Evaluation of daylight performance in historical educational buildings: Mimar Kemal Middle School

Since educational buildings are spaces where children and young people spend a significant portion of their time, daylight is crucial for visual comfort and creating a healthy environment. This study aims to examine the daylighting conditions in Mimar Kemal Middle School, one of the protected buildings from the First National Architecture Period in Ankara, and to develop recommendations for improving its lighting performance in line with contemporary needs. Due to the historical status of the building, the study focuses on the feasibility of implementing light shelves to make better use of daylight within the interior spaces, as physical interventions are limited. The research involved fieldwork to assess the existing natural lighting conditions in the school and simulations to analyze the potential lighting effects of the proposed light shelves. During the fieldwork, lighting measurements were taken at different times of the day, allowing for a comparison of the school's current daylighting performance with national and international standards. The simulation analyses examined the impact of light shelves with varying angles and depths on interior lighting. The study results indicated that the current daylighting levels in some areas of the school fall below the standard values. However, implementing light shelves at appropriate angles and depths could improve these lighting conditions. These findings suggest optimizing daylighting in historical, educational buildings to meet contemporary requirements.