Forskning
Kathrine Næss is Associate Professor at the Institute of Architecture at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO). Her teaching and research focus on the relationship between daylight and structure, with particular emphasis on housing at high latitudes.
Her work investigates how spatial proportions, geometry, structural systems and the placement of openings shape interior daylight conditions, and how these relationships influence housing quality, health and everyday life. Through design-based research, field studies and interdisciplinary collaboration, she explores daylight as a fundamental architectural resource.
Næss leads the research group Daylight and Structure (DA/S), which brings together architects, engineers and researchers to study the relationship between daylight, structure, landscape and the built environment. The group’s work combines architectural history, housing studies and environmental performance, with a particular interest in how architecture can contribute to healthier and more sustainable living environments.
Research and teaching are closely integrated through collaborations with engineers and researchers working across daylight, structural design and the built environment. This includes long-term cooperation with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and a Nordic–Baltic network of researchers.
She is course leader of the elective course Daylight on Northern Latitudes and is course responsible for the master’s studio Daylight & Structure. The studio is based on research-led teaching and integrates architectural design with perspectives from structural engineering and indoor environmental design, with a particular focus on the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of daylight in architecture. It forms part of an international collaboration with Studio Boltshauser at ETH Zürich and the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn, initiated by the Louis I. Kahn Estonia Foundation.