Use of the case study method to provide initial design strategies for daylighting as a primary design determinant in earth-integrated structure

Daylight, a natural energy source in the form of electromagnetic radiation, has been one medium by which one defined and perceived architectural space and form. That was why the creative use of daylight was and continues to be so important in the development of any built environment, especially those which have been integrated into their sites.;This study has explored the possibilities of using natural daylight as a primary design determinate to enhance the interior environment of selected earth integrated architectural works. Four commercial institutional projects of various sizes were investigated as case studies to provide insight on the effectiveness of daylighting techniques in these facilities, and further, to provide an analytical method that could be adopted by a designer in the initial stages of a project to conceptualize an appropriate daylighting design.;This study had three distinctive objectives. (1) To examine techniques presently used to allow natural light to penetrate into a building's interior environment and how these techniques were applied to buildings that had been placed below grade. Four large commercial and institutional environments that were placed below grade and used daylight as a means of lighting their interior spaces were investigated for their characteristics. (2) To examine the techniques found in the literature search as a means to develop an set of delighting strategies for initial design concepts of earth integrated facilities. (3) To suggest how these findings provided an approach that designers could utilize conceptualizing the potential advantages of natural daylight during the preliminary stages of designing earth integrated buildings.