2014 SPRING HOME AND GARDEN “OUT OF THE ORDINARY” LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.COM May 1, 2014 49
syndrome.”
• Our bodies create vitamin D
when our skin is exposed to
moderate amounts of natural
light.
• Natural lighting can provide a
better quality of light that can be
localized to highlight an area, or
it can be spread uniformly over
a wide area.
• The quality and amount of
light is better for working.
• Daylight provides better
aesthetics, better color,
better definition of space and
architectural details.
• Studies have shown that
natural lighting can increase
productivity in many contexts,
such as sales in retail spaces and
general productivity in office
environs.
Over the centuries, architects
and designers have come up
with newer and newer ways
to get the sun’s light indoors.
Ordinary wall windows bring
some light into our living and
working space, but that light is
generally directed toward the
floor and our feet rather than in
the area where we need it most:
in the region of our eyes, head,
body and skin, and the zones
we occupy. Since the sun’s light
comes from overhead most of
the day, designers have long
sought the means to bring light
into rooms from that natural
overhead source.
The first skylights were mere
holes in the roof, such as the
Pantheon in Rome. And while
they were designed to let in
natural light, they also let in
natural rainfall, natural wildlife
and other undesired weather
features, and also made it
impossible to regulate the indoor
temperature.
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