Window Views: Difference of Perception during the COVID-19 Lockdown

ABSTRACT

The provision of daylight, fresh air, and of a view outdoors are among the known characteristics of windows. But how does the perception of a window differ when it becomes the primary way of connecting to the physical world outside? In the first half of 2020, many countries resorted to strict lockdown measures to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The impact of such confinement, and the restriction to movement and social contact between people, is currently undergoing intense research. As such, this study reports the findings of a global online survey, administered before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, aimed at identifying whether any significant difference related to the lockdown could be observed in the perception of windows. The results confirm a practically relevant increase in the importance given to windows as a way to provide an external view and a visual and social connection with other people. Conversely, the role of the window as a conveyor of information on weather and time of the day was less prevalent. This is one of the first studies evaluating the difference in the perception of windows within a period of enforced lockdown. The findings can help capture the psychological impacts of confinement on people and may be relevant when transferred to other domains where building occupants could strongly benefit from the restorative effects of window views.

KEYWORDS:

• Window
• views
• perception
• preference
• lockdown
• COVID-19

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Jens Christofferson for providing valuable documents during the initial design of survey and to SoSciSurvey.de for hosting Survey 2 during the COVID-19 lockdown, free of cost.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no financial interests to declare.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham Research Excellence PhD Scholarship, Scholarship Ref Number: [17226]. The Human Factors Research Group at the University of Nottingham provided the funding to host Survey 1.