Sergio Altomonte

Discomfort glare and time of day

There are strong reasons to suspect that glare sensation varies with the time of day. This study was designed to test whether such a relationship exists. Thirty subjects were exposed to an artificial light source four times of the day. The source luminance was progressively increased and subjects were required to give glare sensation votes corresponding to the level of visual discomfort experienced. Glare indices were calculated for every reported glare sensation vote, and the results were statistically analysed. The findings indicated a tendency towards greater tolerance to luminance increases in artificial lighting as the day progresses. This trend was found not to be statistically related to the possible confounding variable of learning, providing evidence of an effect of time of day on glare sensation.

Temporal variables and personal factors in glare sensation

Previous laboratory experiments have provided evidence of an effect of time of day on glare sensation. During the tests, temporal variables and personal factors were also measured to analyse their influence on levels of visual discomfort as the day progresses. The results revealed statistically significant and practically relevant tendencies towards greater tolerance to source luminance from artificial lighting at all times of day for earlier chronotypes and for participants not having ingested caffeine. No conclusive evidence was found for the effect of fatigue, sky condition and prior light exposure on glare sensation throughout the day. These findings suggest that temporal variables and personal factors should be measured in conjunction with visual discomfort levels to explore the causes of the wide individual differences commonly associated with the subjective evaluation of glare sensation.

Indoor environmental quality and occupant satisfaction in green-certified buildings

ABSTRACT Green-building certification systems aim at improving the design and operation of buildings. However, few detailed studies have investigated whether a green rating leads to higher occupant satisfaction with indoor environmental quality (IEQ). This research builds on previous work to address this. Based on the analysis of a subset of the Center for the Built Environment Occupant Indoor Environmental Quality survey database featuring 11,243 responses from 93 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-rated office buildings, this study explores the relationships between the points earned in the IEQ category and the satisfaction expressed by occupants with the qualities of their indoor environment. It was found that the achievement of a specific IEQ credit did not substantively increase satisfaction with the corresponding IEQ factor, while the rating level, and the product and version under which certification had been awarded, did not affect workplace satisfaction. There could be several reasons for this, some of which are outside the control of designers and beyond the scope of rating systems based primarily on design intent. The challenges and priorities facing building professionals, researchers and green building certification systems are discussed for the creation of more comfortable, higher performing and healthier green-rated buildings.

Discomfort glare evaluation: The influence of anchor bias in luminance adjustments

Luminance adjustment is a procedure commonly used to evaluate discomfort glare and the results from adjustment experiments form the basis of some recommendations for limiting its occurrence. There are, however, strong reasons to expect that settings made using adjustment are unintentionally influenced by extraneous variables. This paper discusses bias towards the initial anchor, the setting of the variable stimulus immediately before an adjustment is made. Specifically, the initial luminance is expected to influence the setting that is made by adjustment; for example, a lower initial luminance leads to a lower setting than a high initial luminance. To investigate anchor bias, a Hopkinson-like multiple-criterion adjustment experiment was undertaken, but with three different anchors. The results confirmed significant bias: glare settings were biased towards the luminance of the initial anchor. This demonstrates a need for caution when using adjustment to explore discomfort glare and when interpreting the results of past studies that used discomfort glare models fitted to data obtained with this procedure.

Satisfaction with indoor environmental quality in BREEAM and non-BREEAM certified office buildings

ABSTRACT This paper presents preliminary analysis of occupant satisfaction with indoor environmental quality in BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) and non-BREEAM certified offices in the UK. Results from cross-sectional questionnaires (N = 121) showed that BREEAM certification per se did not seem to substantively influence building and workspace satisfaction. Conversely, occupants of BREEAM offices tended to be less satisfied with air quality and visual privacy than users of non-BREEAM buildings. Lower satisfaction was also detected in BREEAM offices for occupants having spent over 24 months in their building, and for users working in open-plan spaces. To interpret these findings, a methodology for data analysis was adopted whereas responses to point-in-time surveys (N = 82) were paired with environmental measurements. Broadening the perspective for appraising occupants’ perceptions, these combined techniques led to conclude that certification schemes should balance criteria addressing energy performance with design solutions considerate of issues of privacy, proxemics and perceived control over the qualities of the indoor environment.

