What is DAYKE

Daylighting Knowledge in Europe (DAYKE) is an international project aimed to understand the level of daylighting comprehension among architecture related professionals across Europe. There is a need to identify how daylight is perceived and used as a natural resource. And if daylight design is used deliberately to enhance solutions focused on human well- being.

DAYKE is a system of surveys based on three different questionnaires, corresponding to three stages of work. Every survey has a main field of study and a specific target (Fig. 1).

The first stage is performed among architecture and urban design students while the subsequent ones are carried out among professionals.

1. Why DAYKE is so important?

The idea behind DAYKE is a belief that a better awareness of daylighting could help to improve energy saving strategies as well as help to create spaces enhancing healthier living. Consequently, daylighting education should be a vital component of architecture studies. Unfortunately, previous studies had shown generally low level of daylight comprehension among architecture professionals. In this sense, DAYKE’s results can help to define the gaps to bridge and find the new educational solutions.

2. What are DAYKE GOALS?

· The first DAYKE aim is to examine a general level of daylight evaluation and design knowledge among European architecture students and construction professionals.

· The second aim is to identify the cultural aspects of daylight design in Europe.

· The third aim is to analyse architecture students’ competence to use and critically asses available daylight design tools.

· The fourth aim is to create a set of multi-criteria analysis tools focusing on daylighting comprehension (based on the topics of Perception, Preferences and Knowledge) to provide complementary information which may be used in daylight education.

3. Who is involved in DAYKE project?

The project involves 10 universities from seven nations: Denmark, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland.

The first study conducted in winter and spring of 2017 results was presented at the LUX EUROPA 2017 conference.[1] That preliminary surveys (stage 1) were conducted in in Italy, the Netherland, Poland and Spain at eight different architectural faculties.

5. What are the preliminary results?

The first outcomes show significant differences in cultural daylight comprehensions affecting daylight education and design solutions. The also depicted on a low level of daylight parametrisation and standardisation knowledge among architectural students.

6. What are the next steps?

· Extend the project. The number of project’s partners has grown so far from 4 to 8.

· To carry out an online version of the revised questionnaire. The goal is to involve at least 200 students from every partners’ country.

· Present and publish the results from the first questionnaire full data (500 responds) during two conferences (PLEA 2018, ASA 2018) and in two separate papers for peer-reviewed journals.

[1] F. Giuliani, N. Sokol, R. Viula, V. R. M. Lo Verso, H. Coch, and F. Caffaro, “First outcomes of an investigation about daylighting knowledge and education in Europe,” in LUX EUROPA 2017 - European Lighting Conference, 2017, pp. 469–474.