• KIEAE Journal
• /
• v.11 no.5
• /
• pp.137-143
• /
• 2011

An atrium space, unlike ordinary office rooms, accommodates variety of activities such as moving and resting of people and usually houses variety of vegitation to improve amenity and indoor environment. Many atrium buildings in Korea have been designed by considering the environmental criteria for human beings, not for the vegitation in the atrium space. Especially the daylighting designs are mostly focused on the required illuminances for various visual tasks of the occupants and glare controls. As a result, some atrium spaces do not provide sufficient light to the interior plants. Consequently, these atrium spaces require a high level of electric lighting to compensate the deficit of natural light for the photosynthesis of the vegitation. The purpose of this study was to suggest design guidelines for 4-sided atrium spaces having different well indices (WI), plan aspect ratio (PAR), and cardinal orientation. The findings from this study might be referenced by building designers when designing or selecting canopy systems by considering the daylight performances of the uncovered atrium spaces. In the study, the daylight performance was evaluated in terms of daylight autonomy (DA).