Pre-Occupancy Evaluation in Hospital Rooms for Efficient Use of Natural Light—Improved Proposals

This paper aims to contribute to the formulation of criteria for the design of inpatient spaces through the efficient use of natural light as a factor that greatly influences human health. Specifically, it concerns the development of a methodology to assess the quality of natural light in the operat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Buildings (Basel) 2022-12, Vol.12 (12), p.2145
Main Authors: Ferrante, Tiziana, Villani, Teresa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
building performance evaluation
Design
Evaluation
Feedback
hospital design
Illuminance
Impact analysis
Indoor air quality
inpatient room
Light
Lighting
Melatonin
Natural lighting
Patients
Physical characteristics
pre-occupancy evaluation
Quality assessment
Sleep
Thoracic surgery
Variables
visual comfort
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Summary:This paper aims to contribute to the formulation of criteria for the design of inpatient spaces through the efficient use of natural light as a factor that greatly influences human health. Specifically, it concerns the development of a methodology to assess the quality of natural light in the operating phase and demonstrate how the morphological and material characteristics of the hospital rooms can affect natural lighting. All variables affecting light in indoor spaces have been evaluated, with a focus on the photometric characteristics of finishing materials and furnishings, aimed at determining their contribution in terms of reflectance. This evaluation was based on pre-occupancy evaluation methodologies, which allow comparing actual and simulated natural light conditions, and was tested on a sample of inpatient rooms located in a hospital in Rome. Improvement design solutions were proposed and simulated through the evaluation of physical variables including daylight factor, illuminance, color rendering index, etc., selecting the ones with appreciable improvements over ante operam natural light conditions. The methodology allows control over the effects of individual interventions, specific to each variable, highlighting their impact on visual comfort and their feasibility from an economic and operational point of view.
ISSN:2075-5309
2075-5309
DOI:10.3390/buildings12122145