Aesthetic perception of a small office with different daylighting systems

Abstract

The quality of a lit environment cannot be deduced solely from the quantity of light. Therefore, daylighting studies should not only be focused on the usage of lighting metrics but should also consider the aesthetic experience. This paper examines the influence of daylighting systems on the aesthetic perception of a small office. One single side lit office was equipped with four different daylighting systems (white blinds, high-reflecting blinds, hybrid light shelf and mirror light shelf) under two sky conditions (clear sky and overcast sky). In total, eight stimuli were captured and presented via stereoscopic images. Fifty participants evaluated the images using the semantic differential scale to rate nine architectural quality attributes. The results from MANOVA indicated that both the daylighting systems and the type of sky had an effect on the aesthetic attributes, and that the significant interaction effect suggested that the aesthetic perception of a daylighting system depends on the type of sky. Subsequent statistical findings showed that the high-reflecting blinds comprised the daylighting system that scored highest in nearly all attributes under both clear and overcast sky conditions.