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One thing to note is that the most important benefits of sunlight actually come from (moderate) UV exposure, which is blocked by glass and not output by LCDs as

by ilaksh 4y ago

One thing to note is that the most important benefits of sunlight actually come from (moderate) UV exposure, which is blocked by glass and not output by LCDs as far as I know. My own personal theory is that there is a health epidemic related to lack of sunlight exposure from most people being indoors. And so in my fantasy future cities that I build in my head, there are ways that actual natural light is delivered without being blocked by windows, such as carefully monitored full spectrum and/or UV lighting. Another related issue is the concept of a virtual window that you can see out of. I think this will also be a future trend, since windows increase heating requirements and again don't provide the key UV component of light. Also, for the majority of history, inexpensive cameras and displays did not exist. So what I suggest is virtual windows that are thin OLEDs and follow the person to give them a different virtualized view of outside. Or using some light field or multiview technology. Along with full spectrum lighting. And not entirely related but I think it would be best in most areas to standardize on airtight construction, mechanical ventilation and energy/heat recovery ventilators.

hinkley 4y ago
UIUC campus has a building that looks like a collapsible drinking cup. Each floor is a ring. Each ring is about 2 offices wider than the previous ring. The center of the building is an atrium, and the void space is approximately an inverted ziggurat. All the inside offices have sky lights, the outside offices have windows facing out and down (due to the offices above. I’m told there are no offices without daylight in the building, but I’ve been to the basement and they must mean the above ground floors. I’m not sure how high you can build that or how difficult it is to heat, and it has lots of light but attenuated through windows which you were against. But I wonder if we could build a modern day Hanging Garden, where each floor has a balcony, and a series of skylights allow some light through into an atrium, or series of atriums, so those who choose to stay inside still get indirect light, and some tropical plants.
- ilaksh 4y ago
  That would work great but I just feel that people should be informed that all of the UV is blocked by windows, and even though it's clear that too much UV is deadly over time, it's also clear that the tiny amounts that many people who spend almost all time indoors get is very insufficient. But if I am reading this then maybe those atriums would provide the full spectrum light. It sounds like a really good architectural concept.
  - hinkley 4y ago
    That's why I was saying Hanging Gardens, which was essentially a very large Western World ziggurat. The balconies allow for a lot of access to direct light. If you're worried about over-exposure, I suspect you could socially engineer people by making some routes in the building as fast or faster by going out and back in.
hackerlight 4y ago
"One thing to note is that the most important benefits of sunlight actually come from (moderate) UV exposure" How do we know this?
- ilaksh 4y ago
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3427189/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3427189/ A small amount of UV exposure is necessary for some processes, including Vitamin D production and a few others. The tricky part is that it is very widely known how dangerous UV is, and people with an outdoor lifestyle can easily overdo it, but at the same time there is an increasing portion of the population that spends almost ALL time indoors (except when they are on vacation) and gets close to NO UV exposure normally. This almost total lack of exposure to UV can be especially problematic due to high latitude, winter, or even slightly high latitude and darker skin tones.
  - stevage 4y ago
    Sure. Some people lack vitamin D. Not really the issue I'm talking about here.
stevage 4y ago
>One thing to note is that the most important benefits of sunlight That's taking a very narrow view of what "benefits" exist. You don't need UV for the general pleasant feeling of good light.
- ilaksh 4y ago
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3427189/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3427189/

by ilaksh 4y ago

hinkley 4y ago

UIUC campus has a building that looks like a collapsible drinking cup. Each floor is a ring. Each ring is about 2 offices wider than the previous ring. The center of the building is an atrium, and the void space is approximately an inverted ziggurat. All the inside offices have sky lights, the outside offices have windows facing out and down (due to the offices above. I’m told there are no offices without daylight in the building, but I’ve been to the basement and they must mean the above ground floors. I’m not sure how high you can build that or how difficult it is to heat, and it has lots of light but attenuated through windows which you were against. But I wonder if we could build a modern day Hanging Garden, where each floor has a balcony, and a series of skylights allow some light through into an atrium, or series of atriums, so those who choose to stay inside still get indirect light, and some tropical plants.

ilaksh 4y ago
That would work great but I just feel that people should be informed that all of the UV is blocked by windows, and even though it's clear that too much UV is deadly over time, it's also clear that the tiny amounts that many people who spend almost all time indoors get is very insufficient. But if I am reading this then maybe those atriums would provide the full spectrum light. It sounds like a really good architectural concept.
- hinkley 4y ago
  That's why I was saying Hanging Gardens, which was essentially a very large Western World ziggurat. The balconies allow for a lot of access to direct light. If you're worried about over-exposure, I suspect you could socially engineer people by making some routes in the building as fast or faster by going out and back in.

hackerlight 4y ago

"One thing to note is that the most important benefits of sunlight actually come from (moderate) UV exposure" How do we know this?

ilaksh 4y ago
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3427189/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3427189/ A small amount of UV exposure is necessary for some processes, including Vitamin D production and a few others. The tricky part is that it is very widely known how dangerous UV is, and people with an outdoor lifestyle can easily overdo it, but at the same time there is an increasing portion of the population that spends almost ALL time indoors (except when they are on vacation) and gets close to NO UV exposure normally. This almost total lack of exposure to UV can be especially problematic due to high latitude, winter, or even slightly high latitude and darker skin tones.
- stevage 4y ago
  Sure. Some people lack vitamin D. Not really the issue I'm talking about here.

stevage 4y ago

>One thing to note is that the most important benefits of sunlight That's taking a very narrow view of what "benefits" exist. You don't need UV for the general pleasant feeling of good light.

ilaksh 4y ago
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3427189/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3427189/