Internal_Daylight_Sunlight_&_Overshadowing

PROJECT DATA:

Client Earls Court Partnership Limited

Architect Serie Architects, Sheppard Robson and dRMM

Project Title LBHF Detailed Component

Project Number 15447

REPORT DATA:

Report Title Internal Daylight, Sunlight and Overshadowing Report

GIA Department Daylight Department

Dated 05 June 2025

Prepared by CN

Checked by JF Type Planning

Revisions

DISCLAIMER:

N.B This report has been prepared for Earls Court Partnership Limited by GIA as their appointed Daylight & Sunlight consultants. This report is intended solely for Earls Court Partnership Limited and may contain confidential information. No part or whole of its contents may be disclosed to or relied upon by any Third Parties without the express written consent of GIA. It is accurate as at the time of publication and based upon the information we have been provided with as set out in the report. It does not take into account changes that have taken place since the report was written nor does it take into account private information on internal layouts and room uses of adjoining properties unless this information is publicly available.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

Information Received IR279-281-15447

Release Number 69_15447_DSD

Issue Number 40

Site Photos GIA

3D models VERTEX

OS Data FIND Maps

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The purpose of this report is to ascertain whether the London Borough of hammersmith and Fulham (‘LBhF’) Detailed Component (buildings wB03, wB04 and wB05) of the Earls Court Masterplan will provide adequate levels of daylight and sunlight for the enjoyment of future occupants.

The assessments presented within this report were undertaken in October 2024 based on the design available at that time. Since then, minor amendments were made, which will have no substantial effect on the levels of daylight and sunlight achieved. As such, an update of the technical assessments has not been considered necessary and the conclusions below are therefore still valid.

All habitable rooms within wB03, wB04, wB05 have been technically assessed for Median Daylight Illuminance (MDI) and sunlight exposure. In addition, all outdoor areas of public or communal amenity provided within these buildings have been tested for overshadowing through the Sun hours on Ground metric.

As typical of any scheme of this size and density, the design responds to a number of constraints. In particular, a balance has been sought between the daylight performance, the provision of private external amenity in the form of balconies, and overheating considerations.

The design has sought to respond to these constraints in a number of ways and those relevant for daylight and sunlight are discussed in detail in the following Sections.

Following the testing and reviewing of numerous design options to help ensure occupants had the greatest access to natural light possible, the results presented here represent a scheme optimised for daylight and sunlight.

In relation to daylight, the overall performance of the scheme is good and 1527 (75%) of the 2040 rooms assessed will achieve the minimum levels of Median Daylight Illuminance (MDI) recommended within the UK National Annex for residential buildings. This figure considers the higher recommendation of 200 lux for large combined living/kitchen/dining rooms (LKDs), kitchen/dining rooms (KDs) and studios but it would increase to 1632 (80%) should 150 lux (suggested for living rooms) be considered acceptable as has been historically common in urban high-density developments.

In the areas with lower levels of daylight, the scheme has responded by amending the layouts to ensure the daylight is focussed on the most valuable areas (such as living areas over kitchen areas or bedrooms), increasing window sizes where possible and carefully control the balcony placement. The designs of each building do differ so detailed discussions of each building’s performance are provided over the following pages.

Sunlight access is also good, with 74% (337 out of 456) of the residential units seeing the recommended solar exposure . within the student accommodation, a combination of studios and cluster units with shared facilities is provided. 26 out of 54 well exceed the minimum solar exposure within the shared kitchen/ dining space. A further 20 fall short only marginally, seeing up to 15 minutes less than recommended. Therefore, occupants of these units will have access to good levels of sunlight. Additionally, all students have access to good levels of sunlight within the shared amenity provided on L31, as well as on the open rooftop terraces.

The Proposed Development provides several outdoor amenity spaces with the most prominent being the podium area connecting wB03 and wB04 and the courtyard space between wB05-T1 and wB05-T2. A number of smaller terraces provided within wB03 and wB04 complement the amenity offer.

Most areas well exceed the recommended solar exposure and will therefore be well sunlit. There are however three terraces within wB04 which are predominantly north-facing and so see lower levels of sunlight than those recommended on the equinox but see good levels of sunlight during the summer months.

Overall, therefore, the scheme has been optimised for daylight, sunlight and overshadowing. The levels of daylight and sunlight within the proposed units are generally good considering the buildings’ typology, density and setting. The scheme will also provide future occupants and users of the Site with access to good levels of sunlight in the amenity areas proposed. The above is in accordance with paragraph 129c of the National Planning Policy (`NPPF`) relating to the effective use of land, paragraphs 1.3.45 and 1.3.46 of the housing Supplementary Planning, as well as policy DC2 of hammersmith and Fulham Local Plan (February 2018).

