always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact archdaily.
Pace, one of the Gulf region’s leading architecture and engineering practices’ ‘Future Schools of Kuwait’ project shortlisted is acknowledged to be its second international accolade, recognizing its progressive and adaptive design approach.
KUWAIT: The Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) announced that the design of the ‘Future Schools of Kuwait’ project has been shortlisted for the World Architecture News (WAN) Award 2020 in the ‘Future Projects – Education’ category. This is the project’s second international accolade, recognizing its progressive and adaptive design approach.
In its efforts to improve the standards of education in the country, PAHW had collaborated with Pace – a leading Kuwait-based multidisciplinary firm in the region – to embark upon a program to radically redesign schools within the country and to offer more student-centered, technological and experiential forms of learning. The partnership between PAHW and Pace began following a design competition launched by authority, which the firm eventually won. The prototype design model is set to be replicated and developed for schools across the country, in an effort to address the needs of a new generation of students.
On this occasion, Nasser Khraibut, Deputy General Manager for Planning and Design Sector at PAHW, said: “We are very pleased to have won yet another prestigious global award for this promising future project in collaboration with Pace. The ‘Future Schools of Kuwait’ design initiative came as part of our commitment to develop educational facilities with modern and progressive standards, in line with Kuwait’s National Development Plan emanating from the His Highness the Amir’s Vision 2035.”
Known across the region as a partner of national development for decades, Pace had delivered initial prototypes to develop primary and middle government schools. Speaking about the Award, Architect Tarek Shuaib, Pace CEO, said: “We are excited to witness our ‘Unbuilt’ future design garnering international recognition for its innovative approach. We are confident enough to say that the project succeeded in critically examining the outdated platforms found in a region desperate for change in the educational model, which are in need of an open and creative educational adaptation.”
Generation Alpha
Speaking about the project, Khraibut said that PAHW’s vision was to design a school for the next generation, Generation Alpha, that will live through the next 50 years and transition Kuwait from an outdated schooling model into the future of education – with experiential learning being a big part of it. He explained how Alpha are considered the first generation to be born entirely within the 21st century, not having experienced the world without technology and smart devices.
As for the design itself, Shuaib noted that Pace’s award-winning concept designs for the schools break down the boundaries of conventional learning by extending the functionality of the building to spaces, such as corridors, staircases or outdoor areas, with more flexibility to house multiple activities. “The highly-functional designs ensure that they respond to the site and program, as well as being adaptable, sustainable and inclusive of future change,” he added.
Elaborating further on the design, Khraibut discussed how it is centered on creating open and transparent spaces to foster a safe and secure environment, eliminating “dead areas” that are more concealed from sight. According to Khraibut, this reduces opportunities for bullying and helps create a more controlled environment where students feel safe to learn and explore. The designs are also led by their belief in creating completely accessible spaces that are inclusive of people of all different capabilities.
In terms of sustainability within the buildings, Shuaib pointed out that it has been achieved in the design primarily through passive cooling methods such as shading and the extensive use of vegetation, which also creates a pleasant environment for kids to play and will encourage them to explore their outdoors while being friendly to the environment.
“Our design aims to reduce temperature-controlled spaces and maximize outdoor covered areas in order to reduce load. In addition to cooling techniques, sustainability is also used as a learning tool. The future generations can be taught to be more conscious of their environment by providing space for outdoor classes, planting gardens and other green areas,” he said.
It is worth mentioning as well that the ‘Future Schools of Kuwait’ project had previously won the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Merit Award in the ‘Architecture Unbuilt’ category. The AIA jury recognized the project at the annual AIA – Middle East Conference and Design Awards 2019.
The most populous usage of the language and culture must be the reason Arabic Citation Index in Egypt by Clarivate has finally made it to the MENA region reports CISION’s PRNews.