Interactive and situated learning in education for sustainability

Purpose This study aims to explore the opportunities offered by interactive and situated learning (e-learning and m-learning) in support of education for sustainability in disciplines of the built environment. Design/methodology/approach The paper illustrates the development of an online portal and a mobile app aimed at promoting students’ motivation and engagement with sustainability in design, and discusses the outcomes of their testing, investigating users’ acceptance, comparing academic results and analysing feedback. Findings The findings add empirical evidence to the view that information and communication technology-enhanced pedagogies can substantially contribute to the agenda of sustainability in higher education, primarily due to their affordance of interactive communication and contextualisation of knowledge, while guaranteeing flexible time and pace of learning. Research limitations/implications The study solely focused on the development and testing of e-learning and m-learning tools to foster students’ competence of sustainability in design studio work. The tools trialled were mostly at their prototypical stage and their testing included a relatively short-term evaluation and a narrow, self-selected, user base. However, the approach and findings are felt to be applicable to a much wider range of educational contexts. Originality/value Interactive and situated pedagogical methods and tools have the potential to prompt a departure from transmissive educational models, encompassing at once theoretical, experiential and analytic learning processes. This is of value to education for sustainability in disciplines of the built environment due to the requirement to holistically consolidate multi-/inter-/trans-disciplinary knowledge into a coherent design whole.

Enhancing teaching and learning of sustainable design through ICTs

The promotion of sustainability in the design of the built environment is an essential factor for addressing current challenges in response to resource availability, energy production, ecological deterioration and climate change. A new pedagogical methodology for the teaching and learning of sustainable design in the architectural curriculum has to be developed in order to overcome educational barriers and act as a communication platform that facilitates the effective transfer of knowledge between sustainability-related building sciences and creative design. Amongst existing opportunities, a way to promote cultural understanding, self-reflection and deep learning - whilst combining theoretical knowledge, empirical skills and analytical tools - can be given by new advanced educational techniques derived from Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The aim of this paper is to critically analyze the hindrances to the successful integration of sustainable design in the pedagogy and practice of architecture and promote the use of e-learning methodologies and tools in the effort to enhance the educational provision of students and professionals of the built environment.

An experimental study on the effect of visual tasks on discomfort due to peripheral glare

ABSTRACT This article concerns discomfort due to sources of glare in the peripheral visual field. A visual task is needed to maintain foveal fixation at a known location, and in past studies the tasks have ranged from a simple fixation mark to a task requiring greater cognitive attention such as reading. It was hypothesized that these different approaches to control visual attention would influence the evaluation of discomfort. This article reports an experiment that compared evaluations of discomfort when using the two visual tasks, a simple circle and a pseudo-text reading task, and two procedures, category rating and luminance adjustment. The results from both procedures confirmed the hypothesis: a lower degree of discomfort was expressed in the pseudo-text trials than in trials with the circular fixation mark.

Indoor Environmental Quality: Lighting and Acoustics

Buildings are characterized by a mixture of environmental factors—(hygro)thermal, olfactory, luminous, and acoustic—that are commonly encapsulated under the banner of indoor environmental qualities (IEQ). Although a substantial amount of research has been done on the effects of IEQ on comfort and satisfaction of building users, the complex physical, physiological, and psychological processes underlying human responses to environmental stimuli are yet to be fully characterized. Among environmental forces, light and sound contribute significantly, individually and combined, towards the regulation of physio-psychological well-being, being most influential to perception and behavior. This article presents the current state-of-the-art of knowledge in lighting and acoustics, describing the challenges that need to be tackled for a more comprehensive understanding of the influence of the luminous and aural environments on the comfort, performance, and health of building users.