Hea 01 Visual comfort

(all buildings)

Number of credits available Minimum standards

Building type dependent

Yes (criterion 1 only)

Aim

To ensure daylighting, artificial lighting and occupant controls are considered at the design stage to ensure best practice in visual performance and comfort for building occupants.

Assessment criteria

This issue is split into five parts:

The following is required to demonstrate compliance:

Prerequisite

1 All fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps are fitted with high frequency ballasts.

One credit - Glare control

2 The potential for glare has been designed out of all relevant building areas using a glare control strategy, either through building form and layout or building design measures (see compliance note CN3.1).
3 The glare control strategy avoids increasing lighting energy consumption by ensuring that:
3.a The glare control system is designed to maximise daylight levels under all conditions while avoiding disabling glare in the workplace or other sensitive areas. The system should not inhibit daylight from entering the space under cloudy conditions, or when sunlight is not on the façade

AND

3.b The use or location of shading does not conflict with the operation of lighting control systems.

Up to four credits - Daylighting (building type dependent)

4 Daylighting criteria have been met using either of the following options:
4.a The relevant building areas meet good practice daylight factors and other criteria as outlined in Table 10 and Table 11

OR

4.b The relevant building areas meet good practice average and minimum point daylight illuminance criteria as outlined in Table 12.

Table 10: Minimum values of average daylight factor required

Building or area type Average daylight factor required by latitude (degrees) Minimum area ( m² ) to comply Other requirements
40 40-45 45-50 50-55 55-60 60 1 credit 2 credits
Education buildings (up to 2 credits available)

Preschools, schools - occupied spaces

1.5% 1.7% 1.8% 2.0% 2.1% 2.2% - 80% EITHER (a) OR {(b) and (c)} in Table 11

Universities, colleges and higher education - occupied spaces

1.5% 1.7% 1.8% 2.0% 2.1% 2.2% 60% 80%
Residential institutions (1 credit available*)
Kitchen 1.5% 1.7% 1.8% 2.0% 2.1% 2.2% 80% - EITHER (a) OR (c) in Table 11

Living rooms, dining rooms, studies (including workspaces in hotel bedrooms or suites)

1.2% 1.3% 1.4% 1.5% 1.6% 1.6% -

Non-residential or communal occupied spaces

1.5% 1.7% 1.8% 2.0% 2.1% 2.2% -
Residential dwellings (4 credits available**)
Kitchen 1.5% 1.7% 1.8% 2.0% 2.1% 2.2% - 80% (b) in Table 11
Living rooms, dining rooms, studies (including home offices) 1.2% 1.3% 1.4% 1.5% 1.6% 1.6% - 80%
Retail buildings (2 credits available**)

Sales areas

1.5% 1.7% 1.8% 2.0% 2.1% 2.2% 35% - -

Other occupied areas

1.5% 1.7% 1.8% 2.0% 2.1% 2.2% 80% - EITHER (a) OR {(b) and (c)} in Table 11
Industrial, office, and all other building types (1 credit available*)
Internal association or atrium area 2.3% 2.5% 2.8% 3.0% 3.1% 3.2% 80% - EITHER (a) OR {(b) and (c)} in Table 11

Teaching, lecture and seminar spaces

1.5% 1.7% 1.8% 2.0% 2.1% 2.2% -

All occupied spaces, unless indicated in Relevant definitions

1.5% 1.7% 1.8% 2.0% 2.1% 2.2% -

Notes:

* All spaces must comply to achieve 1 credit.

** Each space can be awarded credits independently.

Table 11: Daylighting uniformity criteria

Ref Criteria
(a)

A uniformity ratio of at least 0.3 or a minimum point daylight factor of at least 0.3 times the relevant average daylight factor value in Table 10. Spaces with glazed roofs, such as atria, must achieve a uniformity ratio of at least 0.7 or a minimum point daylight factor of at least 0.7 times the relevant average daylight factor value in Table 10.

(b) At least 80% of the room has a view of sky from desk or table top height (0.85m in residential buildings and residential institutions, 0.7m in other buildings).
(c)

The room depth criterion d/w +d/HW < 2/(1-RB) is satisfied.

Where:

d = room depth.

w = room width.

HW = window head height from floor level.

RB = average reflectance of surfaces in the rear half of the room.

 

Note: Table 16 gives maximum room depths in metres for different room widths and window head heights of side-lit rooms.

