Daylight on Planning - Trust Annual Report 1975
Another example of the effect of natural phenomena on planning can be seen in the use of. daylight. When window glass became cheap and plentiful, houses and shops were planned to make the most of the natural light. This was responsible for the elegant proportions and effective fenestration of Georgian architect, and such details as the characteristic of bow windows in Winchester. Now however the governing factor is no longer daylight, but the cost per square foot of new building. Nor is this all, Gothic, Georgian and Victorian builders used daylight as decorative element, casting shadows amongst carved ornament to enrich surfaces. But no one bothers about such things today and the nearest we get to the enrichment of surfaces is through mass produced tax textures, by for instance, using factory made flint panels. Certainly a traditional local materiel, but inadequate compared with the genuine local flint and brickwork, an important feature in our familiar streets scene. We are not of course advocating a revival of historic ornament which would be quite inappropriate today.