Visual Comfort in Buildings: The Key to Focus and Concentration in Offices — Wellness Design Consultants

Most would agree that one of the most important aspects of workplace interior design is visual comfort, largely to do with the quantity and quality of light hitting the eye’s retina.

Get it right and a workplace wellness designer has the power to make office workers feel relaxed, focused and able to concentrate throughout the work day. Get it wrong on the other hand…

Visual comfort in office buildings is often about achieving a certain natural harmony within a particular space, combining considerations around material selection, glare, shadow and the colour of electric light within the indoor environment at different times of day.

But have you ever wondered how visual comfort in buildings can help people maintain****focus? In order to give you an accurate answer, let’s start with the

What does “visual comfort” in an office context mean? 

Visual comfort is best described as an individual’s reaction to the light inside a particular space, in this instance an office, or an area within an office such as a meeting room, open-plan desk area and so on.

Just as workplace design with a wellness focus takes into consideration both acoustic and thermal comfort as well, visual comfort in office buildings is a deal-breaker in today’s highly competitive office design scene, we simply know too much about how to get this right - there are no excuses!

So visual comfort can be a combination of both natural and artificial light, including views out onto the surrounding area, ideally not looking directly into an adjacent building and at least able to see some sky above. The luminous environment, including background luminance and luminance intensity of glare sources, plays a crucial role in influencing visual comfort and the perception of discomfort glare.

Glare control meanwhile is about managing the light coming into an office building from outside, ensuring it does not cause distractions for those working indoors, for example by hitting computer screens or bouncing off a reflective desk surface and distracting a worker from their task.

Interior designers are very cautious when it comes to this element of design, since it’s easy to exaggerate or lack in the level of the light. Different levels of lighting can evoke different vibes and experiences of space.

How does visual comfort in buildings affect our focus?

The impact that lighting inside one space has on people should not be neglected. Natural and artificial lighting have a great influence on how we feel, think, and react to things. It is proved that a good light quality, luminosity, views of outside space, and absence of glare have positive impacts on mood and productivity.

In order for people to be creative, motivated for work, and, most importantly, focused well inside a room, there has to be adequate light conditions. Many studies have shown that daylight can boost learning. Daylight illuminance is a key factor in evaluating the quality and sufficiency of light in a space.

It is because the certain parts of human eyes are connected to the parts of the brain that secrete sleep and alert hormones such as melatonin and cortisol. When the light enters human eyes, it engages a non-visual system which is responsible for cognitive performance of people and the timing of their sleep-wake cycles. Poor lighting conditions can lead to visual discomfort, affecting both physiological and psychological well-being.

The significance of the blue light 

Blue light has been shown to have stimulating effects on us as it is the light we experience naturally from the sun during the day, it is the colour of digital screens and LED lights, causing us to be more active and alert, so when a blue-white light is used in an office building, it is there to have a very specific effect. 

The problem comes however when that same light is used after dark and those working late are not able to adjust to a warmer amber tone that will not disrupt their sleep patterns later on.

The famous study in the elementary school in USA

The impact of appropriate lighting is shown in a famous study in an American elementary school where students exposed to higher daylight levels during the day had 26% higher reading scores, 20% higher math scores, and improved cognitive performance over other students without the same exposure to intense natural daylight

Ways of measuring visual comfort 

In order to ensure high levels of visual comfort in office buildings, we measure light by its intensity, illuminance, and various glare metrics to assess visual comfort. Useful daylight illuminance is a metric used to evaluate the quality of daylight in a space.

Daylight illuminance is measured to ensure adequate light levels and occupant visual satisfaction.

On the other hand, when we speak about radiometry, it is possible to measure light by its wavelengths and characteristics which are specific to an electromagnetic wave.

Natural light is great for productivity and focus

Knowing how vital good visual comfort in office buildings can be for productivity and focus results in many of those who design biophilic spaces will go out of their way to maximize access to natural light and artificial lighting wherever possible, not just as a way to promote a connection to nature but also for its wellness design benefits on cognitive performance and all-round productivity. Energy strategies can further enhance visual comfort and productivity. Good glare control is essential for maintaining visual comfort and productivity.