Table 12: Space type and illuminance requirements - both criteria (average illuminance and minimum point illuminance) should be met

Area type Minimum area to comply Average daylight illuminance (averaged over entire space) Minimum daylight illuminance at worst lit point
1 credit 2 credits
Education buildings (up to 2 credits available)

Preschools, schools - occupied spaces

- 80% At least 300 lux for 2000 hours per year or more At least 90 lux for 2000 hours per year or more
Universities, colleges and higher education - occupied spaces 60%
Residential institutions (1 credit available*)

Kitchens

100% - At least 100 lux for 3450 hours per year or more At least 30 lux for 3450 hours per year or more

Living rooms, dining rooms, studies (including home offices)

- At least 100 lux for 3450 hours per year or more At least 30 lux for 3450 hours per year or more

Non-residential or communal occupied spaces

80% - At least 200 lux for 2650 hours per year or more At least 60 lux for 2650 hours per year or more
Residential dwellings (4 credits available**)
Kitchens - 100% At least 100 lux for 3450 hours per year or more At least 30 lux for 3450 hours per year or more
Living rooms, dining rooms, studies (including home offices) - 100% At least 100 lux for 3450 hours per year or more At least 30 lux for 3450 hours per year or more
Retail buildings (2 credits available**)

Sales areas

35% - At least 200 lux point daylight illuminances for 2650 hours per year or more

Other occupied areas

80% - At least 200 lux for 2650 hours per year or more At least 60 lux for 2650 hours per year or more
Industrial and Office and all Other building types (1 credit available*)
Internal association or atrium area 80% - At least 300 lux for 2650 hours per year or more At least 210 lux for 2650 hours per year or more
Teaching, lecture and seminar spaces - At least 300 lux for 2000 hours per year or more At least 90 lux for 2000 hours per year or more
All occupied spaces, unless indicated in Relevant definitions - At least 300 lux for 2000 hours per year or more At least 90 lux for 2000 hours per year or more

Notes:

* All spaces must comply to achieve 1 credit.

** Each space can be awarded credits independently.

One credit - View out

5 Where 95% of the floor area space within relevant building areas are within X metres of a window or permanent opening that provides an adequate view out, as outlined in Table 13
6 In addition, the building type criteria in Table 14 are applicable to view out criteria.

Table 13: Window or opening size required as a percentage of surrounding wall area depending on the distance of the desk or work space to the window or opening

Distance (in m) from window to workspace or desk (X) Window or opening size (as % of surrounding wall area)
7m or less

20%

8m–11m 25%
11m–14m 30%
14m or more 35%

Table 14: View out building specific requirements

Building type View out requirements
Residential buildings and residential institutions

Self-contained flats - living rooms

Sheltered housing - communal lounges, individual bedrooms and bedsits

All positions within relevant areas are to be within 5m of a wall which has a window or permanent opening providing an adequate view out. The window or opening must be 20% of the surrounding wall area.

One credit - Internal and external lighting levels, zoning and control

Internal lighting

7 Internal lighting in all relevant areas of the building is designed to provide an illuminance (lux) level appropriate to the tasks undertaken, accounting for building user concentration and comfort levels. This can be demonstrated through a lighting design strategy that provides illuminance levels in accordance with national best practice lighting guides (see CN3.10).
8 The uniformity of illuminance due to electric lighting is as per the recommendation in the approved local standard.
9 For areas where computer screens are regularly used, confirmation is required that the lighting has been designed to limit the potential for glare in accordance with a numerical glare limit specified within national best practice lighting guides . These should include:
9.a Limits to the luminance of the luminaires to avoid screen reflections. Manufacturers' data for the luminaires should be sought to confirm this
9.b For uplighting, the recommendations refer to the luminance of the lit ceiling rather than the luminaire; a design team calculation is usually required to demonstrate this
9.c Recommendations for direct lighting, ceiling illuminance, and average wall illuminance.

External lighting

10 All external lighting located within the construction zone is designed to provide illuminance levels that enable users to perform outdoor visual tasks efficiently and accurately, especially during the night. To demonstrate this, external lighting provided is specified in accordance with EN 13201 series Road Lighting and EN 12464-2:2014 Light and lighting - Lighting of work places - Part 2: Outdoor work places.

