Editing Daylighting (architecture) (section)

===Translucent walls===
[[File:Glass block wall on the campus of the University of Texas-El Paso LCCN2014631180.tif|thumb|Glass brick wall, outdoors]]
[[File:House of Arts in Gödöllő. Glass bricks.JPG|thumb|Glass brick wall, indoors]]
[[File:Interior Jacobsen House Bathroom Earthship 2009.JPG|thumb|Bottle wall]]
Walls made of [[glass brick]] are translucent-to-transparent. Traditionally they are hollow and [[grout]]ed with a fine concrete grout, but some modern glass brick walls are solid cast glass<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archpaper.com/2016/04/mvrdv-integrates-terra-cotta-brick-and-glass-for-a-facade-in-amsterdam/|title=MVRDV integrates terra-cotta brick and glass for a facade in Amsterdam |website=archpaper.com |access-date=2017-11-06|date=2016-04-21}}</ref> grouted with a transparent glue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dezeen.com/2016/04/20/crystal-houses-amsterdam-chanel-store-mvrdv-glass-facade-technology/|title=MVRDV replaces traditional facade with glass bricks that are stronger than concrete|date=2016-04-20|work=Dezeen|access-date=2017-11-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://inhabitat.com/glass-bricks-stronger-than-concrete-clad-chanels-crystal-houses/|title=Glass bricks "stronger than concrete" clad Amsterdam's Crystal Houses|access-date=2017-11-06 }}</ref> If the glue matches the [[refractive index]] of the glass, the wall can be fairly transparent.

Increasing the amount of concrete, bottle walls embed bottles that run right through the wall, transmitting light. Concrete walls with glass prisms running through them have also been made. With the advent of cheaper [[optical fiber]]s and [[translucent concrete|fiber-optic concrete]] walls, daylight (and shadow images) can then pass directly through a solid concrete wall, making it translucent; fiber optics will lead light around bends and over tens of meters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tfod.in/art-design-articles/22/see-through-concrete-litracon|title=See-through concrete: LiTracon|date=14 November 2014|website=The Future of Design}}</ref> Typically only a few percent of the light is transmitted (the percent transmittance is about half the percent of the surface that is fibers, and usually only ~5% fibers are used).<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-1013/ijsrp-p2283.pdf|journal= International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications|volume=3|date=October 2013|issn=2250-3153|title=TRANSLUCENT CONCRETE|author1=SOUMYAJIT PAUL|author2=AVIK DUTTA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sinberbest.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Anilodic%2BDaylight%2BConcentrator%2Bof%2BStructural%2BTranslucent%2BConcrete%2BEnvelope_%2BBaofeng%2BHuang.pdf|title=Anidolic Daylight Concentrator of Structural Translucent Concrete Envelope|website=Sinberbest.berkeley.edu|access-date=4 August 2018}}</ref>

Both glass and concrete conduct heat fairly well, when solid, so none of these walls [[insulation value|insulate well]]. They are therefore often used outdoors, as a divider between two heated spaces (see images), or in very [[temperate climates]].

[[Greenhouse]] walls (and roofs) are made to transmit as much light and as little heat as possible. They use a variety of materials, and may be transparent or translucent.