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INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW OUTDOOR INDOOR CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES APPENDICES
3. OUTDOOR STUDIES
3.5 SOLAR ANALYSIS
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The AA School of Architecture is located in buildings orientated to the North-East and South-West. Spaces on the South West facade such as the Computer Lab look out into Morwell Street. The spaces on the Northeast façade look out into Bedford Square. This condition potentially creates overshadowing, particularly in lower levels of the building.
By using the Grasshopper (Ladybug) plug-in software in Rhino 3D, a solar analysis was performed for the New Yard. Based on the latitude and the Northeast and Southwest orientation of the space, it is the southwest facade that receives the biggest part of the solar radiation and daylight throughout the year. Based on the analysis from the stereographic chart of the sun path diagram (Fig. 3.5.1), the section shows solar access for three different times of the year in context with the surroundings. Through figure 3.5.2, it is evident that there is direct sunlight only during summer, and mostly diffused and reflected light during other times of the year.
To confirm this, an annual sunlight radiation analysis was performed, as depicted in Fig. 3.5.3 and Fig 3.5.4. Radiation analysis of the new yard shows that more than 50% of the space, during the months from March to September does not receive direct solar radiation and during the months from September to March, there is no direct solar radiation at all. The obstructions from the taller buildings cause this situation. However, to increase the reflectivity of the diffused radiation, the walls surrounding the space being painted white, play a major role. Similarly, the annual overshadowing analysis depicted in Fig. 3.5.5 clearly shows that less than 10% of the year is exposed to direct sunlight.
3. OUTDOOR STUDIES
3.6 SHADOW ANALYSIS
Shadow mask analysis of the new yard as depicted in figure 3.6.1 shows the visibility of the sky, obstructed by the surrounding buildings.
Computational analysis of the new yard as depicted in figure 3.6.2 and observations show that the space does not receive adequate direct sunlight and is mostly shaded throughout the year. It also provides additional proof that the space receives adequate sunlight only at noon during the months of summer.
