Windows let in daylight and offer a view of the outside world. How do these two properties affect the experience of indoor spaces? For her doctoral project "Daylight and View", Hester Hellinga has developed a method for the analysis of the quality of incident daylight and the view out through windows.
According to Hester Hellinga: “To improve the visual quality of indoor spaces, we must first understand the influence of daylight and view on the ways in which people experience an indoor space. In my research, I conducted a literature survey and distributed a questionnaire in eight office buildings."
The literature indicated that many different variables play a role in how observation and experience are affected by daylight and view. The results of the questionnaire study provide new insight into the relationship between these variables.
The D&V (Daylight and View) method was developed based on the research results. This method combines several existing methods for daylight analysis with a new method for the evaluating the quality of view. Designers could use the method to optimise the design of daylight openings during various building-design phases.