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Daylight and Seating Preference in Open-Plan Spaces
Zeynep Keskin
PhD student
Lighting Research Group
School of Architecture
University of Sheffield
Supervisor: Prof. Steve Fotios
Daylight and Behaviour
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BACKGROUND
Past research suggests that daylight affects seating location.
However, whilst they have reported a tendency to sit near windows, they did not
provide a quantified measure of seat use and daylight.
STUDY METHOD OUTCOME: DID DAYLIGHT AFFECT
OCCUPANT BEHAVIOUR?
Wang &
Boubekri
(2009)
Occupants’ seat choice in a south-facing
student union lounge
Observation period: 1pm-4pm on three
consecutive afternoons during mid-April
YES: Participants preferred seats in
sunlight
Away from sunny area, they preferred
seats in more open spaces
Christoffersen
et al. (2000)
A survey was carried out in 20 Danish
office buildings during the spring and
autumn of 1997
YES: Participants preferred seats in the
window zone
The degree of satisfaction increased
with increasing daylight factor
Organ & Jantti
(1997)
Occupants’ seat choice in a daylit library
building
Observation period: 10am,1pm,3.30pm
from 20 June to 30 October 1996
YES: It was observed that the most
popular areas were quiet, well lit and
adjacent to windows.
This project is investigating a link between daylight quantity and seating preference.
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MEASURES OF DAYLIGHT
We can measure the
illuminance (Eh
) from
daylight at a point.
Daylight illuminance (Eh
) varies as
outside illuminance (Eout) varies with
time of day, year and cloud cover.
Therefore, illuminance is not a
suitable measure.
Daylight Factor (DF)
A measure of internal daylight
versus external daylight.
DF = Eh
/Eout (%)
Daylight Autonomy (DA)
The percentage of working year
when Eh
is above a minimum
threshold (typically 300 lux), and
thus provides sufficient light for
working.
Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI)
The percentage of working year when
Eh
is above a minimum threshold
(typically 100 lux) but below an upper
limit of 3000 lux – the risk of glare
when blinds may be closed.
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RESEARCH PROJECT
Research question:
Does a significant relationship exist between occupant's seating preference
and daylight availability?
Can this be predicted with current daylight performance metrics such as
daylight factor, useful daylight illuminance or daylight autonomy?