Tolerance to urban window views with various design features

Kristl, Živa (author), Fošner, Ajda (author), Zbašnik-Senegačnik, Martina (author)

Urbanisation and densification of the built environment is an important feature of the future sustainable environment, which importantly influences the window view quality. This survey addresses a research gap on unfavourable reactions to window views in dense urban environments, where the distance between buildings enables only the view of the neighbouring façade, and also the question of which architectural visual elements specifically trigger them. The typical variables of the studied window views are the various degrees of maintenance, compositional quality, surface quality, activity dynamics, and complexity. The quantitative data, such as general reactions of the observers to window views, the reasons for the reactions, and the assessment of specific features, were collected by means of a close-ended questionnaire. The targeted population was predominantly the work-active population, the population performing sedentary/office work for at least part of the working day. The analyses of the results are predominantly performed using descriptive statistics and encompass overall reactions to similar window views and correlations between gender, age, and window view preferences. An important finding is that gender and the way the respondents spend their workday do not significantly affect the response to the motifs of the window view. The research further shows that it is very difficult to incite and retain enough visual interest to specific window views with standard architectural approaches and subdued architectural design.

• Language: English
• Keywords: daylight, window view, urban density, descriptive statistics
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FA - Faculty of Architecture
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 17 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 15, iss. 6, 914
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-167916
• UDC: 711.64:159.937.522
• ISSN on article: 2075-5309
• DOI: 10.3390/buildings15060914
• COBISS.SI-ID: 229430531
• Publication date in RUL: 20.03.2025

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: dnevna svetloba, pogled skozi okno, urbano zgoščevanje, deskriptivna statistika

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: J7-4599-2022
• Name: K ZDRAVJU NARAVNANO VEDENJE KOT KREATOR TRAJNOSTNEGA RAZVOJA GRAJENEGA OKOLJA

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P5-0068-2018
• Name: Trajnostno oblikovanje kvalitetnega bivalnega okolja