Optimizing Natural Lighting in Shophouses in the Pondok Lestari Housing Complex: A Case Study

Abstract

Natural lighting is crucial in building design as it can affect the occupants’ visual comfort. However, in certain building designs, such as shophouses, the number of openings that can be utilized is limited, resulting in less optimal natural lighting. This condition can disturb the comfort of building occupants and result in energy waste, so optimizing natural lighting in buildings, especially shophouse Buildings, is necessary. This study utilizes a qualitative descriptive method, utilizing Revit software and simulating with the Enscape application. One of the ways to achieve this is by utilizing light from above (the sky) using a glass roof, determining the placement of openings based on the window-to-wall ratio (WWR), and employing other design strategies such as material selection and sun shading to enhance the comfort of building occupants. By optimizing the use of natural lighting, it is expected that shophouse building designs can maximize natural lighting to improve the comfort of its occupants. Therefore, research on optimizing natural lighting in buildings, particularly in shophouse Buildings, is crucial in creating comfortable buildings for their occupants. The outcome is an optimized redesign of shophouses in terms of natural lighting.