STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF GLARE CAUSED BY REFLECTIVE BUILDING FAçADE MATERIALS UNDER SINGAPORE CLIMATE CONDITION. CASE STUDY: MEDIACORP BUILDING

Abstract

This thesis develops a research on analyzing the impacts of glare caused by reflective building façade materials under Singapore climate context. Complaints received in 2015 from affected develops that near to the Mediacorp building highlight the glare issues caused by its reflective building façade. However, Mediacorp façade reflectivity study conducted by DP Architects Pte. Ltd. in 2014 concludes that the reflected solar ray from the Mediacorp building’s façade will not generate discomfort glare on neighboring buildings and surrounding road users. Therefore, Mediacorp building whose façade is made up by stainless steel panel is adopted as a case study in this project to re-examine the impacts of reflective glare to the surrounding areas. Seagate office building and Tanglin Trust School senior school building are the main affected developments near to the Mediacorp building. In order to establish a comprehensive analysis, both indoor and outdoor measurement points were selected for the field measurement. Air temperature & RH sensors and data loggers, thermocouple sensors and data loggers, lux meter, and black bulb thermometer were used in the field measurement to record indoor and outdoor air temperatures, glass and wall surface temperatures, illuminance, and globe temperatures. Data analysis was carried out in evaluating both thermal and visual comfort. The comparison results from different aspects show that reflective glare caused by highly reflective building façade materials will contribute to an increase in indoor temperatures and illuminance, which in turn will negatively affect both thermal and visual environment.