Beyond illumination: An interactive simulation framework for non-visual and perceptual aspects of daylighting performance

This paper presents a proof-of-concept for a goal-based simulation structure that could offer design support for daylighting performance aspects beyond conventional ones such as illumination, glare or solar gains. The framework uses a previously established visualization platform that simultaneously and interactively displays time-based daylighting performance alongside renderings, and relies on a goal-based approach. Two novel performance aspects are investigated in the present paper: health and delight. For the first aspect, drawing from the latest findings in photobiology in terms of effects on sleep, health and well-being, the goal is to integrate time-dependencies of non-visual responses to light into a dynamic light-response model for the non-visual system that can be part of a design process. For the second, the goal is to deepen our understanding of the perceptual qualities of daylight through a dynamic analysis of spatial contrast and its variability over time. The two approaches discussed in this paper introduce a new framework for the Lightsolve simulation environment that includes a Radiance calculation engine combined with an interactive visualization platform for temporal and spatial ‘distribution’ of performance.