Clarivate Launches the Arabic Citation Index in Egypt
Journal submissions now open to journals from across the 22 Arab League countries
LONDON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CCC), a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, has now launched the Arabic Citation Index™ (ARCI), the world’s first local language citation index for the Arabic world in Egypt.
The ARCI is funded by the Egyptian government, and is available across the entire research community in Egypt. It is also open to journal submissions by editors of Arabic-language journals and will be open to researchers and organisations in all 22 nations of the Arab League by the end of 2020.
Powered by the Web of Science™, the world’s largest publisher-independent global citation index, the ARCI provides access to bibliographic information and citations to scholarly articles from over 400 expertly curated Arabic journals, with language interface in both English and Arabic. The indexing of Arabic publications will provide local scientific communities with improved routes to collaborating with national, regional, and international research efforts – extending the Arabic academic footprint.
The ARCI is now open for journal submissions. Journals will be selected by an expert, publisher-neutral editorial board from across Arab League Nations, who will provide regional insights and subject knowledge. Journals are eligible for inclusion if they meet the selection criteria, which require peer-reviewed and accessible content. The editorial board will consider trends in local research pursuits and publishing activity in the region.
Mukhtar Ahmed, President, Science Group at Clarivate said: “The Arabic Citation Index, hosted on the Web of Science, will provide scientific communities across the Arabic world with the ability to make their journals, and the discoveries within them, more accessible within their region and beyond. It will connect papers in Arabic journals to more than 1.7 billion cited references and the highest quality research from across the globe.
“The ARCI is a significant endeavour created in close partnership with the Egyptian government and represents the latest in a long series of developments and investments in the Web of Science platform. We believe that it will enable human ingenuity in the region, helping Arabic researchers and editors turn their discoveries into life-changing inventions.”
Dr. Tarek Showki, Minister of Education & Technical Education, Egypt, President of Egyptian Knowledge Bank Project said: “We are delighted to see the ARCI launch. It has long been part of our 2030 Vision to transform Egypt into a ‘knowledge economy’ and will be the first ever mapping of Arabic scholarly literature in a citation index, helping us to evaluate the quality and research output of Arabic researchers, universities and research organizations.”
Eng. Majid Al Sadek, Director of The Egyptian National Scientific and Technical Information Network (ENSTINET) added, “The indexing of Arabic publications will now provide our local scientific communities with the ability to contribute to not only national and regional research efforts but also internationally, helping us to extend the Arabic academic footprint further.”
Mrs. Ola W. Laurence, Independent Consultant for the Professional Services of Egyptian Knowledge Bank was instrumental in driving this initiative forward. She added, “This important project will make Arabic scholarly content more accessible, connecting it to more than 1.7 billion cited research references and the highest quality, peer-reviewed scholarly content from across the globe. I believe it will help drive usage of local content, as well as providing access to the highest-quality, peer-reviewed content from around the world.”
For more information on selection criteria, see the brochure, and click here for more information on how to submit a journal.
Notes to editors: The ARCI will be the fifth regional citation index developed by the Web of Science, alongside the Chinese Science Citation Database™ SciELO Citation Index™, Russian Science Citation Index™ and the KCI-Korean Journal Database™.
About Clarivate
Clarivate™ is a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation. We offer subscription and technology-based solutions coupled with deep domain expertise that cover the entire lifecycle of innovation – from foundational research and ideas to protection and commercialization. Today, we’re setting a trail-blazing course to help customers turn bold ideas into life-changing inventions. Our portfolio consists of some of the world’s most trusted information brands, including the Web of Science™, Cortellis™, Derwent™, CompuMark™, MarkMonitor™ and Techstreet™. For more information, please visit clarivate.com.
