Daylight Enhancement Strategies for Historic Buildings: A Critical Review of Interventions, Their Constraints, and Applicability
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: With the growing urgency to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment, enhancing daylight availability in historic buildings has become a critical and challenging task due to the required balance between environmental sustainability objectives and cultural heritage conservation principles. This paper presents a systematic and critical review of 54 studies focusing on daylight enhancement strategies in historic buildings, published between 2000 and 2025. Following the PRISMA scoping review method, this review investigates intervention challenges according to three primary constraints: regulatory and conservation limitations, material and structural constraints, and climate-responsive requirements. By mapping currently employed daylighting techniques in historic buildings and critically assessing their underlying assumptions, this study aims to bridge the gap between performance-driven daylighting research and cultural heritage preservation principles. The findings are intended to promote multidisciplinary discourse and serve as a basis for creating contextually acceptable, ethically responsible, and technically feasible daylighting recommendations for historic buildings.
Source: Journal of Daylighting
DOI: 10.15627/jd.2026.4
Authors: Nurefşan SÖNMEZ, Arzu CILASUN KUNDURACI
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7128311691