Natural daylight: a key factor in workplace design

Your employees spend countless hours each day within the four walls of your office building, potentially missing out on a significant amount of daylight. However, natural light offers numerous benefits that contribute to a better work atmosphere and higher productivity. How can you design your office to maximize the amount of natural light that enters?

Spending time outdoors is not only good for your mood, but it also benefits your overall health. It gives you more energy, helps you feel calmer, and allows you to approach new challenges with a fresh perspective. Additionally, daylight has a direct impact on your biological clock. The workplace is no exception—exposure to natural light makes employees happier and more motivated. So, what does this mean for office design?

Boost your mood and energy with natural light

It’s well known that employees perform better in a people-centered workplace. The amount of natural light a person receives throughout the day significantly influences their mood and, in turn, their productivity. This is especially true during the dark winter months when every bit of daylight makes a difference.

Does this mean all employees should work outdoors? Unfortunately, that’s not feasible for every job. However, incorporating natural light into the design of a sustainable, future-oriented office is definitely an option. So, how can you optimize light exposure in your office?

How to optimize natural light in your office 

An office environment consists of multiple spaces with different functions: individual workstations, coworking areas, meeting rooms, quiet zones, and storage or server rooms. Not every space requires natural light. To create the best layout, you first need to analyze how your employees work and what spaces are necessary. For example, areas with little human activity, such as server rooms, should ideally be placed in the center of your building.

Key principles for maximizing natural light

Every office building has a unique orientation and layout. How can you make the most of natural light for your employees’ well-being?

Here are some fundamental principles for effective workplace lighting:

• Position individual workstations near windows and coworking areas in zones with direct sunlight.
• Use landscape architecture to allow natural light to penetrate deeper into the office.
• Incorporate glass partitions, skylights, and roof windows to bring in more light.
• Utilize darker, shaded areas for server and storage rooms.
• Spaces that receive secondary daylight are ideal for meeting rooms.

Natural light: a sustainable choice

The benefits of daylight for employees are clear, but did you know that maximizing natural light is also good for the environment? The more daylight in your building, the less artificial lighting you need, reducing energy consumption. Additionally, natural light impacts heating and cooling loads. An energy-efficient design should account for optimal light exposure.

What about sunny days when excessive sunlight might overheat office spaces and reduce productivity? A well-designed workplace considers the sun’s position throughout the day and across seasons.

• North-facing windows provide relatively consistent lighting throughout the year without overheating in summer.
• South-facing windows allow the most sunlight in winter while minimizing direct sunlight in summer.
• East- and west-facing windows are less ideal as they can cause overheating in summer and create glare issues.

Happy and productive employees year-round?

To ensure employee satisfaction and productivity throughout the year, consider how your office is organized so they can enjoy natural light in every season. Not sure how to implement this in your workplace?

Let Meliopus help you create a bright, healthy, and productive workspace.