2 INTRODUCTION

Introduction

This Internal Daylight, Sunlight and Overshadowing Report (wB03, wB04, wB05) has been prepared by GIA to replace the Internal Daylight, Sunlight and Overshadowing Report (wB03, wB04, wB05) dated July 2024. It has been updated to take account of proposed amendments to the Proposed Development and respond to feedback in relation to the daylight and sunlight performance within the proposed accommodation received from the London Borough of hammersmith and Fulham (“LBhF”).

In July 2024, Two hybrid Planning Applications were submitted, one to RBKC (Reference: PP/24/05187) and one to LBhF (Reference: 2024/01942/COMB) in relation to the redevelopment of land bounded by west Cromwell Road, warwick Road, Philbeach Gardens, Eardley Crescent, Lillie Road, Old Brompton Road, the west London Railway Line (“wLL”), and 1 Cluny Mews in RBKC (the “RBKC Site”) and North End Road, Beaumont Avenue, west Cromwell Road, the wLL, land comprising the Empress State Building (“ESB”), Aisgill Avenue, the former Gibbs Green School properties fronting Gibbs Green Close, and properties fronting Dieppe Close (the ‘LBhF Site) which straddle the boundary between the two boroughs (together forming “the Site”). The Proposed Development will form the new Earls Court Development. The hybrid Planning Applications are submitted on behalf of Earls Court Partnership Limited (“ECPL”) (“The Applicant”).

This document re-submitted to form part of the LBhF hybrid Planning Application (Reference: 2024/01942/COMB) in relation to detailed development proposals for Development Plots wB03, wB04 and wB05 for which no matters are reserved (“LBhF Detailed Component”), and outline development proposals for the remainder of the Site, with all matters reserved (“LBhF Outline Component”). LBhF Detailed Component and LBhF Outline Component together are referred to as the “LBhF Proposed Development”.

Post-Application Submission Amendments and Response to Consultation Feedback

Since the submission of the h ybrid Planning Applications, post-submission consultation has been undertaken with LBhF, RBKC and relevant statutory and non-statutory consultees. As a result of the consultation feedback, amendments have been made to the Proposed Development.

These amendments can be summarised as follows:

• Amendments to Parameter Plans to reduce height of EC03 by one storey, refine massing of wK02 and other incidental modifications.

• Minor design updates to detailed plots EC05, EC05, wB03, wB04 and wB05.

• Modification of some Design Codes to ensure design outcomes in key townscape views.

• Residential minimum increased from 1600 to 2000 in LBhF.

The purpose of this Internal Daylight, Sunlight and Overshadowing Report is to assess the updated LBhF Detailed Component in terms of daylight and sunlight.

3 BRE GUIDELINES

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) have set out in their handbook ‘Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight a Guide to Good Practice (BR 209 2022)’, guidelines and methodology for the measurement and assessment of daylight and sunlight within proposed buildings.

3.1 INTRODUCTION

The BRE published the new edition of ‘Site layout planning for daylight and sunlight: a guide to good practice’ in June 2022 (BR 209), This is to be read in conjunction with BS EN 17037:2018 “Daylight in buildings”, the UK National Annex of the British Standard and the CIBSE publication LG 10 ‘Daylighting – a guide for designers’.

The BR 209 new edition contains amended methodologies for appraising the daylight and sunlight quality within new developments. Nonetheless, the main aim of the guidance is maintained: “to help rather than constrain the designer” as stated in Paragraph 1.5 of the new guidance.

The report provides advice, but also clearly states that it “is not mandatory and the guide should not be seen as an instrument of planning policy.” The guidance also acknowledges in its introduction that “Although it gives numerical guidelines, these should be interpreted flexibly since natural lighting is only one of many factors in Site layout design (see Section 5). In special circumstances the developer or planning authority may wish to use different target values. For example, in a historic city centre, or in an area with modern high-rise buildings, a higher degree of obstruction may be unavoidable if new developments are to match the height and proportions of existing buildings.” (Paragraph 1.6)

3.2 BS EN 17037:2018 AND THE UK ANNEX

The British Standard BS8206-2:2008 was superseded by the new European Standard on daylight BS EN 17037:2018 “Daylight in buildings”.

Following on from the review of the European Standard by a dedicated commission of UK experts, the British Standard Institution appended to BS EN 17037:2018 a UK National Annex which brings the recommended light levels in line with those of the former BS8206-2:2008.

