The view provided by windows appears to be one of the most important features of daylighting. Even a view of only the sky or the building across the road is seen as more beneficial than not having any window to see out of at all. At the other end of the scale, a good view (for example a view out over the harbour in Wellington) is seized upon by real estate agents and can fetch large sums of money, significantly increasing the rent of office space. It is obvious that people like to have a view. However, whether it improves visual comfort is undecided. A beautiful painting on the wall is nice, but would it improve visual comfort to the same degree? Therefore, would a magnificent view, without the associated benefits of daylight – just the view alone – improve visual comfort?

Elements of View

The limited quantity of research regarding view that was found focussed mainly on how to optimise the view available, simply assuming that people wanted the best view possible.

Bell and Burt use the British Standard Daylight Code to define the three layers a view consists of:

Upper (distant): the sky down to the natural or human-made skyline
Middle: natural or human-made objects such as fields, trees, hills or buildings
Lower (close): the foreground (for example: plants and paving)

The lower layer is where people’s gaze is often drawn; it contains movement – people and vehicles etc. It also provides visual cues about the distance and hence the scale of objects in the middle layer.

The best views contain a lot of information, thus it is preferred if a part of each layer can be seen. The layers are stacked vertically, thus if the area of glazing is restricted it is generally better to have a tall, skinny window than a short, wide window to get as much information content from the view as possible.

Possible Assessment Procedure

Most people would agree that a panoramic view of a lake with a cityscape in the foreground is a better view than a rolling vista of pedestrians’ feet out a basement window. However, how can one judge whether a view out over the beach and ocean is better than a view of a mountain range? It appears to be very much a personal response and will vary greatly between individuals.

The view can be assessed in two ways. Firstly, the size of the window has a large impact on how people perceive the quality of view – generally the bigger the window, the better the view. Bell and Burt again refer to the British Standard to determine whether there is a minimum window area, below which people feel cheated out of a view. The following table summarises the window area recommended from the Standard.

Minimum Glazed Area for View (when windows are restricted to one wall)
Maximum Depth of Room
(distance from window wall) Minimum Glazed Area of Window Wall
(as seen from inside)
< 8m 20%
8 – 11m 25%
11 – 14m 30%
> 14m 35%

Secondly, the information content of the view can be relatively easily assessed. Does the window allow a view of each layer discussed above? Furthermore, how much of the view is lost with distance away from the window – ie: how many of the layers can the person sitting at the back work station see? It is also important to note that views without any skyline should be avoided.

The International Energy Agency has also provided a list of rankings, which will assist in the assessment of the quality of the view:
Best - completely unmitigated, undistorted view
- partial view (eg upper daylighting aperture with lower view window)
- occasional view (user can operate the system to obtain a clear unobstructed clear view)
Worst - no view

The combination of these three assessment methods / guides will go some way in quantifying the quality of the view. To go beyond this level of assessment might be unwise as the personal opinions as to the quality of the view will likely vary so much that it would be impossible to achieve a definite assessment.

Future Research Needed

The initial question raised at the start of this section still remains unanswered – does a view improve visual comfort? No such research was found that we even attempted to answer this question. Even if it doesn’t improve visual comfort, it is clear that people still desire a view – so much so that they are often prepared to sacrifice visual comfort. There are numerous examples where office workers have positioned their workstations so they can gaze out the window, despite the inevitable problems with glare. It thus raises another question – how important is view and how much importance should be placed on it when assessing the daylight performance of a building?