Analysis of Natural Lighting with Regard to Design of Sustainable Office Buildings in Poland

The study was a part of a larger research project which was devoted to simulation-based design analysis for daylit office spaces in Southern Poland. The paper consists of two main parts. The influence of various facade systems, lightshelves and fixed shading systems on daylight factor in the analysed office space is presented in the first part. These introductory analyses allowed to identify the optimal facade for an office building. The second part of the project included the comprehensive analysis of selected best performing architectural solutions. These analysis examined how lighting conditions were changing during typical time of an office work throughout the year. Illuminance levels and visual comfort were analysed. New issues like the performance of external retractable venetian blinds were added. This paper also investigates how state of the art simulation technology can be used to integrate natural lighting design strategies into the early stages of architectural design process.