The ‘Nordstrom Tower’: a landmark daylight injury study

This paper describes a landmark daylight injury study whereby measures predicted using climate-based daylight modelling formed part of the legal agreement for the development of a skyscraper building in New York. Now known as the Nordstrom Tower, when completed in 2018 it will become the world’s tallest residential building. The evaluation was carried out in two stages: original design proposal in 2005, and the final design in 2013. The background/context for the study, and the daylight injury evaluations carried out at both stages are described. The potential implications of this unique study for planning guidelines are discussed.