Assessing the Visual Comfort, Visual Interest of Sunlight Patterns, and View Quality under Different Window Conditions in an Open-Plan Office

ABSTRACT

Sunlight is a multisensory phenomenon that can enhance occupant’s comfort, health, and connection to the outside environment through its dynamic luminous and thermal attributes. One gap in the existing literature on sunlight exposure is in addressing the visual interest of sunlight patterns and its potential effects on visual comfort. This study employed an experimental procedure where 33 office workers were subjected to three different window and sunlight patterns: fractal pattern, striped pattern, and clear at an office building over three days (one condition per day). Subjective ratings and physical environmental measurements were collected and analyzed to understand differences among the three conditions. Results showed no significant differences in visual comfort or visual interest of sunlight patterns among the three conditions. Desk layout influenced visual interest and view quality ratings. The fractal and striped patterns negatively influenced view quality compared to the clear condition. These results suggest that the shape of window and sunlight patterns might have limited to no impact on visual comfort and interest in offices when workers are preoccupied performing typical office work.

KEYWORDS:

• Daylighting
• sunlight in buildings
• visual interest
• visual comfort
• sunlight patterns

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers, the editor, and Bob Davis for their insightful comments, which greatly helped improve the manuscript. We also acknowledge the help of the building manager and assistants who helped coordinate the study, Cooper Boydston for generating the fractal patterns, and study participants. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is also thanked for supporting time spent on revisions.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study did not receive specific funding; however, several sources supported the first author’s doctoral dissertation (which this study was part of) including the Richard Kelly Grant, the School of Architecture and Allied Arts Dissertation Fellowship at the University of Oregon, and the Department of Architecture travel scholarship.