The BS EN 17037 includes four criteria: daylighting, views, sunlight access and glare. Daylighting and sunlight access are considered relevant for residential buildings and therefore discussed within this report.

view out and Glare are not solely but mostly relevant in offices and schools, where occupants are more fixed to a certain location within a room. In residential habitable rooms, occupants tend to move more freely and therefore view out and glare are not assessed within residential buildings.

In relation to sunlight access, the assessment considers the hours of sunlight reaching a window on the 21st March.

DAYLIGHT

The BRE set out the methods for assessing daylight within a proposed building within section 2.1 and Appendix C of the handbook. This is based on the methods detailed in the BS EN 17037.

BS EN 17037 suggests two possible methodologies for appraising daylight:

• Illuminance Method

• Daylight Factor Method

These methodologies are discussed in more detail below.

whilst vertical Sky Component (vSC) is no longer directly used to calculate the levels of daylight indoors, this is still referenced within the BRE guidance as a metric to appraise the level of obstruction faced by a building and the potential for good daylight indoors.

This method of assessment may also be used to appraise the daylight quality in the early stages of the design, when room layouts or window locations are still undecided.

Vertical Sky Component (VSC)

This method of assessment can be undertaken using a skylight indicator or a waldram diagram manually or most commonly through the use of specialist daylighting software. It measures from a single point, at the centre of the window (if known at the early design stage), the quantum of sky visible taking into account all external obstructions. whilst these obstructions can be either other buildings or the general landscape, trees are usually ignored unless they form a continuous or dense belt of obstruction.

The vSC method is a useful ‘rule of thumb’ but has some significant limitations in determining the true quality of daylight within a proposed building. It does not take into account the size of the window, any reflected light off external obstructions, any reflected light within the room, or the use to which that room is put.

Illuminance method

Climate Based Daylight Modelling (CBDM) is used to predict daylight illuminance using sun and sky conditions derived from standard meteorological data (often referred to as climate or weather data). This analytical method allows the prediction of absolute daylight illuminance based on the location and building orientation, in addition to the building’s daylight systems (shading systems, for example). Annex A within the BS EN 17037 proposes values of target illuminances and minimum target illuminances to exceed 50 % of daylight hours over 50% or more of the assessment area.

BS EN 17037 sets out minimum illuminance levels (300 lux) that should be exceeded over 50% of the space for more than half of the daylight hours in the year. It also includes recommendations for medium and high daylighting levels within a space (500 lux and 700 lux respectively). It should be noted here, however, that these targets are specified irrespective of a space’s use or design.

The National Annex suggests that these targets can be challenging to achieve within residential settings, particularly in areas of higher density and so suggests lower targets can be considered in this situation. It should be noted here that the reduced targets suggested within the BS EN 17037:2018 National Annex are provided so as to be comparable with the previous BR209’s recommendations for ADF. These targets are:

• 100 lux for bedrooms

• 150 lux for living rooms

• 200 lux for living/kitchen/diners, kitchens, and studios.

It is however stated in paragraph C17 of the BRE that: “Where a room has a shared use, the highest target should apply. For example in a bed sitting room in student accommodation, the value for a living room should be used if students would often spend time in their rooms during the day. Local authorities could use discretion here. For example, the target for a living room could be used for a combined living/ dining/kitchen area if the kitchens are not treated as habitable spaces, as it may avoid small separate kitchens in a design”.

Daylight Factor method

This method involves calculating the median daylight factor on a reference plane (assessment grid).

“The daylight factor is the illuminance at a point on the reference plane in a space, divided by the illuminance on an unobstructed horizontal surface outdoors. The CIE standard overcast sky is used, and the ratio is usually expressed as a percentage.”

This method of assessments considers an overcast sky, and therefore the orientation and location of buildings is not relevant. In order to account for different climatic conditions, Annex A within the BS EN 17037 sets equivalent daylight factor targets (D) for various locations in Europe.

The median daylight factor (MDF) should meet or exceed the target daylight factor relative to a given illuminance for more than half of daylight hours, over 50% of the reference plane.

3.4 SUNLIGHT

The BRE provide guidance in respect of sunlight quality for new developments within section 3.1 of the handbook. It is generally acknowledged that the presence of sunlight is more significant in residential accommodation than it is in commercial properties, and this is reflected in the BRE document.

It states, “in housing, the main requirement for sunlight is in living rooms, where it is valued at any time of the day, but especially in the afternoon. Sunlight is also required in conservatories. It is viewed as less important in bedrooms and in kitchens where people prefer it in the morning rather than the afternoon.”

The BRE guide considers the critical aspects of orientation and overshadowing in determining the availability of sunlight at a Proposed Development Site.

