Daylight Study: Solar Angles and Interior Reflection
5 min
Reading time
Zenith
Solar focus
When architectural planning accounts for solar zenith angles across changing seasons, interior volumes avoid harsh thermal gains while maintaining consistent ambient luminance. Untreated lime plaster surfaces absorb direct beams and scatter soft secondary illumination across adjacent oak joinery, creating a layered visual hierarchy that feels entirely natural from dawn to dusk.
Material selection directly dictates this diffusion. Honed limestone and board-formed concrete do not merely reflect photons; they soften them, altering the emotional cadence of domestic routines without mechanical intervention or artificial shading devices.


High-contrast daylight study showing sharp linear shadows cast across a monolithic plaster threshold at midday.
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