Zoning and occupant control

11 Internal lighting is zoned to allow for occupant control (see Relevant definitions) in accordance with the criteria below for relevant areas present within the building:
11.a In office areas, zones of no more than four workplaces
11.b Workstations adjacent to windows or atria and other building areas separately zoned and controlled
11.c Seminar and lecture rooms: zoned for presentation and audience areas
11.d Library spaces: separate zoning of stacks, reading and counter areas
11.e Teaching space or demonstration area
11.f Whiteboard or display screen
11.g Auditoria: zoning of seating areas, circulation space and lectern area
11.h Dining, restaurant, café areas: separate zoning of servery and seating or dining areas
11.i Retail: separate zoning of display and counter areas
11.j Bar areas: separate zoning of bar and seating areas
11.k Day rooms, waiting areas: zoning of seating and activity areas and circulation space with controls accessible to staff
11.l Hotel bedrooms: separate zoning of hallway, bathroom, desk and sleeping area (where present in the room).
12 Areas used for teaching, seminar or lecture purposes have lighting controls specified in accordance with the size and use of the space, but a typical auditorium or lecture theatre with stepped seating and a formal lectern or demonstration or performance area would typically be expected to have lighting controls as follows:
12.a Full normal lighting (to allow for entry and exit, cleaning etc.)
12.b Demonstration area lighting off and audience area lighting reduced to a low level (for the purpose of line slide projection, but allowing enough light for the audience to take notes)
12.c All lighting off (for the projection of tone slides, colour slides, and for the purposes of visual demonstrations or performances)
12.d Separate localised lectern lighting.
13 In addition the building type criteria in Table 15 (where relevant).

Table 15: Internal and external lighting building specific requirements

Building type Internal and external lighting requirements
Education buildings Manual lighting controls are easily accessible for the teacher while teaching and on entering or leaving the teaching space.

Checklists and tables

Reflectance for maximum room depths and window head heights

Table 16 gives maximum room depths in metres for different room widths and window head heights of side-lit rooms.

Table 16: Reflectance for maximum room depths (m) and window head heights

Reflectance (RB)

0.4 0.5 0.6
Room width (m) 3 10 3 10 3 10
Window head height (m)
2.5 4.5 6.7 5.4 8.0 6.8 10.0
3.0 5.0 7.7 6.0 9.2 7.5 11.5
3.5 5.4 8.6 6.5 10.4 8.1 13.0

Compliance notes

Ref

Terms

Description

Shell and core (non-residential and residential institutions only)

CN1

Applicable assessment criteria

Prerequisite: criterion 1

Both options: This criterion is not applicable.

Glare control: criteria 2 and 3

Both options: These criteria are not applicable.

Daylighting: criterion 4

Both options: All criteria relevant to the building type and function apply.

View out: criteria 5 and 6

Both options: All criteria relevant to the building type and function apply.

Internal lighting, zoning and occupant control: criteria 7 to 9, 11 to 13

Both options: These criteria are not applicable.

External lighting: criterion 10

Both options: All criteria relevant to the building type and function apply.

Refer to Appendix D – Shell and core project assessments for a more detailed description of the shell and core assessment options.

CN1.1 

View out

Both options

Where it is not possible to confirm which areas of the building will contain workstations or benches or desks, then all areas of the building designed for or likely to be occupied by workstations or benches or desks must comply with the relevant criteria.

Residential - Partially fitted and fully fitted

CN2

Applicable assessment criteria - Single and multiple dwellings

Prerequisite: criterion 1

Both options: This criterion is not applicable.

Glare control: criteria 2 and 3

Both options: These criteria are not applicable.

Daylighting: criterion 4

Both options: All criteria relevant to the building type and function apply.

View out: criteria 5 and 6

Both options: These criteria are not applicable.

Internal lighting, zoning and occupant control: criteria 7 to 9, 11 to 13

Partially fitted: These criteria are not applicable.

Fully fitted: All criteria relevant to the building type and function apply.

External lighting: criterion 10

Partially fitted: These criteria are not applicable.

Fully fitted: All criteria relevant to the building type and function apply.

Refer to Appendix E – Applicability of BREEAM New Construction to single and multiple dwellings, partially and fully fitted for a more detailed description of residential assessment options.

General

CN3

Building location (choosing the most appropriate daylight factors)

The average daylight factor and uniformity criteria Table 10 and Table 11.

For hot or sunny locations with predominantly clear skies, especially those at latitudes much less than 40 degrees, it is better to use the daylight illuminance criteria in Table 12 instead. The daylight illuminance calculation should include the additional light available from clear and partly cloudy skies and reflected sunlight. In these locations, using the criteria in Table 10 and Table 11 may result in excessive solar heat gain.