The guide proposes minimising the number of dwellings whose living room face solely north unless there is some compensating factor such as an appealing view to the north, and it suggests a number of techniques to do so. Furthermore, it discusses massing solutions with a sensitive approach to overshadowing, so as to maximize access to sunlight.

At the same time, it acknowledges that the Site’s existing urban environment may impose orientation or overshadowing constraints which may not be possible to overcome.

To quantify sunlight access for interiors where sunlight is expected, it refers to the BS EN 17037 criterion that the minimum duration of sunlight exposure in at least one habitable room of a dwelling should be 1.5 h on March 21st. Table A.5 also establishes medium and high sunlight targets (3 and 4 hours).

This is to be checked at a reference point located centrally to the window’s width and at the inner surface of the aperture (façade and/or roof). For multiple apertures in different façades it is possible to cumulate the time of sunlight availability if not occurring at the same time. The reference point is minimum 1.2 m above the floor and 0.3 m above the window sill if present.

The summary of section 3.1 of the guide states as follows:

“In general, a dwelling or non-domestic building which has a particular requirement for sunlight, will appear reasonably sunlit provided that:

• At least one main window faces within 90 degrees of due south, and

• a habitable room, preferably a main living room, can receive a total of at least 1.5 hours of sunlight on 21 March. This is assessed at the inside centre of the window(s); sunlight received by different windows can be added provided they occur at different times and sunlight hours are not double counted.. “

3.5 OVERSHADOWING

The BRE guidance in respect of overshadowing of amenity spaces is set out in section 3.3 of the handbook. here it states as follows:

“Sunlight in the spaces between and around buildings has an important impact on the overall appearance and ambience of a development. It is valuable for a number of reasons, to:

• provide attractive sunlit views (all year)

• make outdoor activities like sitting out and children’s play more pleasant (mainly warmer months)

• encourage plant growth (mainly spring and summer)

• dry out the ground, reducing moss and slime (mainly in colder months)

• melt frost, ice and snow (in winter)

• dry clothes (all year).

Again, it must be acknowledged that in urban areas the availability of sunlight on the ground is a factor which is significantly controlled by the existing urban fabric around the Site in question and so may have very little to do with the form of the development itself. Likewise, there may be many other urban design, planning and Site constraints which determine and run contrary to the best form, siting and location of a Proposed Development in terms of availability of sun on the ground.

The summary of section 3.3 of the guide states as follows:

“3. 3 .17 It is recommended that for it to appear adequately sunlit throughout the year, at least half of a garden or amenity area should receive at least two hours of sunlight on 21 March. If as a result of new development an existing garden or amenity area does not meet the above, and the area that can receive two hours of sun on 21 March is less than 0.80 times its former value, then the loss of sunlight is likely to be noticeable. If a detailed calculation cannot be carried out, it is recommended that the centre of the area should receive at least two hours of sunlight on 21 March..”

3.6 FURTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

CIBSE LG 10 ‘Daylighting – a guide for designers’.

This guide details the process of designing for daylighting. It outlines considerations of form, orientation, and other aspects involved in designing the building envelope to optimise natural light.

The guidance in this document is written primarily for buildings located within the UK, and will be most applicable to projects in northern hemisphere. however, the principles are universal, and can be applied to other locations if the appropriate weather data is used and local standards and regulations are respected

4 SIMULATION ASSUMPTIONS

In order to undertake the daylight and sunlight assessments set out in the previous pages, we have prepared a three dimensional computer model and used specialist lighting simulation software.

Calculation model

The three-dimensional representation of the Proposed Development has been modelled using the drawings provided by the architects. This has been placed in the context of their surrounding buildings. The illustrative massing has been provided by the masterplan architects while the surrounding buildings have been modelled from survey information, photogrammetry and OS. This allows for a precise model, which in turn ensures that analysis accurately represents the amount of daylight and sunlight available to the building façades, internal and external spaces, considering all of the surrounding obstructions and orientation.

The weather file recorded at Gatwick Airport was considered the most relevant for this assessment.

Surfaces reflectance

In general, the reflectance value to be applied to surfaces in the computational modelling follows the BR 209 Annex C, unless specified by the Design Team. Assumptions applied are:

• Interior walls - 0.7

• Ceilings - 0.8

• Exterior ceilings - 0.6

• Floors - 0.3

• Exterior ground and external obstructions - 0.2

Assessment Grids

For the daylight assessments, an analysis ‘grid’ is located within each room at working plane height (850 mm from FFL) and offset by 0.3m from the walls as recommended by BR 209.

