BREEAM Visual comfort View out
Contents |
[edit] Aim and benefits
To allow occupants to refocus their eyes from close work and enjoy an external view, reducing the risk of eyestrain and breaking the monotony of the indoor environment.
Where close work is being carried out, the availability of a view out provides an opportunity for the eyes to relax and readjust.
[edit] When to consider
RIBA stages 1 - 2
[edit] Step-by-step guidance
Areas within 7m of a window should be identified.
Check that the area of the relevant window(s) is greater than or equal to 20% of the surrounding wall. If so then the area within 7m of that window is compliant.
Permanent workstations, desks, receptions, anywhere a building user will be located for a significant amount of time (e.g. more than 30 mins) whilst carrying out work, should be located within these compliant areas. Windows or room depth could be adjusted to allow compliance.
Areas which are more than 7m from a window can still comply but BS8206 (BS 8206-2:2008 Lighting for buildings. Code of Practice for daylighting) should be consulted. Table 1 ‘Minimum glazed areas for view when windows are restricted to one wall’ of this document provides a range of percentages for the window of the wall depending on how far away the desk is. If the percentage is more than 35%, the area will comply no matter what the depth is.
The view out should be visible from a seated position unless a person would be expected to be standing at a work station.
For 2014 assessments, 95% of the floor area of the relevant building areas needs to comply to achieve the credit. For 2014 assessments, prison cells and patient occupied areas must have a view out that is not obstructed by something closer than 10m away.
[edit] Questions to ask while seeking compliance
What is the room depth?
Where are permanent workstations?
How big are the windows?
[edit] Tools and resources
BREEAM manual.
BS 8206-2:2008 Lighting for buildings. Code of Practice for daylighting.
http://kb.breeam.com/knowledgebase/level-of-view-out/
http://kb.breeam.com/knowledgebase/view-out-no-relevant-areas/
[edit] Tips and best practice
The following areas are excluded (see manual):
- Nurse bases where they are located centrally in a ward/patient area in order to enable patient observation.
- Courtrooms and interview rooms where compliance is not possible due to security or privacy criteria.
- Prison staff areas containing workstations that for security or observational purposes must be located centrally within the building.
- Any clinical areas where the control of environmental/operational conditions prevents such spaces from providing a view out.
- Conference rooms, lecture theatres, sports halls, acute Special Educational Needs (SEN) and also any spaces where the exclusion or limitation of natural light is a functional requirement, such as; laboratories, media spaces, etc.
[edit] Typical evidence
[edit] Design stage:
- Design drawings showing room depth and permanent work stations.
- Design drawings showing window sizes and location.
- Window area calculations carried out by a design team member.
[edit] Post construction:
- As built drawings showing the room depth and permanent work stations
- Confirmation from the design team of any changes to window sizes or locations.
- Assessors site inspection, room depth and location of work stations with windows.
[edit] Applicable schemes
The guidelines collated in this ISD aim to support sustainable best practice in the topic described. This issue may apply in multiple BREEAM schemes covering different stages in the life of a building, different building types and different year versions. Some content may be generic but scheme nuances should also be taken into account. Refer to the comments below and related articles to this one to understand these nuances. See this document for further guidelines.
- UK New Construction 2014
BRE Global does not endorse any of the content posted and use of the content will not guarantee the meeting of certification criteria.
--Emma Houston 11:16, 18 Jan 2018 (BST)
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
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[edit] Management:
- BREEAM Sustainability champion
- BREEAM Environmental management
- BREEAM Considerate construction
- BREEAM Monitoring of construction site impacts
- BREEAM Aftercare support
- BREEAM Seasonal commissioning
- BREEAM Testing and inspecting building fabric
- BREEAM Life cycle cost and service life planning
- BREEAM Stakeholder consultation (ac)
- BREEAM Commissioning (ac)
- BREEAM Handover (ac)
- BREEAM Inclusive and accessible design (ac)
- BREEAM Post occupancy evaluation
[edit] Health and Wellbeing
- BREEAM Visual comfort Daylighting (partly ac)
- BREEAM Visual comfort View out
- BREEAM Visual comfort Glare control
- BREEAM Indoor air quality plan
- BREEAM Indoor air quality Ventilation
- BREEAM Thermal comfort
- BREEAM Internal and external lighting (ac)
- BREEAM Indoor pollutants VOCs (ac)
- BREEAM Potential for natural ventilation (ac)
- BREEAM Safe containment in laboratories (ac)
- BREEAM Acoustic performance
- BREEAM Safety and security (ac)
[edit] Energy
- BREEAM Reduction of energy use and carbon emissions
- BREEAM Energy monitoring
- BREEAM External lighting
- BREEAM Low carbon design
- BREEAM Passive design
- BREEAM Free cooling
- BREEAM LZC technologies
- BREEAM Energy efficient cold storage (partly ac)
- BREEAM Energy efficient transportation systems
- BREEAM Energy efficient laboratory systems
- BREEAM Energy efficient equipment (partly ac)
- BREEAM Drying space
[edit] Transport
- BREEAM Transport assessment and travel plan
- BREEAM Public transport accessibility
- BREEAM Sustainable transport measures
- BREEAM Proximity to amenities
- BREEAM Cyclist facilities
- BREEAM Alternative modes of transport (ac)
- BREEAM Maximum car parking capacity
- BREEAM Travel plan
- BREEAM Home office (ac)
[edit] Water
- BREEAM Water consumption
- BREEAM Water efficient equipment
- BREEAM Water monitoring
- BREEAM Water leak detection (ac)
[edit] Materials
- BREEAM Hard landscaping and boundary protection
- BREEAM Responsible sourcing of materials
- BREEAM Insulation
- BREEAM Designing for durability and resilience
- BREEAM Life cycle impacts
- BREEAM Material efficiency (ac)
[edit] Waste
- BREEAM Construction waste management
- BREEAM Recycled aggregates
- BREEAM Speculative floor & ceiling finishes
- BREEAM Adaptation to climate change
- BREEAM Operational waste
- BREEAM Functional adaptability (ac)
[edit] Land Use and Ecology
- BREEAM Site Selection
- BREEAM Ecological value of site
- BREEAM Protection of ecological features
- BREEAM Minimising impact on existing site ecology
- BREEAM Enhancing site ecology
- BREEAM Long term impact on biodiversity (ac)
[edit] Pollution
- BREEAM Impact of refrigerants
- BREEAM NOx emissions
- BREEAM Flood risk management (ac)
- BREEAM Surface water run-off (ac)
- BREEAM Reduction of night time light pollution (partly ac)
- BREEAM Reduction of noise pollution
Once an ISD has been initially created the '(ac)' marker can be removed
This particular index is based around the structure of the New Construction and RFO schemes.