ABSTRACT
Historically, sunlight and daylight were the primary sources of illumination and building designers understood how to bring natural light into spaces at the appropriate time. The Great Temple of Ammon in ancient Egypt and the Pantheon in ancient Rome are examples of the planned and controlled use of daylight. The development of artifi cial lighting in the twentieth century meant that designing with natural light became a lost art. However, the environmental and fi nancial costs associated with electric lighting have led to a renewed interest in the use of daylight in sustainable buildings. In this chapter some basic principles of daylight are discussed.