Glare control

CN3.1

Compliant forms of glare control - curtains as glare control

Compliant shading measures for meeting glare control criteria include:

  • Building integrated measures (e.g. low eaves)
  • Occupant controlled devices such as blinds (where transmittance value is less than 0.1 (10%)
  • Bioclimatic design
  • External shading or brise soleil.

Glare control must provide shading from both high level summer and low level winter sun where relevant to the country of assessment (for example, latitudes of 40 degrees or more). Where using fixed systems, design studies can be used to demonstrate that sunlight is prevented from reaching building occupants during occupied hours.

Curtains (where used without other forms of shading) do not meet the criteria for the glare control criteria, as they do not provide sufficient control to optimise daylight into the space. Furthermore, the use of curtains to control glare is likely to cause occupants to rely more on artificial lighting.

Daylighting

CN3.2

Percentage of assessed area.

See criterion 4.

Where the criteria specify that a percentage of floor area must be adequately illuminated by daylight, this refers to the percentage of the total floor area of all the rooms that must be assessed, i.e. the compliant area. If for example, a development has six rooms that must be assessed, each 150m² (total area 900m²) and 80% of this floor area must meet the criterion, then 720m² must comply with the criterion; this is equal to 4.8 rooms. The number of rooms that must comply must always be rounded up; therefore in this example, five rooms must have an average daylight factor of 2% or more (plus meet the other criteria) to achieve the credit.

CN3.3

External obstructions In calculating minimum and average daylight factors and daylight illuminances, external obstructions should be taken into account. For illuminance calculations, the reflectance of external obstructions should be taken as 0.2 unless on site measurements of external reflectance have been made.

CN3.4

Dirt factors when calculating daylight Daylight calculations should include a maintenance factor for dirt on the windows. An example is given in British Standard Code of Practice for daylighting, BS 8206 Part 2, appendix A1.3.

CN3.5

Borrowed light For areas where borrowed light is used to demonstrate compliance with daylighting criteria, calculations or results from appropriate lighting design software must be provided to demonstrate that such areas meet the BREEAM criteria (if the light from these sources is required in order for the room to comply). Examples of borrowed light include: light shelves, clerestory glazing, sun pipes or internal translucent or transparent partitions (such as those using frosted glass).

CN3.6

Room depth criterion - rooms lit from two opposite sides For rooms lit by windows on two opposite sides, the maximum room depth that can be satisfactorily illuminated by daylight is twice the limiting room depth (d) (measured from window wall to window wall; CIBSE Lighting Guide LG101. The reflectance of the imaginary internal wall should be taken as 1.

CN3.7

Uniformity with rooflights The room depth criteria cannot be used where the lighting strategy relies on rooflights. In such areas either appropriate software has to be used to calculate the uniformity ratio or, in the case of a regular array of rooflights across the whole of the space, figure 2.36 (page 37) within CIBSE Lighting Guide LG10 can be used to determine the uniformity ratio.

CN3.8

Daylighting - uniformity ratio calculation The uniformity ratio calculation, minimum point daylight factor and minimum daylight illuminance can exclude areas within 0.5m of walls. Areas within 0.5m are not regarded as part of the working plane for this purpose, although they are included in the average daylight factor and average daylight illuminance calculations.

CN3.9

View of sky requirement.

See criterion 4.

To comply with the view of sky criteria (ref (b)) in Table 11, at least 80% of the room that complies with the average daylight factor requirement must receive direct light from the sky, i.e. it is permissible for up to 20% of the room not to meet the view of sky requirement and still achieve a compliant room.
Internal and external lighting levels or zoning and control

CN3.10

National best practice lighting guides

Please refer to the country-specific reference sheet to locate the appropriate best practice lighting guidance in the country of assessment. Alternatively the minimum requirements as set out in the Approved standards and weightings list are covered by the proposed documents.

Where appropriate lighting guides do not exist for a country, the design team should demonstrate compliance with the European standards EN 12464-1 Light and lighting - Lighting of workspaces, 2011 and EN 12464-2 Lighting of work places - Part 2: Outdoor work places, 2007.

CN3.11

Occupancy and workstation layout unknown Where occupancy or workstation layout is not known, lighting control can be zoned on the basis of 40m² grids, i.e. an assumption of 1 person or workspace per 10m².

