Short-term occupancy implications of digitally provided outside views in window-less rooms

Abstract

This paper investigates the perception and performance of occupants in rooms with and without visual connection to outside. Thereby, experiments were conducted with two groups of participants in a laboratory containing two test cells. One of the cells is equipped with a flat panel display, which acts as a virtual window. The other cell has no such display. Participants in the experimental group were exposed, via the virtual window, to different scenes. The control group in the window-less room was not exposed to such treatment. During the experiments, participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding indoor environment. Additionally, they were asked to perform a number of typical problem-solving tasks. The discussion of the experimental results addresses the question, if and to which extent the existence of a virtual connection to the outside world in window-less spaces can improve occupants' perception and performance.