Appraisal of the Visual Environment in an Industrial Factory: a Case Study in Subtropical Climates

The physiological and psychological benefits of daylighting for office occupants have been well explored. Current research usually focuses on visual comfort in office buildings. However, there is limited knowledge about daylight quality in industrial work environments. In Australia, most industrial buildings are built from standard factory structures that employ daylight from skylights and large door openings, with little consideration to daylighting design strategies and visual comfort. In bright sky conditions as those present in Australia, large openings can become a source of visual discomfort. It is important to understand how workers perceive the luminous environment in this type of work setting. This research explored the perception of daylighting in an industrial work environment. Qualitative measures (questionnaires, interviews, and observational mapping) and quantitative measures (physical data) were collected over a four week period to examine the type of visual comfort perceived by industrial workers. The results suggests that the desirability to have windows and to have access to a view were important features in this work setting. Access for task lighting and reports of uneven daylighting were indicative to the varying levels of illuminance under intermediate sky conditions. This was reflected in the daylight glare index results and comparisons to the background luminance and glare source luminance, indicating that adaptation may be the cause of responses to daylighting being uneven. The results suggests a need for further research into the quality of the luminous environment in industrial work settings.