Skylights

Studying under the sun

Harvard University's Widener Library renovations included designing a building-within- a-building to create a reading room "under the sun." Two skylights were installed while the building remained open. The skylight frame was mounted to hold clear, low-e glass at the building's exterior, followed by ½-in. of air space, a silkscreen, another ¼-in. of clear glass, a laminate layer which blocks UV rays, and finally a prismatic glass on the skylight's interior. Whew!

Architectural Skylight Co.

Reader Service No. 330

Healing rays

The Pharmacia building in Skokie, Ill., installed two skylights in its south atrium with a reflective lens film and a linear fresnel lens pattern in combination with a transparent radial lens film. The reflective film was installed to act as a "fuzzy mirror" with a 10% beam spread to help focus light onto the atrium floor, while the linear grooves provide better light fill and eliminate the annoying glare typically associated with specular reflection. The reflective lens film was laminated to the inside face of the metal panels set directly into the skylight frame, providing the right amount of sunlight and the aesthetic that Pharmacia wanted to achieve.

United Skys.

Reader Service No. 331

See-through sky

Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, asked van Dijk Westlake Reed Leskosky, Cleveland, to design a connection to the school's new addition. For special effect, the four-story atrium Great Hall was topped off by a large skylight. The custom-made BMS 3000 segmented-barrel vault skylight was installed to give staff and students an unobstructed view.

Naturalite Skylight Systems.

Reader Service No. 332