Access to Daylight and Views Improves Physical and Emotional Wellbeing of Office Workers: A Crossover Study
While buildings are designed with expansive windows to allow for abundant daylight and views, in practice, they are frequently occluded to control for heat and glare. Electrochromic glass windows are a solution designed to maximize occupant access to daylight and views throughout the day, and previo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sustainable Cities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2021.690055/full |
| _version_ | 1819136775800487936 |
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| author | May Woo Piers MacNaughton Piers MacNaughton Jaewook Lee Brandon Tinianov Usha Satish Mohamed Boubekri |
| author_facet | May Woo Piers MacNaughton Piers MacNaughton Jaewook Lee Brandon Tinianov Usha Satish Mohamed Boubekri |
| author_sort | May Woo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While buildings are designed with expansive windows to allow for abundant daylight and views, in practice, they are frequently occluded to control for heat and glare. Electrochromic glass windows are a solution designed to maximize occupant access to daylight and views throughout the day, and previous research has demonstrated the benefits they can impart on sleep and cognition. We extend this research to quantify its impacts on the perceived physical and emotional wellbeing of occupants in an office environment. 30 office workers spent 5 days working in each of two West-facing offices that were identical with the exception of the window treatment: one with dynamic electrochromic windows and the other with functionally standard windows partially occluded by a fixed roller shade. When working in the office with electrochromic glass, participants were 8-fold more likely of report satisfaction with daylight conditions and 6.5-fold more likely to report satisfaction with views of the outside, were 48% less likely to report eyestrain, perceived a significant benefit to positive affect and were 77% less likely to report feeling depressed. This study adds to the growing body of research demonstrating the importance of daylighting strategies in designing spaces that support the physical and mental health of occupants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T10:40:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a9e6622603774c159ed23b246703ef36 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-9634 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T10:40:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sustainable Cities |
| spelling | doaj.art-a9e6622603774c159ed23b246703ef362022-12-21T18:29:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Cities2624-96342021-09-01310.3389/frsc.2021.690055690055Access to Daylight and Views Improves Physical and Emotional Wellbeing of Office Workers: A Crossover StudyMay Woo0Piers MacNaughton1Piers MacNaughton2Jaewook Lee3Brandon Tinianov4Usha Satish5Mohamed Boubekri6View Inc., Milpitas, CA, United StatesView Inc., Milpitas, CA, United StatesDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United StatesSchool of Architecture, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United StatesView Inc., Milpitas, CA, United StatesPsychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United StatesSchool of Architecture, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United StatesWhile buildings are designed with expansive windows to allow for abundant daylight and views, in practice, they are frequently occluded to control for heat and glare. Electrochromic glass windows are a solution designed to maximize occupant access to daylight and views throughout the day, and previous research has demonstrated the benefits they can impart on sleep and cognition. We extend this research to quantify its impacts on the perceived physical and emotional wellbeing of occupants in an office environment. 30 office workers spent 5 days working in each of two West-facing offices that were identical with the exception of the window treatment: one with dynamic electrochromic windows and the other with functionally standard windows partially occluded by a fixed roller shade. When working in the office with electrochromic glass, participants were 8-fold more likely of report satisfaction with daylight conditions and 6.5-fold more likely to report satisfaction with views of the outside, were 48% less likely to report eyestrain, perceived a significant benefit to positive affect and were 77% less likely to report feeling depressed. This study adds to the growing body of research demonstrating the importance of daylighting strategies in designing spaces that support the physical and mental health of occupants.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2021.690055/fulldaylightviewselectrochromic glassblindseyestrainhealth |
| spellingShingle | May Woo Piers MacNaughton Piers MacNaughton Jaewook Lee Brandon Tinianov Usha Satish Mohamed Boubekri Access to Daylight and Views Improves Physical and Emotional Wellbeing of Office Workers: A Crossover Study Frontiers in Sustainable Cities daylight views electrochromic glass blinds eyestrain health |
| title | Access to Daylight and Views Improves Physical and Emotional Wellbeing of Office Workers: A Crossover Study |
| title_full | Access to Daylight and Views Improves Physical and Emotional Wellbeing of Office Workers: A Crossover Study |
| title_fullStr | Access to Daylight and Views Improves Physical and Emotional Wellbeing of Office Workers: A Crossover Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Access to Daylight and Views Improves Physical and Emotional Wellbeing of Office Workers: A Crossover Study |
| title_short | Access to Daylight and Views Improves Physical and Emotional Wellbeing of Office Workers: A Crossover Study |
| title_sort | access to daylight and views improves physical and emotional wellbeing of office workers a crossover study |
| topic | daylight views electrochromic glass blinds eyestrain health |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2021.690055/full |
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