ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the effects of windows and the lack of windows, in everyday amenities, including homes, schools, and workplaces. Windows seem to be the primary means of providing a connection between urban dwellers and nature. A national survey by the Environmental Protection Agency found that the average American spends around 87% of their life in enclosed buildings and about 6% of their life in enclosed vehicles. Windows as micro-restorative settings provide extensive psychological and health benefits. An early investigation by Ne'Eman and Hopkinson examined how the various factors affected people's judgment on a minimum size of the window and concluded that the lighting conditions, both indoors and through the window, as well as the solar angle throughout the day and the sky luminance seemed to be the main factors impacting the appraisal of the minimum size of window. People generally prefer to stay closer to windows.
