Diana Center at Barnard college

The Diana Center at Barnard college was designed to incorporate four walkable skylights – three at a rooftop garden level, and one at the plaza/ground level.  The skylights provide daylighting benefits to the building, while offering a unique architectural element at ground level.

A key challenge with any walkable skylight is to provide resilient weatherproofing perimeters that are flush with the surrounding surfaces, unlike the typical curb that a skylight is raised up on.  The plaza level skylight shown here integrates the weatherproofing details seamlessly within the pavers and grout joints.  The skylights at Barnard are also designed for energy performance, using insulated glass with laminated outboard and inboard lites for point load support of pedestrians.  Exterior walking surfaces incorporate a non-skid frit for safety.

The walkable skylights at Barnard College provide a unique accent that blends the exterior architectural elements with the interior.  Unique daylighting benefits also contribute to the building’s LEED Gold  rating.

Harvard Leverett House Walkable Skylight

The design of the walkable Gallery skylights at Harvard’s Leverett House, was part of the design assistance project for the McKinlock Hall Light Court skylights.  The goal was to provide natural, diffused light to a gallery space below ground within the building.

Bellwether refined the design of four long, narrow skylights that are positioned next to an exterior walkway.  The skylights were designed to support foot traffic, and to provide privacy above and below with opacified glass.

The Gallery skylights at Leverett House’s McKinlock Hall effectively convert a previously dark and narrow hallway into an engaging gallery space.

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