Daylight is essential for enhancing visual comfort but poses risks to museum artefacts due to heat, UV radiation, and light fluctuations. Careful management of daylight penetration in museums may involve blocking or directing openings, which could mean that the displays’ illumination must either entirely or partially rely on electrical lighting. Implementing such architectural changes in heritage buildings for museums requires more careful consideration and balancing architectural integrity with improving lighting conditions. An assessment of the lighting design of the Ataturk Museum, housed in a historic building in Izmir, Turkey, originally a mansion built in 1875, is presented in this study. The primary objective is to analyse the architectural lighting design, focusing on visual quality and artefact conservation, particularly Ataturk’s personal belongings. This study attempts to report and assess electrical and daylight usage, provides suggestions for demanding display areas from a visitor’s perspective through on-site evaluations, and aims to record this culturally and architecturally significant building for future researchers. 1. Kim, C.S., Chung, S.J. Daylighting simulation as an architectural design process in museums installed with top-lights // Building and Environment, 2011, Vol. 46, # 1, pp. 210–222; DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2010.07.015.
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• Izmir Ataturk Museum
• heritage building
• museum lighting
• electrical lighting
• daylighting