Editing Daylighting (architecture) (section)

===Atrium===
{{main|Atrium (architecture)}}
An atrium is a large open space located within a building. It is often used to light a central circulation or public area by daylight admitted through a glass roof or wall. Atria provide some daylight to adjacent working areas, but the amount is often small and does not penetrate very far.<ref name="The SLL Lighting Handbook">{{cite book |title=The SLL Lighting Handbook |publisher=Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers; 1st edition |date=2009 |isbn=9781906846022}}</ref> The main function of an [[atrium (architecture)|atrium]] is to provide a visual experience and a degree of contact with the outside for people in the working areas. The daylighting of successive storeys of rooms adjoining an atrium is interdependent and requires a balanced approach.<ref name=" Daylighting in atrium buildings">{{cite book |last1=Littlefair |first1=P.J. |last2=Aizlewood |first2=M.E. |title=Daylighting in atrium buildings |publisher=BRE Information Paper IP3/98 |date=1998 |isbn=9781860811944}}</ref> Light from the sky can easily penetrate the upper storeys but not the lower, which rely primarily on light reflected from internal surfaces of the atrium such as floor-reflected light.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sharples |first=S. |title=Reflectance distributions and atrium daylight levels: a model study |journal=Lighting Research and Technology |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=165–170 |year=1999 |s2cid=110668116 |doi=10.1177/096032719903100405}}</ref> The upper stories need less window area than the lower ones, and if the atrium walls are light in color the upper walls will reflect light toward the lower stories.<ref name="LG10"/>