DOUBLE-SKIN FACADES IN HEALING ENVIRONMENTS: AN APPROACH FOR ENHANCING DAYLIGHTING PERFORMANCE IN SOUTH-ORIENTED PATIENT ROOMS IN CAIRO, EGYPT

Abstract

Daylighting provision is an efficient approach in achieving a healing environment. Several researches praised the effect of daylight on stress reduction, shorter hospital length of stay, and the increasing of patients’ satisfaction. The building facade has the primary role in controlling the indoor environment. In addition to daylighting, Double-Skin Facade (DSF) is an approach that can create a balance between patients’ needs without sacrificing energy reduction and thermal comfort in the hot arid desert climate. This paper aimed at investigating the effect of fixed horizontal louvers integration in a multi-story double-skin facade to enhance daylighting performance and visual comfort in south-oriented patient rooms located in Cairo, Egypt. Rhinoceros software was used for modeling the proposed designs coupled with Diva-4-Rhino for daylighting simulations. The effect of changing louver’s depth and slats’ number resulted in 16 designs that were modeled for examination. Daylighting performance was analyzed by two metrics; Spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA) and Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE) on both the room surface floor and bed surface planes to represent daylight distribution and visual discomfort, respectively. Results showed that all cases were successful, achieving 100% sDA value on the bed plane area. However, the sDA and ASE values at the room floor area were different. Three louvered double-skin facade designs have succeeded in meeting sDA and ASE acceptance criteria and were recommended for integrating in patient rooms. Also, it was noticed that the unshaded double-skin facade presented the worst performance.