The Criterion of Access to the Sky View in Residential Environment Architectural Designing

Abstract Standards specifying the requirements for daylight in shaping the interiors of residential buildings do not cover issues related to visual perception and the role of light as a carrier of images of the outside world. The general recommendations in this regard, given in the 2018 European Lighting Standard can hardly be considered an unambiguous, precise normative regulation. According to the author, the inalienable element of the view through the window is the image of the sky, which is the basic reference in human perception of the space of the external environment. The aim of the research is to identify the main determinants for ensuring access to the sky view from apartments in housing estates with high intensity of development. The analyzes are based on the author's simple graphical research methods capable of simulating the visual perception of images of the external environment space through a window. The key parameter in the analyzes is the vertical viewing angle, called the sky view entry angle. Its minimum value set at 7.5°C is of fundamental importance in shaping the geometric relations between neighbouring buildings. The research results oblige, in the context of the paradigm of sustainable housing development, to recognize the criterion of access to the sky view from residential interiors as a mandatory design guideline.