People, Buildings and Light

In this illuminating episode of Sunlight Matters, David Wallace is joined by Niko Gentile and Agnieszka Czachura from Lund University’s Energy and Building Design group. Together, they explore the science, perception, and policy around sunlight and daylight, and why we need to care more than ever.

From the overlooked distinction between daylight and sunlight to the historical biases in building regulations, Niko and Aga take us on a fascinating journey. We discuss Agnieszka's new research into how people value sunlight in their homes today, revealing that although people still crave light, their reasons for doing so have shifted in our modern, thermally controlled, and urbanised world.

We also examine how energy-efficient building codes risk undermining human well-being, why real estate agents might be the best sunlight psychologists, and how the physics of glass may be blinding us to the sun’s full health benefits.

If you’ve ever felt better on a sunny day but didn’t know why, this episode is for you.