By Jens Christoffersen, VELUX Group

In a recent Case Study Report, the Eneref Institute (www.eneref.org) examines how the number of occupants using the library increases with the installation of VELUX skylights. The completely new West Branch Library is designed to fulfill the City of Berkeley’s 2009 Climate Action Plan. The action plan set the target of reducing local greenhouse gas emission by 80% by 2050. Furthermore, the City of Berkeley also envision a city where new and existing buildings achieve Zero Net Energy consumption through energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

One of the important design goals was to have a beautiful space and key to this was having sufficient daylight and give the occupants a feeling of being connected to the outside. The library have a combination of facade windows and skylights. The VELUX skylights is tilted 20 degrees to the north to minimize glare. To provide the space with fresh air, the building is natural ventilated, through the facade and the openable VELUX skylights. According Gerard Lee, architect with Harley Ellis Devereaux, the quality of the space is the dedicated use of the natural light.

Read more about the Case Study at Eneref.org