Grid points are spaced by 0.2m .

Assessment Resolution

The climate-based daylight assessments have been undertaken on an hourly basis whilst the sunlight exposure assessment has been undertaken for every minute on the relevant days.

Glazing transmittance

In agreement with the wider Design Team, a glazing visible light transmittance (vLT) of 65% has been used. The framing factor has been taken from the models supplied.

Maintenance factors have been applied as per BR209 with 0.92 for windows not beneath an overhang and 0.76 for windows beneath an overhang.

BS EN 17037:2018

Table 01: Transmittance and maintenance factors

4.1 GLASS TYPES - WINDOW MAPS

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

03: Southeast and South-west views - wB04

04: North-east and North-west views - wB04

5 CONCLUSIONS

5.1 SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS

The purpose of this report is to ascertain whether the LBhF Detailed Component (buildings wB03, wB04 and wB05) of the Earls Court Masterplan will provide adequate levels of daylight and sunlight for the enjoyment of future occupants.

The 40 acre Earls Court Masterplan is set in central London, within the Earls Court / west Kensington Opportunity Area. As typical of any scheme of this size and density, the design responds to a number of constraints. In particular, a balance has been sought between the daylight performance, the provision of private external amenity in the form of balconies, and overheating considerations (particularly since the challenging adoption of Part O).

The design has sought to respond to these constraints in a number of ways and those relevant for daylight and sunlight are discussed in detail on a per-building basis below.

Following the testing and reviewing of numerous design options to help ensure occupants had the greatest access to natural light possible, the results presented here represent a scheme optimised for daylight and sunlight.

The assessments presented within this report were undertaken in October 2024 based on the design available at that time. Since then, minor amendments were made, which have been reviewed by GIA and considered not to have a substantial effect on the levels of daylight and sunlight achieved. As such, an update of the technical assessments has not been deemed necessary and the conclusions below are therefore still valid.

In relation to daylight, the overall performance of the scheme is good and 1527(75%) of the 2040 rooms assessed will achieve the minimum levels of Median Daylight Illuminance (MDI) recommended within the UK National Annex for residential buildings. This figure considers the higher recommendation of 200 lux for large combined living/kitchen/dining rooms (LKDs), kitchen/dining rooms (KDs) and studios but it would increase to 1632 (80%) should 150 lux (suggested for living rooms) be considered acceptable as has been historically common in urban high-density developments.

In the areas with lower levels of daylight, the scheme has responded by amending the layouts to ensure the daylight is focussed on the most valuable areas (such as living areas over kitchen areas or bedrooms), increasing window sizes where possible and carefully control the balcony placement. The designs of each building do differ so detailed discussions of each building’s performance are provided over the following pages.

Sunlight access is also good, with 74% (337 out of 456) of the residential units seeing the recommended solar exposure . within the student accommodation, a combination of studios and cluster units with shared facilities is provided. 26 out of 54 well exceed the minimum solar exposure within the shared kitchen/ dining space. A further 20 fall short only marginally, seeing up to 15 minutes less than recommended. Therefore, occupants of these units will have access to good levels of sunlight. Additionally, all students have access to good levels of sunlight within the shared amenity provided on L31, as well as on the open rooftop terraces.

The Proposed Development provides several outdoor amenity spaces with the most prominent being the podium area connecting wB03 and wB04 and the courtyard space between wB05-T1 and wB05-T2. A number of smaller terraces provided within wB03 and wB04 complement the amenity offer.

Most areas well exceed the recommended solar exposure and will therefore be well sunlit. There are however three terraces within wB04 which are predominantly north-facing and so see lower levels of sunlight than those recommended on the equinox but see good levels of sunlight during the summer months.

Overall, therefore, the scheme has been optimised for daylight, sunlight and overshadowing. The levels of daylight and sunlight within the proposed units are generally good considering the buildings’ typology, density and setting. The scheme will also provide future occupants and users of the Site with access to good levels of sunlight in the amenity areas proposed. The above is in accordance with paragraph 129c of the NPPF relating to the effective use of land, paragraphs 1.3.45 and 1.3.46 of the housing SPG, as well as policy DC2 of hammersmith and Fulham Local Plan (February 2018).

5.2 CONCLUSIONS ON DAYLIGHT AND SUNLIGHT

WB03

The daylight and sunlight potential on wB03’s elevations is mainly driven by the relationship with wB02 to the south and wB04 to the north. The proximity of these two buildings results in areas of reduced light potential at the base. As part of the design evolution, different massing configurations have been considered for wB02, to reduce its effects on wB03 and the final height is a result of this process.

wB03 provides student accommodation, which is generally considered less sensitive in relation to internal light levels owing to the transient nature of its occupancy pattern. Nonetheless, all proposed rooms have been assessed for daylight and sunlight.

