Applying computacional simulation results to the development of a design method for daylighting design and regulation in high-density cities

Daylight design for “extremely” obstructed urban environment is a relatively uncharted area of study. No city in the world has an urban density as high as Hong Kong. Designing daylight in the territory is a critical and important study. The paper attempts to develop and verify a simple method of design for architects based on theoretical formulation and results obtained using computational simulations. The Unobstructed Vision Area Method (UVA) proposed here is highly correlated to the Vertical Daylight Factor (VDF) of a building surface. This 2-dimensional plan based method is very easy to use at the early design and planning stage. The method is now under consideration by the Government for its new performance based building regulations. With small modifications to its variables, the methodology for the UVA method could also be generally used for other extreme-density cities.