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Enhancing daylighting predictions in urban planning : A workflow for setting bespoke Vertical Sky Component (VSC) targets

Czachura, Agnieszka LU ; Kanters, Jouri LU ; Wall, Maria LU and Gentile, Niko LU (2024) In Building and Environment 266.
Abstract

In Sweden, urban planners are legally obligated to design neighbourhoods that allow future buildings to meet daylight requirements. However, this is challenging because planners can only define the building masses, without control over future building details such as glazing ratios, room layouts, and orientation.The Vertical Sky Component (VSC) is a well-established indicator for early daylight assessments of buildings, and it is often used by Swedish urban planners to verify daylight access for their massing designs, even though it has its limitations. A VSC target value VSC ≥ 27 % has been widely applied in the urban planning practice. However, a single universal VSC target does not necessarily guarantee compliance with daylight... (More)

In Sweden, urban planners are legally obligated to design neighbourhoods that allow future buildings to meet daylight requirements. However, this is challenging because planners can only define the building masses, without control over future building details such as glazing ratios, room layouts, and orientation.The Vertical Sky Component (VSC) is a well-established indicator for early daylight assessments of buildings, and it is often used by Swedish urban planners to verify daylight access for their massing designs, even though it has its limitations. A VSC target value VSC ≥ 27 % has been widely applied in the urban planning practice. However, a single universal VSC target does not necessarily guarantee compliance with daylight requirements indoors. This article proposes a workflow for setting bespoke VSC targets. The goal is to provide urban planners with more reliable tools for early daylighting predictions. The workflow uses parametric simulations to establish VSC thresholds that assure compliance with current daylight regulations, such as the Swedish building code (BBR) and the European standard (EN 17037). While this article focuses on Sweden, the workflow could be readily applied to any location with prevalence of overcast sky conditions. Some potential practical urban planning applications of the workflow are suggested.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Daylight assessments, Early design, EN 17037, Requirement compliance, Urban planning, Vertical Sky Component, VSC targets
in
Building and Environment
volume
266
article number
112066
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85203878430
ISSN
0360-1323
DOI
10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.112066
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2024
id
82efef7c-dbe6-4bfc-a272-dc29bb798791
date added to LUP
2024-09-25 09:35:10
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:57:14
@article{82efef7c-dbe6-4bfc-a272-dc29bb798791,
  abstract     = {{<p>In Sweden, urban planners are legally obligated to design neighbourhoods that allow future buildings to meet daylight requirements. However, this is challenging because planners can only define the building masses, without control over future building details such as glazing ratios, room layouts, and orientation.The Vertical Sky Component (VSC) is a well-established indicator for early daylight assessments of buildings, and it is often used by Swedish urban planners to verify daylight access for their massing designs, even though it has its limitations. A VSC target value VSC ≥ 27 % has been widely applied in the urban planning practice. However, a single universal VSC target does not necessarily guarantee compliance with daylight requirements indoors. This article proposes a workflow for setting bespoke VSC targets. The goal is to provide urban planners with more reliable tools for early daylighting predictions. The workflow uses parametric simulations to establish VSC thresholds that assure compliance with current daylight regulations, such as the Swedish building code (BBR) and the European standard (EN 17037). While this article focuses on Sweden, the workflow could be readily applied to any location with prevalence of overcast sky conditions. Some potential practical urban planning applications of the workflow are suggested.</p>}},
  author       = {{Czachura, Agnieszka and Kanters, Jouri and Wall, Maria and Gentile, Niko}},
  issn         = {{0360-1323}},
  keywords     = {{Daylight assessments; Early design; EN 17037; Requirement compliance; Urban planning; Vertical Sky Component; VSC targets}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Building and Environment}},
  title        = {{Enhancing daylighting predictions in urban planning : A workflow for setting bespoke Vertical Sky Component (VSC) targets}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.112066}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.112066}},
  volume       = {{266}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}