Project information
Location: The Netherlands
Project type: Artist’s Studio
Design focus: Daylight & Solar Design
Project overview
This academic project involved the design of a compact artist’s studio with a maximum floor area of 40 m², developed around a highly specific daylight requirement. The principal objective was to provide the artist with as much natural daylight as possible while preventing direct sunlight from entering the workspace throughout the year.
A deliberate exception was introduced for 21 March at 13:00, when a controlled beam of direct sunlight was designed to enter a designated seating area, creating a specific moment within the otherwise uniformly daylit studio.
To maximise natural light, a large proportion of the roof surface was opened to daylight. Horizontal roof glazing can receive significantly more diffuse daylight than vertical façade glazing due to the higher luminance of the sky towards the zenith. The roof therefore became the principal source of natural illumination within the studio.
To prevent direct solar radiation from entering through these roof openings, a system of vertical screening elements was integrated into the roof structure. The height and spacing of these elements were determined using a solar-path diagram for a latitude of approximately 52° north, corresponding to the geographical position of the Netherlands. In this way, the geometry of the architecture was directly derived from the movement of the sun throughout the year.
Additional openings were incorporated into the north façade to increase the availability of diffuse daylight. Because the sun does not reach the northern part of the sky at this latitude, these openings provide favourable conditions for an artist’s workspace. Additional screening elements were introduced to ensure that unwanted direct sunlight remained excluded.
The exceptional solar condition on 21 March was created through a series of narrow horizontal openings positioned above one another in the façade. Their orientation corresponds to the solar angle at 13:00 on 21 March, allowing direct sunlight to penetrate the building at precisely the intended time and location.
The resulting architecture demonstrates how daylight, solar geometry and building form can be integrated into a single design concept, transforming environmental requirements into defining architectural elements.
Deliverables
• Architectural design
• Daylight and solar studies
• Solar-path analysis
• Shading geometry studies
• Floor plans, sections and elevations
• 3D model
