Another catch is heat management in summer (and much of spring and autumn). The problem gets dramatically worse closer to the equator, of course.
I love the natural light of a glass structure, but with the abundance of high-quality LED light (for a price, naturally) and ways of channeling natural light I wonder how modern architects would reimagine more traditional closed-in highrises.
Possibly, but I have not noticed temperature to be an issue in modern buildings anywhere in the United States, so it seems at least for this climate band to be a known quantity and handily managed.
It is handled with climate control, at great energy cost. It's all fine for the person in the office, less so where fossil fuel is burned to generate electricity.
>I wonder how modern architects would reimagine more traditional closed-in highrises.
They normally set the glass a bit away from the exterior. For a good example see 4-seasons hotel Doha.
LED lighting in any modern air-conditioned building is a must, also from the POV of electrical equipment, transformers cabling etc.
It's funny how we're going back to centuries-old architectural practices. In the before times we didn't have climate control. In the middle times we had climate control and didn't have to worry about the energy usage. And now we have to return to natural ways of controlling temperatures so we don't spend too much energy on heating and cooling.
But my curiosity is directed at even more extreme examples. How bright and livable could one make a big box with almost no windows these days, if one really tried? (As I'm typing this out the counter-question is of course: why bother?)
I love the natural light of a glass structure, but with the abundance of high-quality LED light (for a price, naturally) and ways of channeling natural light I wonder how modern architects would reimagine more traditional closed-in highrises.