The building comprises both self-contained studios and cluster units where multiple bedrooms/study rooms share kitchen and dining facilities. In order to make the most of the available light, the design sought to locate the shared spaces in the areas with the daylight availability. As a result, almost all the shared kitchen/dining rooms and the two shared amenity areas provided on L31 exceed the minimum daylight levels, often substantially.

Overall, of the 751 rooms tested within wB03, 459 (61%) achieve the levels of MDI recommended by the BRE. In addition, however, a further 34 studios and six kitchen/dining rooms, whilst falling slightly short of the 200 lux recommended for a kitchen, achieve the 150 lux recommended for living areas and so can be considered acceptably daylit living/dining rooms. when holding these rooms to a target of 150 lux therefore, the overall number of rooms achieving the targets would increase to 499 (66%).

The remaining rooms are 31 cluster bedrooms and 220 studios and one kitchen/dining room. while all rooms have been provided with very generous windows, shortfalls are mainly seen behind the east and west elevations of the building, as a result of the interaction with wB02 and wB04.

Inevitably, where larger rooms are provided (i.e. the self-contained studios) it is more difficult to light the entire room to the recommended median illuminance.

however, the room layouts have been arranged with the living area at the front and the sleeping area at the rear. Therefore, greater levels of light than those reported for the room as a whole will be available close to the fenestration.

In relation to the cluster bedrooms falling short of guidance, these are mainly located in cluster units where good levels of light are available within the shared space. The only kitchen/dining room falling short of the 150 lux target is located on L02 and falls short only marginally (137 lux).

Occupants of both the cluster bedrooms and the studios will also have access to an exceptionally well daylit amenity area on L31.

In relation to sunlight, 140 of the 337 studios meet or exceed BRE’s recommendation for solar exposure. 226 of the 359 cluster bedrooms meet or exceed the suggested sunlight levels.

when looking at cluster units, 26 out of 54 well exceed the minimum solar exposure within the shared kitchen/dining space. A further 20 fall short only marginally, seeing up to 15 minutes less than recommended. Therefore, occupants of these units will have access to good levels of sunlight. Finally, all occupants will be able to enjoy excellent levels of sunlight within the shared amenity area provided on L31 (seeing almost five hours of direct sunlight in mid-season). In addition, excellent levels of sunlight are available to the roof terraces.

Overall, wB03 is considered to perform well in terms of both daylight and sunlight. Occupants of the rooms that have been found to fall short of recommendations will still be able to enjoy good levels of natural light by using the shared spaces provided within their unit or within the building.

WB04

Owing to the considerable height of this building, excellent levels of light reach the windows located on the mid and upper levels. As is typical of dense urban environments, areas of reduced light potential are seen at the base of the building. This is a result of the obstruction caused by the surrounding context.

As part of the design process, several features have been incorporated that are beneficial for daylight

ans sunlight, in particular:

• the cruciform shape of the building’s footprint facilitates the provision of dual-aspect dwellings;

• living areas have been placed in corner locations so as to maximise the daylight ingress where this is typically most enjoyed;

• balconies have been located so as to overhang secondary windows or bedroom windows in order to prioritise the daylight ingress within the main living space; and

• windows sizes have been designed to optimise daylight ingress, while controlling overheating.

Overall, therefore, the building performs well. Of the 697 rooms tested, 587 (84%) achieve the levels of MDI recommended by the BRE. In addition, however, a further 36 combined L/K/Ds and studios, whilst falling slightly short of the 200 lux recommended for a kitchen, achieve the 150 lux recommended for living areas and so can be considered acceptably daylit living rooms. when holding these rooms to a target of 150 lux therefore, the overall number of rooms achieving the targets would increase to 623 (89%).

The remaining rooms are 33 LKDs and studios and 41 bedrooms.

where LKDs or studios have been found to fall short of guidance, this is a function of the generous room size and depth, combined with the surrounding obstruction and, often, provision of balcony. These are always dual-aspect rooms with at least two windows not obstructed by balconies. As is typically the case in buildings of this nature, kitchens have been positioned at the rear of the room (where it is darker) so as to maximise the levels of light to the living areas, which will be better daylit. however, as the MDI metric considers the room as a whole this means that, when tested in open-plan form, large rooms sometimes cannot achieve the recommended levels of light at the mid-point no matter the amount of light reaching the front room (the living area). Should only the living areas be considered, then the test would report that much greater levels of light can be enjoyed by occupants and so, with it being common and good practice to locate kitchens in the darker parts of the floorplan, this is a common occurrence in open-plan LKDs.

where bedrooms have been found to fall short of guidance, this is result of them having been located in the more obstructed areas of the building and/

or below balconies, in order to prioritise the daylight ingress within the main living spaces.

