Lighting in the Fan

It is about 3 in the afternoon and I am sitting in the bedroom of an old, historical home in what is known as the Fan District in Richmond, VA. The house faces south-west so the majority of the direct sunlight enters the space in the mid afternoon. Even though there are three large fenestrations that make up the majority of the street-facing wall (south-west), the amount of direct light into the space is minimal. There are no other fenestrations in the room so the intensity of the light is not that strong. The light creates a nice feel in the space, however, even in the brightest time of the day additional, artificial lighting is needed in the back of the room for tasks such as reading. The color of the light is white to a warm yellow-y butter color. It is subtle and not overwhelming. Because the amount of illumination occuring in the space is minimal, the amount of lumination is also minimal and therefore, so is the amount of exitance. The door to the room is toward the back, up against the farthest wall and the area with the least amount of natural light illuminating the space. Therefore, as I enter the space, because the light does not enter directly and because the back of the room is darker than the front, the adaptation process for my eyes is minimal because they can adjust slowly as I continue to walk deeper and deeper into the room.

One way to address the lack of sufficient light in the back of the room would be to install a light tube. That way natural light could enter specified areas in the back of the room and would not create glare or the harmful, harsh damage of direct light from an open skylight. Also, another fenestration could be placed on the north wall which would allow for natural daylighting but which would also not receive direct sunlight.