Free In-House Seminar:
Designing with Daylight & Sunlight
Helping design and development teams turn planning constraints into design opportunities.
Overview
Planning for Sustainability offers a free in-house seminar for architectural, planning, and development teams on designing with daylight, sunlight, and Right of Light in mind. The session shows how daylight and sunlight assessments can be more than just a compliance exercise. Used intelligently, they become a tool to balance amenity with design ambition, unlock site potential, and achieve smoother planning outcomes.
Why We’re Offering This
Our aim is to help design and development teams make confident, informed decisions when daylight and sunlight issues arise — particularly on urban or constrained sites where planning and neighbour impacts can be complex.
The seminar is led by Paul Giesberg, who specialises in daylight and sunlight analysis for planning applications. It’s designed to provide practical, insight-driven learning, not a sales presentation.
Understanding the Planning and Legal Context
Daylight and sunlight requirements form an essential part of the planning process. Most local planning authorities refer directly to the BRE guidance – “Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight” as the accepted methodology and set of criteria for assessing daylight and sunlight effects.
The BRE criteria allow for professional judgement and flexibility to respond to local context and design circumstances, while maintaining the underlying principles of good daylight and sunlight design.
At the same time, it’s important to understand how this planning framework interacts with Right of Light, which is a private legal matter between property owners. While the two systems have different purposes, good design practice recognises that they overlap: early awareness of both helps teams avoid risk, anticipate constraints, and design with confidence through planning and beyond.
Seminar Overview
What the Seminar Covers
- How to use daylight and sunlight analysis strategically to maximise site potential
- How to apply BRE guidance with confidence, using its flexibility to reflect design intent and local context
- How planning assessments and Right of Light considerations intersect — and why both should be addressed in tandem
- Common pitfalls to avoid, drawn from real-world urban case studies
The most successful projects don’t just meet the numbers — they understand what the numbers mean.
Who It’s For
- Architects
- Planning consultants
- Developers and project managers
- Anyone involved in shaping sustainable, successful projects
Interested in Hosting the Seminar?
Get in touch to discuss timing and format. We’ll tailor the session to your team’s needs or current projects.