Daylight Characterisation of Classrooms in Heritage School Buildings

Abstract

This paper studies the daylight characteristics in selected high schools that are located in heritage-listed buildings. Heritage buildings were selected in this research due the problematic condition regarding the indoor illumination level after being adaptively reused. Based on the previous research, lighting in educational institution is a critical factor because poor lighting not only is detrimental to the occupants’ visual comfort but also might lead to visual fatigue. To achieve the objectives of this paper, daylight level measurements and observation were conducted. The results show that the daylight that penetrates into the classrooms were below the standard due to many obstructions founded in both schools. Artificial lightings were used as a supplementary during the whole school hours since the daylight was not uniformly distributed. Thus it can be concluded that the inappropriate adaptive reusing heritage building indoor is significantly affecting the indoor light level and might lead to visual discomfort issues for students. The research findings as well as the suggestions have been delivered to the school management to overcome the issues founded.