Architecture and Ergonomics
Where artificial lighting is used, this has to be sufficient to not only illuminate the task area, but also provide sufficient background lighting to avoid a sensation of gloominess which has a negative effect on efficiency. If the task is challenging, such as playing cricket, then reaction times are found to increase significantly when the illumination declines to the gloom level. This is the level at which car drivers turn their lights on.
In architecture, the level of lighting affects whether a building is perceived to be gloomy. If there is little or no sunlight or view of the outdoor surroundings, then this will tend to make the building seem gloomy. As seen from the exterior, an interior which is brighter than the surrounding light level may cause the overall building to seem gloomy because the normal cues and contrasts have been upset.
Read more about this topic: Gloom
Famous quotes containing the words architecture and and/or architecture:
“Defaced ruins of architecture and statuary, like the wrinkles of decrepitude of a once beautiful woman, only make one regret that one did not see them when they were enchanting.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“Art is a jealous mistress, and if a man have a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture or philosophy, he makes a bad husband and an ill provider, and should be wise in season and not fetter himself with duties which will embitter his days and spoil him for his proper work.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)