Transitional spaces (TS) are characterized by possession of high gradients of luminances between inside and out, which places a great demand on the users' visual system's function. A satisfactory descriptive indicator of this kind of situation could be a 'modelling factor' (MF), defined from cylindrical illuminance and horizontal illuminance measures. It would provide information on the depth and dimensionality of objects present in the scene, also taking into account a region's overabundance of daylight. A public building was selected as a case study, and solar light behaviour, including its interaction with the space, was monitored. Measurements were taken during an entire year at the start of each season (2008) under clear skies, at the beginning and at the end of each working day. Another measurement was taken in winter ( 2009) under overcast skies at 13:00, so as to obtain a comparative parameter. It was found that unfavourable conditions were produced in all seasons for about 2 hours, except at 09:15 in winter. All the data collected in the control situation were within the optimum modelling range, with values ranging between 0.3 and 0.4. The MF allows the integration of most relevant factors intervening in TS and emerges as a good descriptor for TS.
Resumen n climas soleados, los "espacios de transición" pueden presentar excesivas demandas al sistema visual de las personas y constituir verdaderas barreras de visión funcional ya que la morfología edilicia se encuentra bajo la influencia de la dinámica del factor ambiental luz natural. Se expone la caracterización lumínica de un caso de estudio ubicado en la ciudad de Mendoza analizando diferentes magnitudes lumínicas y su relación con las normas y recomendaciones en iluminación y tareas visuales involucradas en este tipo de locales edilicios. Los resultados arrojan que las condiciones lumínicas del espacio de transición estudiado no alcanza los valores sugeridos por la normativa vigente, presentando un escenario lumínico que dificulta la adecuada realización de tareas visuales como reconocimiento de rostro, evidenciando la necesidad de revisar los requisitos de diseño para este tipo de espacios.
Palablas
We determined the visual efficiency and visual discomfort for users of a typical transitional space in luminous climates. The subject moves from a brighter exterior to a dimmer interior, facing an abrupt change in the level of lighting as a potential functional vision barrier, mainly for ageing people. We measured suprathreshold visual efficiency in different age groups, recognising two Landolt ring orientations and answering some visual discomfort questions. Results show: oldest group (60-67) needed more than 3 times the time required by the youngest group (25-30) to perform the task but, in terms of discomfort, there are no noticeable effects regarding the disturbance or the sensation of reduction of mobility produced by the lighting changes in the transitional space among the three different groups.
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