Abstract:
The quality of the healthcare in intensive care unit (ICU) is directly influenced by its design. Daylight and
access to the outside views are key factors to improve the healing environment for patients and working
conditions for healthcare providers. In addition, augmenting the use of natural light not only helps with
sustainable solutions, but also reduces energy costs. Beside the geographic location, natural lighting in
any space is affected mainly by five parameters: window orientation, window level, window to wall ratio,
walls light reflectance and the used shading device. This study aims to optimize these parameters using
DesignBuilder software to achieve the optimal daylighting while minimizing the heating and cooling
loads without restricting patients’ access to view. The results show that the South was the optimum ori entation. 2.5 m was the optimum window lintel level height. Furthermore, the shading device’s type and
depth differed according to window orientation
