Lego Building for Daylight

At TheLightingTips we strive for great lighting (natural and artificial) in all types of spaces. Humans were designed to stay in constant contact with nature and the natural environment. As much as we ‘hide’ ourselves in buildings, we loose this precious contact which keeps our biological rhythm going. Providing good (high) levels of daylight should not be seen as an expensive feature of buildings but rather a survival strategy for skyscrapers in big cities and an answer to the growing urbanization, if we are to change the way we live and keep healthy.

Just as I saw my kid mounting these Lego pieces together in a rather playful way, I thought this could be an answer to some questions regarding daylight in the urban environment and on buildings. Every floor in this fantasy skyscraper has the possibility of adding skylights which could provide daylight deeper into the interiors – for all floors, not just the top floor. Besides the provision of daylight, views and interesting interstitial spaces, this form also gives the possibility of incorporating urban farming areas and leaves the building rather airy, allowing wind and air to flow more naturally (imagine there are several buildings like this aligned to the street) rather than creating wind corridors between urban blocks, as is the case in many cities today.

There are many aspects to such a design, which could be considered as the driving force in a design strategy, as this form:

• is self shading;
• allows views to the sky vault in every floor, with the introduction of skylights;
• has more rooftop area which can also be used for urban farming;
• allows for various views of the urban scape;
• can be built tall to tackle the growing urbanization;
• allows daylight, sunlight and air/wind to pass through onto neighbouring buildings;
• could allow for rainwater collection;
• can be designed for residential and/or commercial uses

Daylight provision is mainly a matter of the architectural design, shape, volume, openings and orientation. Buildings which are conceived to preserve heat have usually less skin area, which in return allow for less daylight inside, even if the material used for the windows is very transparent.

The design presented here is really simple: stacking of pre-fabricated modules which can lead to a better way of living. A wonder nobody has ever built something like this… or, if you have seen something similar, please leave a comment, as we would like to check how daylight availability works there!

This is a thought-provoking idea intended to inspire discussion about the provision of daylight in urban spaces and inside buildings and should not be seen as a complete design. Many other aspects are still to be thought of and designed, but this could be a beginning.