The 278 proposed dwellings have also been assessed for sunlight and 78% of them (217) would meet or exceed BRE’s recommendation of one room or more seeing at least one and a half hours of sunlight on the equinox. The vast majority of these units (210) achieve the recommended sunlight exposure within the main living space, which is considered preferable by the BRE. Given the central London and urban nature of this development within an opportunity area, this should be considered a good result.

The 61 units falling short of guidance located behind the northerly portion of the building. In any high density development, there will be a number of units with levels of sunlight below those recommended by BRE and in this case, this is a function of their orientation. Nonetheless, these units will offer an excellent outlook, particularly those located on the upper storeys.

Overall, wB04 has been optimised for daylight ingress, whilst balancing the overheating requirements and is considered to perform very well in terms of daylight and sunlight.

WB05-T1 and WB05-T2

The design of these buildings follows the same design principles already outlined for wB04, namely:

• a cruciform shape has been adopted for the building’s footprint, which facilitates the provision of dual-aspect dwellings (100% habitable dualaspect units and no single-aspect north-facing units);

• living areas have placed in corner locations so as to maximise the daylight ingress where this is typically most enjoyed;

• where fenestration is obstructed by balconies, additional windows have been provided to maximise the light ingress; and

• windows sizes have been designed to optimise daylight ingress, while controlling overheating.

The levels of light reaching these two buildings are influenced by one another and by the relationship with the surrounding context, in particular by the proximity with wB04. Therefore, shortfalls are seen predominantly behind the west elevations.

Overall, the buildings perform well. Of the 592 rooms tested, 481 (81%) achieve the levels of MDI recommended by the BRE. In addition, however, a further 29 combined LKDs or KDs, whilst falling slightly short of the 200 lux recommended for a kitchen, achieve the 150 lux recommended for living (or dining) areas and so can be considered acceptably daylit living rooms. when holding these rooms to a target of 150 lux therefore, the overall number of rooms achieving the targets would increase to 510 (86%).

The remaining rooms (14%) falling short of guidance are 14 bedrooms, 23 KDs and 45 LKDs.

The few bedrooms seeing levels of light below those recommended are located on the lowest storeys and all but two see at least 70 lux.

Of the 23 KDs, 14 see at least 130 lux and all see at least 100 lux. These have an elongated layout with the dining area at the front, closer to the fenestration, where greater light levels are available. Also, these KDs are all directly linked to a well-lit living area.

Finally, where LKDs have been found to fall short of guidance, this is a result of the combination of the following:

• the more obstructed outlook caused by the surrounding buildings;

• the effect of balconies, which inherently reducing the daylight ingress to the windows set below them; and

• the generous room size.

however, all living areas have been provided with multiple windows and, even if this was not always sufficient to light the whole room to the recommended median, much greater levels of light than those recorded for the room as a whole will be available to the front part of the room, close to the fenestration. This is particularly evident for the wheelchairaccessible units, where the more generous room sizes resulted in comparatively lower MDI figures, despite generous levels of light ingress seen from the windows.

In relation to sunlight, the 178 dwellings have been assessed and 67% of them (120) would meet or exceed BRE’s recommendation for solar exposure. The vast majority of these units (111) achieve the recommended sunlight exposure within the main living space, which is considered preferable by the

BRE. The 58 units falling short mainly do so owing to their orientation as they do not have a southerly aspect. The only four units with a southerly aspect falling short of guidance are located at the base of wB05-T1 and are shadowed by the wB05-T2 opposite.

Overall, w B05-T1 and w B05-T2 have been optimised for daylight and sunlight ingress, whilst balancing the overheating requirements and provision of private amenity and are considered to perform well in terms of daylight and sunlight.

5.3 CONCLUSIONS ON OVERSHADOWING

The BRE recommend that for an open amenity space to be well sunlit throughout the year, at least 50% of its area should see two or more hours of sunlight on the equinox. An overshadowing assessment has therefore been undertaken for the areas of communal amenity provided within the scheme. The results of this assessment are shown in Section 8 of this report.

In addition, sun exposure assessments have also been undertaken for the equinox and summer solstice in order to provide a better understanding of the sunlight availability throughout the year.

The Proposed Development provides several outdoor amenity spaces with the most prominent being the podium area connecting wB03 and wB04 and the courtyard space between wB05-T1 and wB05-T2. A number of smaller terraces provided within wB03 and wB04 complement the amenity offer.

