Daylight in Sustainable Urban Design

The integration of daylighting aspects – which is essential for our health and well-being when living and working – into future urban design is becoming imperatively more relevant. In this way, the cities of tomorrow could offer higher standards of environmental sustainability and enhanced liveability.

At the Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich, Hubert Klumpner, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, Arno Schlueter, Professor of Architecture and Building Systems, and Dr. Marie Glaser, Head of the ETH Wohnforum, have launched a project that forms a cross-institutional and interdisciplinary group from architecture, engineering and social sciences to explore the multiple challenges and opportunities of daylight in urban design using concrete examples.

Using case studies in Sarajevo and Singapore, among others, the research group is investigating how sustainable urban design and innovative energy technologies can better incorporate aspects of daylight to support human well-being, living comfort and health.

The project provides a platform for professionals from architecture, urban planning, engineering, data science, social science and policy. The overall goal is to contribute to more sustainable urban design solutions: through critical analysis and creative reflection on the importance of daylight, as well as the design of the built environment from architectural, urban planning, planning and health perspectives. This implemented in prototypical case studies for integrated and active approaches to urban design.

Fellowship Program
The research project has two fellowship positions for outstanding post-doctoral researchers. The architect Victoria Eugenia Soto Magán as well as the graduate engineer (architecture) Lars Oliver Grobe are conducting research on the topic of "daylighting" during 18 months each. Their activities will strengthen the exchange and cooperation at the Department of Architecture. In addition, the research program will be incorporated into the curriculum of the Department of Architecture.