Sunlight is Nice, But . . . . (08-27-10)

Na Wang’s exquisitely thorough and thoughtful dissertation research investigates our emotional, attitudinal, and cognitive responses to sunlight, window views, privacy, and control.  Her findings have important repercussions for workplace design.

Wang defined “privacy as the level of visual isolation from the environment” and “control as the ability to regulate exposure to the surroundings.”  Data were collected in a 20 ft by 16 foot room on the second floor of a University of Illinois building in Urbana-Champaign, IL:  “The experimental room had an outdoor view of natural landscape.  The room had a floor-to-ceiling window facing east.  A full-height window blind enabled us to fully control the sunlight penetration at a level of 20-25%, which is the percentage of the floor area that received direct sunlight. . . The walls and ceilings were off-white and the reflectance was about 80%.”

In general, study participants preferred a work desk that was “close to or within the sun patch” although only 19% chose to sit directly in the sun. Sunlight was not the only factor influencing preferred work desk placement: “Subjects also tried to face the doorway . . . viewing the entire room is not less important than having access to the outdoor view . . .  . A sense of control in a room appears to be more important than outdoor view, if a subject cannot have both.” 

The work spaces that were preferred were not necessarily those in which study participants performed best.  They did better on cognitive tasks when they worked in areas with higher levels of control.  In those spaces “subjects could view the door way and the entire room.”  Performance was also higher in spaces with more privacy.  Wang and Boubekri found that  “Subjects preferred to sit in a sunlit spot with abundant outdoor views . . . but neither their cognitive performance nor their mood were enhanced there.  A corner spot at the back of the room . . . turned out to be an optimal seat for the tasks given to the subjects, but only a few individuals chose to place their work desk there.”

This research demonstrates how important it is for workplace designers to consider the full range of psychological and physiological experiences that workers will ultimately have in the spaces they develop.  The findings about sunlight, privacy, and control can be applied to create desirable spaces where people work well, even though considering these factors simultaneously does complicate the planning process.

N. Wang and M. Boubekri.  “Design Recommendations Based on Cognitive, Mood, and Preference Assessments in a Sunlit Workspace.”  Lighting Research and Technology, in press.