VELUX Commercial Blog

While the science of well-being is relatively nascent, the UK Government’s ‘Foresight’ project sheds a great deal of light on five factors that have a proven effect on well-being¹, leading to the definition of the Five Ways to Well-Being (connect, keep active, take notice, keep learning, give).² The question remains, though, how do we design buildings that can positively influence these five factors?

A considerable body of research shows that people prefer daylit spaces to those lacking natural light. Why should this be? If there is sufficient light to see, why would people prefer one source to another? To answer this question, we need to understand the evolved relationship between humans and natural light.

There’s no doubt that the physical design of classrooms can have a positive or negative effect on children’s learning outcomes. One of the key factors identified by studies over the past several decades is the importance of consistent thermal comfort.

Poor indoor air quality can not only seriously inhibit students’ concentration and overall performance, but can also lead to increased absenteeism due to illness. Adequate ventilation is therefore imperative for healthy classroom design to help students flourish.