A comparison of the performance of dome in Timche Amin al-Dawla and Reichstag building in terms of lighting of public spaces

In today's world, with the emergence of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, advanced devices came to help architects to improve the quality of spaces by using renewable energy. In heliostats, the mirrored cone works as a lighthouse, but in reverse. It works by reflecting daylight from a ۳۶۰° horizon, thus allowing light to reach regions down in the chamber. The apparent similarity of glass dome of Reichstag building and its heliostat and domes in Iranian architecture which direct sunlight to illuminate the spaces under the dome, made us wonder and discover the details about whether these two have had any similarities or differences. In this research, we studied lighting in the Reichstag building using heliostat and Timcheh Amin al-Dawlas's domes as case studies, and then we compared them to investigate the presence or absence of similarities or differences. The methods used in this article are an analytical-descriptive method, the library method, and direct and indirect observation. Timcheh Amin al-Dawla is located in Kashan and the Reichstag building is located in Berlin. The results of this research show that these two buildings have used almost the same method to illuminate the space under the dome, however, their focus in terms of function is different. That is, The dome of Timch Amin al-Dawla is responsible for entering the light and the comfort of resident ,but the glass dome and the heliostat are more focused on saving energy.

Keywords:

Iranian Architecture , Heliostat , Public Spaces , Solar exposure.