Evaluating architectural spaces, we are usually focusing at shape of the room, materials, light and colour. What about the view out of the window? Should it be included?
In my opinion yes, view out the room’s window affect the sense of place inside the room. Surrounding environment and scenes draw the user experience and complete the vision of the interior space. Interior and exterior spaces are in complementary relationship to give the full actual image of the built environmen.
The window has been called the eyes to the soul of a building. Typically the expression refers to outside beholder.
What might the converse of that old adage be? Perhaps its role in your question,i.e. the view from the space looking outward could be given a similar platitude for use in Valuating the performance or quality of the spatial design. Well let's try, "the soul of a space can be transformed by virtue of the quality of the view of the world beyond".
The window placement can make quality transcendent of all earthly cares, if the view is to an infinite starscape at night or coastal beachfront or even the individually mundane rooftop water tanks or jumble of antennae. Realtors charge more when a view comes with a home, don't they? Hotels can offer you a beachfront view or a city view and charge more. So yes this intangible can have value placed on it.
For energy conservation reasons the placement of window openings or fenestration, cane measured as well. So its enumerated values are well known measurements if U value for heat loss, there are measures of reflectance or glare from glass on others view to consider in another corollary when evaluating a specific space. As you know the effect of sunshine, and shade/ shadow affect view all day long making it a variable as well. Lastly, the admission of ultraviolet throw view window glass needs controlling on addition to heat gain. Allowing external UV light can be beneficial in keeping down harmful mold growth in humid spaces that otherwise may not want to have a view allowed from outside in. Thus, bathrooms typically get relegated to interiors and require mechanical venting. If permitted to be an exterior space it competes with all other living spaces for the View.
Making my conclusion that views are indeed very valuable and even need to be factored in during the digital modelling of a new building design so it can be displayed to clients and then the can make those value judgements long before siting the structure on the lot.
New uses of BIM and onsite pre building construction site landscape photography of the viewshed makes this possible. Conversely in an urban setting the future of existing views from extant buildings needs to be evaluated to measure the impact of a proposed new structure that can cutoff one's view that was once so valuable. Does the existing building owners suffer a loss of value if the new high rise is permitted to cut off their sunlight and thereby views of the skyscape or local attraction like a hsrbirview?
There is evidence that an attractive view mitigates discomfort glare from windows compared to the same luminous exposure but with an unattractive view ( http://doi.org/10.1177/1365782807077193). A report discussing the psychological and economic benefits of the view from a window is also online, at: https://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/daylighting/pdf/viewreport1.pdf. I hope these publications can be helpful to you.
It would be good to know the influence of view (compared to lighting) on the visual quality of architectural spaces. Rodriguez et al. (@Veronica_Garcia-Hansen @Gillian_Isoardi @Alicia_Allan2) are also looking into this. You can find the abstract of their talk (SYSTEMATISING VIEW SCENE CATEGORISATION FOR QUANTIFYING OUTER LUMINOUS VARIABILITY OVER TIME) here
http://www.cie.org.au/Conference%20Programme%20-%20CIE%20Australia%20Lighting%20Research%20Conference%202019%20v1.1.pdf
Urbanist Jane Jacobs opined in “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”, that from her window onto 8th Avenue in Manhattan, “The ballet of the good city sidewalk never repeats itself from place to place, and in any one place is always replete with new improvisations.”
The grand narrative of city parenting from the window down to playing children, pedestrians, and the hustle and bustle of city life below, is on the wane, as is brick-and mortar retail.
The opposite, viewing illuminated house and apartment windows from the sIdewalk, afterdark, is a beloved pastime for night wallkers, strengthening the bond of city dwellers to their surroundings.
Any real estate person will immediately answer 'yes, of course' -- the market value of a building will be immediately affected by the construction of. a nearby structure that will change the interest and quality of the view from its windows. Architects who ignore this in their design are 'shooting themselves in the foot'.
Definitely the view out of the window do affect the architectural importance of the building.
Lighting Research and Technology from the seventies answers this question. It pays to read old literature.
Martin
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