Optimizing Colour Design and Daylight Performance in Buildings
A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Architectural Design, Urban Science, and Real Estate".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 October 2026 | Viewed by 18
Special Issue Editors
Interests: daylight; nif daylight; building performance; energy efficiency; LCA
Interests: daylighting, building energy performance; bioclimatic design; building envelope performance; high-performance buildings; climate change and building performance; building sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Smart integration of daylighting and colour design in buildings is a fundamental imperative for a sustainable and healthy living environment, moving beyond aesthetics to impact performance, energy, and human well-being. The use of natural light in a building promotes energy-conscious design. By effectively harvesting and distributing daylight, buildings can significantly reduce their reliance on artificial lighting, which often accounts for a substantial portion of a building’s energy use. This reduction directly supports global efforts toward achieving carbon neutrality and greater sustainability.
Furthermore, the quality of light—and how it interacts with the building's interior surfaces and colours—is intrinsically linked to occupant wellbeing and productivity. Exposure to sufficient, well-controlled natural light is essential for regulating circadian rhythms, improving mood, and enhancing visual comfort. Colour choices act as a critical modifier, influencing light distribution and shaping the physiological and psychological perception of a space. Therefore, optimising these two elements together is not just an architectural choice; it is a performance-based design strategy critical to creating healthy, highly efficient, and human-centric built environments.
Dr. Jaka Potočnik
Dr. Mitja Košir
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- daylight
- colour design in buildings
- biophilic design
- non-image forming effects
- buildings
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
