Speaker
Description
According to the works of W.R. Ott, we are an ‘indoor species’, spending on an average, 87% of our time in closed environments. Our long interaction with indoor surroundings, creates the need for such spaces to be sustainable, bringing factors affecting user behaviour and consequent usage patterns under the microscope. This is an empirical study investigating if reflected light carries a component of colour taken from pigmented surfaces and if this colour of reflected light has any influence on usability of a space and its user pattern. The study is conducted in domestic interior environments of a student housing in Stockholm under artificial light conditions that were static and constant. The period of study was limited to weekends to observe the user behaviour in conditions of free will. It is a comparative analysis between two dining spaces having identical architectural and lighting attributes, with colour of walls as the only change in the two study sets. There were two separate user groups of similar age groups, similar needs and similar time schedule. The study includes four stages of observation and data gathering by adopting qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The effects of colour on the perception of space and light and hence usability of the two spaces cannot be negated completely, even if more study is needed to prove the same. The results can be used to question the photometric instruments in their inability to detect such aspects of reflected light. This also helps to underline the need for involvement of a qualified lighting designer in the making of spaces from the beginning till the end for interpreting the effects of the interactions between light and pigmented surfaces. The findings may be considered a stimulus for developing a set of standards for colour and coloured reflected light in a given environment as a measurable parameter of light for sustained usage of indoor environments.
