Nursing Home Design Guide
2006
Specific goals related to daylighting of
1. Natural Light (Daylighting)
buildings may be stated in simple terms:
Daylight is the standard against which
the human mind measures all things
Design to achieve daylight in all
seen. Colors seen with daylight will
feasible areas in significant, useful
appear real and appropriate through
quantities.
color constancy. The color produced by
Distribute daylight reasonably
daylight will vary from dawn, to noon, to
uniformly, with no significant dark
dusk. Color reflection from adjacent
spots.
surfaces will vary as well. Strategies
Avoid allowing direct sunshine into
and elements of daylighting should be
the building interior in such a way
included in design. (See Figure 2.13)
that it may cause visual discomfort
Daylighting is not an afterthought or a
or visual disability. Assess the
simple matter of applying some shading
design for all possible sun
controls to the windows. Many factors
penetration angles.
are involved with the use of daylight in
buildings:
Provide daylight sensitive controls
for the electric lighting so that it will
Aesthetics
be dimmed or turned off when not
Psychological response
needed.
Health
Energy/Cost
2. Artificial Lighting
Percentage of window area
When measuring the effectiveness of
Placement of window
artificial light, there are generally two
Orientation
scales by which this is done: the Color
Rendering Index (CRI) and the
Correlated Color Temperature (CCT).
The CRI indicates how precisely a
specific source of light can show an
object in relationship to its true color.
(See Table 2.2) The CCT describes the
degree to which a color appears warm
(reddish), neutral or cool (bluish) and is
measured in degrees Kelvin (K). Well-
saturated colors are best for
environments used by the aging
especially if color is being used as a
directional tool or to enhance safety.
(See Figure 2.14) An example would be
the use of color to highlighting a change
in floor level or designating an exit as
the CCT of light sources has been found
Figure 2.13
to increasingly influence color
Daylighting in a Resident Bedroom
Veterans Nursing Home
Fitzsimons, CO
Office of Facilities Management
2 - 17
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