Most areas well exceed the recommended solar exposure and will therefore be well sunlit. There are however three terraces within wB04 which are predominantly north-facing and so see lower levels of sunlight than those recommended on the equinox but see around three to five hours of sunlight in June.

The levels of sunlight seen within these three spaces are very much in line with expectations for terraces of this nature and again, should direct sunlight be wished for outside of the summer months, this can be attained elsewhere in the Site.

Overall, the design will provide occupants and users with access to well sunlit areas of public and communal amenity throughout the year.

Level 04

Table 01: Assessment Data

Table 01: Assessment Data

Table 01: Assessment Data

Level 07

Table 01: Assessment Data

Table 01: Assessment Data

Table 01: Assessment Data wB03 Level 09

Table 01: Assessment Data

Level 11

Table 01: Assessment Data

Level 12

Table 01: Assessment Data

Table 01: Assessment Data wB03 Level 13

20: Floor Plan

Level 14

Table 01: Assessment Data

Level 16

Level 17

Table 01: Assessment Data

Level 32

- LEVEL 32

Table 01: Assessment Data

Table 01: Assessment Data

WB04 TOWER PLANS

WB04_Level 02

wB04 Level 03

- LEVEL 03

Table 01: Assessment Data

- LEVEL 04

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 04

WB04_Levels 04-15

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 05

WB04_Levels 04-15

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 06

WB04_Levels 04-15

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 07

WB04_Levels 04-15

Level 08

Table 01: Assessment Data

WB04_Levels 04-15

- LEVEL 09

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 09

WB04_Levels 04-15

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 10

WB04_Levels 04-15

Level 11

Table 01: Assessment Data

WB04_Levels 04-15

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 12

WB04_Levels 04-15

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 13

WB04_Levels 04-15

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 14

WB04_Levels 04-15

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 15

WB04_Levels 04-15

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 16

Level 17

WB04_Levels 17-25

WB04_Levels 17-25

WB04_Levels 17-25

Level 20

WB04_Levels 17-25

Level 21

WB04_Levels 17-25

Level 22

WB04_Levels 17-25

Level 23

01: Assessment Data

WB04_Levels 17-25

Level 24

WB04_Levels 17-25

Level 25

WB04_Levels 17-25

WB04_Levels 26-32

WB04_Levels 26-32

WB04_Levels 26-32

WB04_Levels 26-32

WB04_Levels 26-32

WB04_Levels 26-32

WB04_Levels 26-32

- LEVEL 33

Table 01: Assessment Data

WB04 TOWER PLANS

WB04_Level 33

Table 01: Assessment Data

WB04_Level 34

- LEVEL 35

Table 01: Assessment Data

WB04_Level 35

Level 36

- LEVEL 36

Table 01: Assessment Data

WB04_Levels 36-38

Level 37

- LEVEL 37

Table 01: Assessment Data

WB04_Levels 36-38

Table 01: Assessment Data

WB04_Levels 36-38

- LEVEL 39

Table 01: Assessment Data wB04 Level 39

Fig. 80: Floor Plan

82: Floor Plan

Fig. 83: Floor Plan

84: Floor Plan

85: Floor Plan

86: Floor Plan

88: Floor Plan

89: Floor Plan

90: Floor Plan

Level 13

- Level 01

Table 01: Assessment Data

- Level 02

- Level 03

01: Assessment Data

- Level 04

Table 01: Assessment Data

- Level 05

- Level 06

01: Assessment Data

- Level 07

01: Assessment Data

01: Assessment Data T2 - Level 08

8 OVERSHADOWING ASSESSMENTS

Ov ERS h ADOw ING ASSESSMENT

RECOMMENDS 2+

Ov ERS h ADOw ING ASSESSMENT

SUN EXPOSURE ON GROUND - 21ST MARCH (SPRING EQUINOX)

21st March (SPRING EQUINOX)

LONDON

Latitude: 51.4

Longitude: 0.0

Sunrise: 06:02 GMT

Sunset: 18:14 GMT

Total Available Sunlight: 12hrs 12mins

Ov ERS h ADOw ING ASSESSMENT

SUN EXPOSURE ON GROUND - 21ST JUNE (SUMMER SOLSTICE)

21st June (SUMMER SOLSTICE)

LONDON

Latitude: 51.4

Longitude: 0.0

SUN EXPOSURE TOTAL hOURS

Sunrise: 04:43 GMT

Sunset: 21:21 GMT

Total Available Sunlight: 16hrs 38mins

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