General Research Perspectives

Prof. Marilyne Andersen

In the present context of increasing needs for sustainability and energy savings, reducing the environmental impact of buildings positions itself as a priority. As a consequence, the control of daylight and solar radiation through fenestration systems has received a growing attention both in research and practice for the past two decades: advanced strategies have been developed at different levels to improve energy efficiency by minimizing both electric lighting and heating or cooling loads of buildings; at the same time, enhancing the contribution of daylight was proved to improve greatly the visual comfort and indoors environment of the users.

Beyond the obvious need for windows to provide a connection with the outside environment and for natural light to achieve excellent color rendering, numerous analyses stress the high potential of energy savings with a better integration of daylighting in the overall lighting management. In addition to this, many studies about the impact of a daylit environment on its users, typically conducted in office spaces, classrooms and retail centers, have shown that both human productivity and well-being could be significantly increased when daylight availability and access to view were enhanced. Trying to optimize the daylight distribution in spaces therefore appears as an option that cannot be overlooked to reduce a building's environmental impact while improving its visual performances

This effort in optimization has lead to the development of a large variety of innovative fenestration systems, including novel solar blinds, new glazing or coating materials and daylight-redirecting devices. To help both architects and manufacturers in the efficient integration of energy-efficient strategies for windows and luminaires, several new research perspectives are being developed at MIT and presented, including an original video-based assessment of the light distribution within buildings combined to simulation methods, and a graphical-oriented, interactive design tool for implementing daylighting concerns at an early stage of development of architecture projects.