Conclusions
In the course of the study, I found that some view factors were in the
control of the architects, such as the color of the window sills or the floor,
and the ceiling reflectance, while others were not in their control, such as the
selection of desks and partition walls.
Under the architects' control, the contrasts around the window tended to be too high, such as between the window and the wall columns separating the windows, between the window and the floor at the base of the window, and between the window and the window sills. However, the contrasts between the windows and their shading devices were good, and most of the task-oriented views under the architects' control did not have glare.
Some contrasts presenting glare which were not under the architects control were between the window and the partition walls, and some task-oriented views, as between a page on a desk and the dark, shaded drawers of the desk beyond the work table's edge. On the other hand, some of these ratios could possibly be softened if the light from the window were partly reflected down and forward toward the window, such that the back-sides of partitions and desks would be better illuminated, and thus contrast less with book on the table. If lighter desk surfaces and faces were used, these contrasts would also be improved. In addition, if the partitions were made of some sort of translucent material, they would let more light through and might improve some of the ratios behind them, or, at the very least, would improve the illumination here. However, as we saw in the Music Library, translucent surfaces lit from behind can be oppressively bright, so if such a material were used for a partition, it might need to include some reflective angled slats on the back side, to reflect the light down to the work surface. Alternately, perhaps some sort of prismatic surface could give the same effect.