Commercial Architecture June 2019 - 42

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PROJECT

| windows

mirrors), which are usually painted at different assembly plants.
Dynamic Dome skylights were designed
to allow the maximum amount of visible
sunlight into a space, while at the same
time protecting the polycarbonate from the
sun's UV light.

From a lighting designer's perspective, cars are capacious

course, a car's natural environment is outdoors. Bringing the outdoors inside is the best way to perceive a vehicle's color.

objects to illuminate. Compared to, for example, spots of track
lighting, skylights have a sizeable aperture, or light source, that

SKYLIGHTS ADD DIMENSION

makes them ideal for lighting larger objects such as cars. Of

The North Charleston Subaru retailer replaced old rooftop fiberglass skylights above the showroom with polycarbonate Dynamic Dome skylights from Velux, Fort Mill,
SC, for their durability as well as the amount of light
they deliver to the showroom. "It just brightens up
the dealership. It brightens everything up," said sales
manager Josh Stringer.
A study by LTI Optics, Westminster, CO, a global
leader in optical design, demonstrated the efficiency
and lumen output of the dome-shaped skylights
installed in the showroom, confirming what the sales
team described. The company used Photopia software to simulate skylight performance. According to
Mark Jongewaard, LTI Optics president, the Dynamic Dome skylights are especially effective when the
sun is low in the sky. The skylights were designed to
allow the maximum amount of visible sunlight into a
space at all angles of sun in the sky, while at the same
time protecting the polycarbonate from the sun's UV
light. The advanced UV protection was developed by
Covestro, Pittsburgh, a leading supplier of polycarbonate to the skylight industry.
"Some people have a negative connotation of
polycarbonate due to older technology that yellowed
over time," explained Ted Trautman, technology
director for Covestro North America. "But we build
in a UV-absorbing cap layer in our polycarbonate
sheet that very effectively guards it against UV light."
Steve Barteet, the facility director for Crews Subaru, worked with the roofing contractor to adjust the
existing roof curbs to fit the standard-sized skylights.
Barteet was pleased with the results. "We're getting
ready to do another huge 100,000 sq. ft.," he said.
"And I'm so happy with the results that I'll use the
same skylights." CA

Want more information from Velux (veluxusa.com)?
Circle 7 on the Reader Service Card.
Sources listed below are linked at
commercialarchitecturemagazine.com/
1906velux.

* TerraCycle, terracycle.com
* LTI Optics, ltioptics.com
* National Renewable Energy Laboratory, nrel.gov
* Covestro North America, covestro.us

JUNE 2019

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T UREM AG A ZINE.COM

http://www.veluxusa.com http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com/ http://www.terracycle.com http://www.ltioptics.com http://www.nrel.gov http://www.covestro.us

Commercial Architecture June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture June 2019