CN3.12

Small spaces Buildings consisting entirely of small rooms or spaces (less than 40m²) which do not require any subdivision of lighting zones or control will meet the zoning criteria by default.

CN3.13

Zones of four workspaces The limit of four workspaces is indicative of the required standard, but is not a fixed requirement. Where there is justification for this to be increased to fit with the adopted lighting strategy, this may be accepted provided that the assessor is satisfied that the aim of this criterion is upheld, i.e. that there is suitable zoning or control of lighting to enable a reasonable degree of occupant control over lighting in their personable work area. The relevant design team member, e.g. a lighting consultant, should set out how this is to be achieved in such an instance.

CN3.14

Lighting zoning and control - auditoria spaces

The controls specified will depend on the size and use of the space but a typical auditorium or lecture theatre with stepped seating and a formal lectern or demonstration or performance area would typically be expected to have lighting controls as follows:

  1. Full normal lighting (to allow for entry and exit, cleaning etc.)
  2. Demonstration area lighting off and audience area lighting reduced to a low level (for the purpose of line slide projection, but allowing enough light for the audience to take notes)
  3. All lighting off (for the projection of tone slides, colour slides, and for the purposes of visual demonstrations or performances)
  4. Separate localised lectern lighting.

CN3.15

No external lighting

Where no external light fittings are specified (either separate from or mounted on the external building façade or roof), the criteria relating to external lighting do not apply and the credit can be awarded on the basis of compliance with the internal lighting criteria. The following internal areas are excluded from the lighting zone requirements:

  1. Media and arts production spaces
  2. Sports facilities (exercise spaces only, including hydrotherapy and physiotherapy areas).

CN3.16

Zoning rooms not listed For zoning rooms or spaces not listed within criteria 11 and 12, the assessor can exercise an element of judgment when determining whether what is specified is appropriate for the space, given its end use and the aim and criteria of this BREEAM issue.

CN3.17

Lighting levels for areas where computer screens are regularly used Projects can specify 300 lux instead of what is prescribed in EN 12464:2011. This is as per CIBSE Lighting Guide 7.
Building type specific

CN4

Education (preschools) and acute special educational needs

controls for children

Where child care or acute special educational needs spaces are included within the scope of the assessment, controls should be provided for the teacher or member of staff, i.e. it is not a necessity for the controls to be accessible to the children.

Where nursery spaces are included within the scope of the assessment, controls should be provided for the member of staff, not the nursery school children.

CN4.1

Hotels - lighting levels in hotel bedrooms Internal lighting levels in hotel bedrooms will not usually need to conform to national best practice levels for offices as these spaces are not generally used as a workspace. However, if hotel bedrooms, or rooms within a hotel suite, are intended to be used as workspaces, similar to a small office, the lighting levels should conform to national best practice levels for this type of space.

Methodology

None.

Evidence

Criteria Interim design stage Final post-construction stage
Daylighting
All

Design drawings and daylight calculations OR

Relevant section or clauses of the building specification or contract confirming national best practice daylighting guidelines or BREEAM requirements.

BREEAM Assessor’s site inspection report and photographic evidence OR

As-built drawings and calculations OR

Confirmation from the design team that daylighting is in accordance with national best practice daylighting guidelines or BREEAM requirements.

View out and glare requirements
All

Design drawings.

Relevant section or clauses of the building specification or contract.

Window schedule.

BREEAM Assessor’s site inspection report and photographic evidence.

As-built drawings.

Formal confirmation of compliance from the contractor or design team.

Internal and external lighting
All

Design drawings or room data sheets or schedules.

Relevant section or clauses of the building specification or contract OR

A letter of formal confirmation of compliance from the relevant design team member.

BREEAM Assessor’s site inspection report and photographic evidence.

As-built drawings.

Formal confirmation of compliance from the contractor or design team.

