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Daylight

Daylight and views to the outside are critical to the well-being of building occupants. In order to provide equitable access to daylight and views, it is recommended that private offices are located toward the core of a space and that low workstation panels are installed to allow for maximum daylight penetration. Use glass walls and partitions to enable views out from interior spaces and highly reflective, light-colored surfaces on the walls and desk surfaces to bounce daylight around the space. If the daylighting of a space is designed well enough, the occupants can choose to have daylight instead of artificial light. In all daylighting strategies, it is important to consider glare, and to take steps to minimize it.

Tips for Daylighting (.Pdf)

Learn & Plan Topics

  • Best Practices Applicable to All Project Types

    This section presents key issues that should be considered for each project type. It is intended to help you think about your overall project, before you begin to compare and select specific materials. This will enable you to select the "best" strategies and materials for your project, given the opportunities and constraints you have identified. Use the sidebar to navigate to your specific project type.

  • Keys to Success

    Sustainable design, construction, operation, and renovation are best thought of as an integrated process, rather than a collection of things. The process involves new ways of designing, constructing and operating our buildings and facilities.

  • Under 10,000 SF Interiors Gut Rehab Project

    Following are Sustainable Strategies to consider as the space has or will undergo a major tenant gut rehab for projects under 10,000 SF. Note to use a current version of LEED for Commercial Interiors for tenant improvement projects over 10,000 SF. Refer to the Share Section for a represented project Case Study to discover key practices, benefits, results and checklists.

  • Space Reconfiguration and Renovation Projects

    As needs change over time, tenants often need to convert space or phase the conversion of individual space or rooms to meet these changing needs.

  • Building Systems Upgrades

    The following are Sustainable Strategies to consider as your space undergoes a building system upgrade to improve energy, water use and occupant comfort. Refer to the Share Section for a representative project Case Study to discover key practices, benefits, results and checklists.

  • Sustainable Building Operations and Maintenance Services

    Follow these sustainable strategies as your space renovations are complete and the building and interiors are operated in an environmentally sustainable manner. Operations staff should endeavor to establish best practices in energy efficiency, resource conservation, ecologically sensitive products, and other sustainable practices, and implement them.

  • Materials, Furniture, and Furnishings Replacement

    Daily wear and tear means that materials, furniture and furnishings require periodic replacement.

  • Planning to Build Green

    Sustainability "means to create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations." Executive Order 13514

  • Plan Section Guidance

    For each project there is a selection of issues and questions you should consider before selecting specific materials or products. This will help you and your team address the most critical sustainability concerns and opportunities for that project type; look for synergies and mitigate unintended consequences. There are ways to improve even the simplest projects, such as repainting or re-carpeting.

  • Sense of Place

    What makes a workplace special? What fosters a sense of attachment, engagement and identity? These are the kinds of questions that underlie the sense of place. The workplace is increasingly seen as a “brand” that conveys not only a place, but also the mission and values of the organization. The GSA workplace program combines branding and sense of place with sustainable approaches to create special places imbued with meaning and purpose.

  • Flexibility

    Today's workplaces are often in flux. As organizations change direction or develop new services, people also move. Teams form and re-form. People move to new spaces and take on new responsibilities. The spaces themselves are transformed to meet new needs. These changes are much easier to accommodate, with less stress on people and the organization, when the workplace is designed to support flexibility.

  • Health

    Good health has both physical and psychological components. Being healthy means the absence of disease and illness, as well as feeling positive about life and work. The workplace can play a role in the health of workers by eliminating risks and creating conditions that support cognitive, emotional, and social well being.

  • Spatial Equity

    Organizations today are less hierarchical and work is more team based, more mobile, and more cross functional. A key to spatial equity is that space layout and workstation standards are based on new ways of working and specific work tasks and business needs rather than organizational hierarchy.


Whole Building Analysis


Materials

  • Glass

    Glass doors are useful for allowing light into a space, and may be used as part of a daylighting strategy, both on the exterior and internally.

  • Interior Light Shelves

    Interior light shelves direct daylight deep into a space by bouncing natural light from the light-colored shelves up to the ceiling, where it is reflected down to occupied areas. Blinds and other daylight control devices should be installed as part of a good daylight design strategy because uncontrolled natural light can cause glare.

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