Completed PhD Thesis at LIPID
© 2019 EPFL
Kynthia Chamilothori (LIPID) recently completed her PhD Thesis focusing on the perceptual effects of daylight patterns in architecture, showing that the design of a façade and its interplay with light can induce both subjective and physiological human responses.
Although daylight characteristics such as luminance variation have been repeatedly linked with impressions of interest in lighting research, we have limited knowledge about how the composition of the façade geometry and the resulting daylight patterns affect our spatial experience. At the same time, there is a growing use of decorative patterns in contemporary architecture, which raises the question about their impact on occupants.
To address this lack of knowledge, Kynthia developed and validated an experimental method that combines physically-based images with immersive virtual reality as a means to investigate the perception of daylit spaces in controlled conditions, and conducted experiments with more than 500 participants to examine human responses to façade and daylight characteristics. Her findings show that the façade design significantly influences the perception of a space, and can even affect the heart rate of occupants, with important implications for the fields of architecture and lighting.
The PhD thesis, entitled "Perceptual effects of daylight patterns in architecture", the thesis was defended on July 17, 2019 in front of a jury composed of Marilyne Andersen (LIPID) thesis director, Jan Wienold (LIPID) co-director, Christoph Reinhart (MIT) external examiner, Werner Osterhaus (AARHUS University) external examiner, Dieter Dietz (ALICE) internal examiner.
Accepted without reservation, the thesis was then presented to the public on September 13, 2019.