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Background
Different indoor daylighting environments seem to have a
strong impact on people in different ways. These effects of
daylight on humans seem to be divided in two fields: the
non-visual and the visual effects. For the non-visual effects,
considerable amount of research has found that daylight plays
a critical role over human physiological and psychological
state. One example of this is the discovery that photoreceptive
retinal ganglion cells influence circadian rhythms to light and
dark patterns (Lockley
et al.
, 2003, Brainard and Hanifin, 2005),
which has direct influence in the human health and well-being
(Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage, 2004). These find-
ings have not only interested the medical and psychological
research communities, but different disciplines have begun to
study further daylight importance in human daily activities and
try to develop methods to apply the findings.
The visual effects of daylight are another, equally important
field of research. Research proves the general preference for
windows and daylight (Farley and Veitch, 2001); where aesthetic
judgements, by the appraisal of a space appearance, are visual
effects that can also influence human comfort or discomfort
(Aries
et al
., 2010). Butler and Biner (1990) made a preliminary
study where skylights were desirable to increase the feel-
ings of spaciousness of a room. Stamps and Krishnan (2006)
found that rougher boundaries created by windows contribute
to judge spaciousness, and at the same time, recognize the
spaciousness as a desirable characteristic of an indoor envi-
ronment. Veitch (2011) discusses that some might consider the
aesthetic preferences as a not necessary criteria to consider
when discussing shelter, but that inhabiting a place that is
appraised as more attractive may be considered a psychologi-
cal good in itself. Considering this, it could be argued that
the indoor appearance can benefit both human physical and
psychological state.
In order to appraise an indoor environment, one of the most
important senses to use is sight. Our visual perception seems
to have a larger capacity of recognition and information pro-
cessing than any other of our senses. Having in consideration
the visual effects of daylight, it can be sensible to think in
terms of the daylight influence on the visual totality of a room.
Through different research studies, Hårleman (2007) ad-
dresses the significant impact of different daylight qualities on
the perceived colour experience in interiors. Colour becomes
then, an indispensable aspect of the spatial experience and its
relation with daylight should be studied deeper. Nonetheless,
the interaction of daylight and colour receives scant attention in
architectural research.
Fridell Anter and Klarén (2010) state that studies of the interac-
tion of light and colour can encounter problems due the lack
of a common terminology, theory and methods. Usually light is
seen as an individual field of research than colour, and studies
made for each field focus on different aspects and separate re-
search methods. This is true irrespective of light source, which
is for daylight as well as for artificial light.
Considering the visual aspect of both daylight and colour, how
does daylight and colour interact in an indoor environment?
And most importantly, how does this interaction have an impact
on the perceived quality of a room? In order to study the visual
effects of both daylight and colour on an indoor environment a
common understanding and method seems to be needed.
The Problematic of Studying Daylight and Colour
in Architecture
Daylight and lighting research have their own dynamics to
study. To conduct experiments in real environments can carry
possibilities of control problems. Pellegrino (1999) for example,
had troubles in setting up different lighting systems and the
experimental hours had to be carried out until daylight could
be excluded from his settings. To keep the - hopefully - stable
inside experimental conditions, the variable outside conditions
must be controlled. This is, obviously, a great challenge even
for the most experienced researcher.
The perceived colour in architectural spaces is influenced by
a number of factors. Fridell Anter (2000) discusses three dif-
ferent types of factors that influence the perceived colour of
facades. However, these factors could also be determinant in
indoor spaces. The three elements in discussion are: (i) the
qualities of the reflecting coloured surface, where the seen
colour depends on the type of surface material which holds the
colour; (ii) the viewing conditions, including the intertwined ele-
ments of illumination such as intensity, composition and angle
influence also the perceived colour; and (iii) the observer’s
references, attitudes and intentions. How we perceive colour
is then highly influenced by several factors in which a world of
questions could arise. For example, when considering the view-
ing conditions and noticing that the light intensity, composition
and angle affect the human perception of colour, it is clear that
the variable daylight conditions can produce instability of the
perceived colour surface. This exemplifies that daylight and co-
lour should not be considered separately, but on the contrary, a
shared study of these two fields can provide a clearer picture of
their interaction and impact on an interior space.
The trans-disciplinary project SYN-TES (Fridell Anter and
Klarén, 2010), investigated via the subproject OPTIMA (Fridell