About the Egyptian Knowledge Bank
The Egyptian Knowledge Bank is a national project launched in November 24th, 2015 by the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to offer each Egyptian citizen with the chance to learn, think and innovate. The Egyptian Knowledge Bank is the largest digital library and online knowledge hub providing students, researchers and all Egyptians with access to free education and scientific publications in various branches of knowledge.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any statements included herein may contain forward-looking statements regarding Clarivate. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations or forecasts of future events and may include statements regarding results, anticipated synergies and other future expectations. These statements involve risks and uncertainties including factors outside of the control of Clarivate that may cause actual results to differ materially. Clarivate undertakes no obligation to update or revise the statements made herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact details: Amy Bourke-Waite, Director of External Communications, Science Group. Media.enquiries@clarivate.com
On 28 July 2020, Reducing the carbon footprint of concrete production was claimed by an Australian university associated with two civil engineering contractors. This solution could be envisaged for all developments in the MENA region. The image above is of Santiago Calatrava’s auditorium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands cuts a striking figure against the Atlantic Ocean. Inside the structure, completed by the Spanish architect in 2003, a performance space is enclosed by curving abstract concrete forms. It can be seen as proof of the non-destructibility of all things concrete; it can also be visually as attractive as any other masterpiece of art.
A new manufacturing research project brings together industry technology and engineering experts from UTS, Boral, and Southern Highland Concrete Constructions to develop advanced technology for manufacturing, placing and curing novel ultra-sustainable concrete in Australia.
Low-carbon concrete to be the future of the construction industry. Image: Tim Johnson on unsplash
The two-year project is co-funded by Boral and the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC) with both organisations investing $770,000 cash into the research as part of an overall $6m investment. The project aims to overcome current technological barriers of low-carbon concrete manufacturing and accelerate the development of Boral’s lower carbon ENVISIA® concrete.
Boral General Manager – Innovation Development, Dr Louise Keyte, says that ENVISIA® already performs as well as conventional concrete while containing a sizable cement replacement, achieved through the inclusion of alternative binders.
Our ambition, through the collaboration with UTS and Southern Highland Concrete Constructions, is to accelerate our research into new binders and develop the next generation of ENVISIA® concrete. We want to push low carbon boundaries even further while maintaining the practical properties of regular concrete.
Low-carbon concrete uses supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as ground granulated blast-furnace slag, fly ash and calcined clay as binders, instead of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). OPC is a major contributor to carbon emissions after fossil fuels.
To date, the percentage of SCM in low-carbon concrete products has been limited to 50% to ensure blended concrete meets set workability, durability and strength requirements without demanding specialised high-temperature curing schemes or the use of highly alkaline activators.
The project team led by Professor Vute Sirivivatnanon combines UTS academic knowledge with the experience of Boral’s innovation team.
Our aim is to push the technological boundaries of binder and chemical admixture technology and lift the maximum replacement rate of OCP while maintaining the fresh and early hardened properties of concrete for optimum construction efficiency. In addition, all durability properties critical to the achievement of design life for concrete structures will be optimised to deliver truly sustainable building.
The core research will be undertaken at the UTS Boral Centre for Sustainable Building at UTS Tech Lab in Sydney, where the researchers will develop and test new ultra-sustainable concrete and evaluate the effectiveness of proposed manufacturing approaches to tackle strength development and improve surface finishing techniques.
Once lab-tested, the team will work with Southern Highlands Concrete Construction, a growing SME specialised in placing and curing concrete, to trial the ultra-sustainable concrete on construction sites.
Benjamin Clarke, Managing Director at Southern Highland Concrete Constructions, highlights that low-carbon concrete will be the future of the construction industry.
We are excited to be part of this project, sharing our expertise and techniques to make sure this next generation of low-carbon concrete achieves its desired strength and durability, and can be deployed cost-effectively.
CEO and Managing Director of IMCRC, David Chuter, describes the project as a great example of pushing industry boundaries by investing in research and development to produce new materials and products.
This Australian research collaboration will see Boral, which is at the forefront of low-carbon concrete development, progress an ultra-sustainable concrete that will be the first product of its kind and will lead the way in reducing the carbon footprint of concrete production, domestically and internationally.
, Discover more of Tech Lab’s industry-led research projects
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