Additional information

Relevant definitions

Adequate view out
BREEAM defines an adequate view out as a view of a landscape or buildings (rather than just the sky) at seated eye level (1.2–1.3m) within the relevant building areas and should ideally be through an external window. A view into an internal courtyard or atrium will comply provided the distance from the opening to the back wall of the courtyard or atrium is at least 10m (therefore allowing enough distance for the eyes to refocus). The view cannot be an internal view across the room, as this is likely to become obstructed by partitions, filing cabinets etc.
Average daylight factor
The average daylight factor is the average indoor illuminance (from daylight) on the working plane within a room, expressed as a percentage of the simultaneous outdoor illuminance on a horizontal plane under an unobstructed CIE Standard Overcast Sky.
Computer simulation
Software tools that can be used to model more complex room geometries for daylighting.
Construction zone
For the purpose of this BREEAM issue, the construction zone is defined as the site which is being developed for the BREEAM-assessed building, and the external site areas that fall within the scope of the new works.
Illuminance
The amount of light falling on a surface per unit area, measured in lux.
Occupied space
A room or space within the assessed building that is likely to be occupied for 30 minutes or more by a building user. Please note there is a specific, unrelated, definition of 'unoccupied' with reference to acoustic testing and measurement and this should not be confused with the definition used here.
Point daylight factor
A point daylight factor is the ratio between the illuminance (from daylight) at a specific point on the working plane within a room, expressed as a percentage of the illuminance received on an outdoor unobstructed horizontal plane. This is based on an assumed overcast sky, approximated by the 'CIE (Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage) overcast sky'. The minimum point daylight factor is the lowest value of the daylight factor on the working plane at a point that is not within 0.5m of a wall. Similarly the minimum illuminance is calculated at the worst lit point on the working plane that is not within 0.5m of a wall. These points will usually be close to a rear corner of the room. Computer simulations are the most appropriate tools to allow for point daylight factors and illuminances to be calculated.
Relevant building areas:
Daylighting
For the purpose of BREEAM this is defined as areas within the building where good daylighting is considered to be of benefit to the building users (typically those areas occupied continuously for 30 minutes or more). This includes the following (where occupied continuously for 30 minutes or more) specifically stated because they are often omitted:
  1. Sports hall exercise spaces
  2. Laboratory areas unless the type of research that will be carried out requires strictly controlled environmental conditions, such as the exclusion of natural light at all times
  3. Self-contained flats
  4. Kitchen and catering areas
  5. General communal areas
  6. Small offices (including those within residential buildings and residential institutions)
  7. Meeting rooms (including those within residential buildings and residential institutions)
  8. Leisure areas
  9. Any area that may involve close up work.
However, this excludes the following (where present):
  1. Media, arts production, SEN sensory spaces, x-ray rooms and other areas requiring strictly controlled acoustic or lighting conditions.
Glare control
For glare control include areas of the building where lighting and resultant glare could be problematic for users, e.g. those areas that have been designed to contain or use workstations, projector screens etc. and sports halls. Spaces in the categories described above, for which daylight and view out are excluded, should not be assessed against the glare control criteria.
Internal and external lighting
Where no external light fittings are specified (either separate from or mounted on the external building façade or roof), the criteria relating to external lighting do not apply and the credit can be awarded on the basis of compliance with the internal lighting criteria. The following internal areas are excluded from the lighting zone requirements:
  1. Media and arts production spaces
  2. Sports facilities (exercise spaces only, including hydrotherapy and physiotherapy areas).
Reflectance
The ratio of the luminous flux reflected from a surface to the luminous flux incident on it.
Separate zoning control
Light switches or controls for a particular area or zone of the building that can be accessed and operated by the individuals occupying that area or zone. Such controls will be located within, or within the vicinity of, the zone or area they control.
Surrounding wall area
Surrounding wall area refers to the area (in m²) of the internal wall on which the window or opening is located, including the area of the window or opening itself.
Uniformity
The uniformity is the ratio between the minimum illuminance (from daylight) on the working plane within a room (or minimum daylight factor) and the average illuminance (from daylight) on the same working plane (or average daylight factor).
View of sky
Areas of the working plane have a view of sky when they receive direct light from the sky, i.e. when the sky can be seen from working plane height.
View out
BREEAM defines relevant building areas requiring a view out to include areas of the building where:
  1. There are or will be workstations or benches or desks for building users
  2. Close work will be undertaken or visual aids will be used
  3. A view out is deemed to be of benefit to the building occupants, e.g. in spaces where occupants are likely to spend a significant amount of time.
Excluded areas for each of these might include:
  • Conference rooms, lecture theatres, sports halls, acute SEN and also any spaces where the exclusion or limitation of natural light is a functional requirement, e.g. laboratories, media spaces, etc.
Working plane
CIBSE LG10 defines the working plane as the horizontal, vertical or inclined plane in which a visual task lies. The working plane is normally taken as 0.7m above the floor for offices and 0.85m for industry.

Other information

None.