The living hall connects to the garden through a large bay window. Photos: BETA
Last week, I wrote that research has shown that up to 80% of our perceptions and impressions of the built environment around us are by means of sight.
Our vision moulds our impression of every space we enter and the city that we live in.
This is why I love architecture. Believe it or not, architecture has the power to make or break you.
Architecture, when done well, can inspire you and uplift your moods. Well-designed spaces make us feel safe, calm and relaxed.
On the other hand, there are rooms that simply make us feel trapped, miserable and depressive.
One of the most impactful strategies in design is surprisingly intangible; it’s allowing uninterrupted views to flow. It can be views from the inside to outside or views from one space to another adjacent space.
We call this visual connectivity, which refers to “connecting the views”.
The line of sight created between the dining and living spaces at Eythrope.
Benefits of visual connectivity
One of the most important reasons to encourage visual connectivity to the outdoors is the positive psychological impact it brings to the interior space.
Just imagine yourself being in a windowless room versus a room with full-height windows framing amazing views of the sunset.
Allowing our eyes to connect to nature calms us. Experts now encourage adults and children to practise distance looking by following the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look away at least 20ft (6m) away to the outdoors for 20 seconds. So, let’s draw the curtains, open the windows, and allow the views to enter your home.
Another reason why I champion visual connectivity in all my designs is the power of good wayfinding in every home, office, public building and shopping mall. Close your eyes and think of one of your favourite malls. I bet it has open corridors, unobstructed views and high-volume atriums where you can visually see the rows of shops on higher floors.
Wayfinding also applies to locating and finding your things at home. I remember an amusing “debate” I had with my late father-in-law many years ago. I was trying to design him a shoe cabinet with doors that cover the racks of shoes, so that the corner could look tidy and clutter-free. (I was much younger then and was into the minimalist vibe).
Instead of approving my design, he gave me a long explanation on the basic importance for him to visually “find” his shoes and things around the house, sans all the cabinet doors. I ended up agreeing with him. So, he got his open concept done with open bookshelves and shoe storage, all without doors. You find what you can see. Brilliant old-school wisdom, don’t you think?
Visual connectivity also promotes safety in the home. Imagine being in the kitchen preparing lunch, yet you have a full visual of your toddler playing in the living hall. Imagine being upstairs yet you have full sight of your elderly parents watching TV in the living room at the ground floor. I know we have digital solutions of CCTV cameras, but nothing beats low-tech strategy of simply allowing visuals across the house to bring you a sense of safety and command.
A series of arches along the corridor creates a visual impact.
Simple strategies
If you have a window in your room, pull up the blinds, and open it. Breathe in, and celebrate the view! Let your eyes gaze upon the blue sky and the moving clouds. If your windows don’t look out to anything exciting outside, perhaps place some potted plants; create the view that pleases your eye.
What if you live in an apartment, and your window faces the miserable air-cond yard of your neighbour? Same solution, try placing a potted plant by the window. With these new insights, look twice when choosing to buy your new apartment. Always check where the window locations are and what views they get you. It’s our window to the world!
Allow me to discuss some examples from a real-life transformation of the Eythrope colonial building at Penang Hill. During my first visit to the original bungalow, I was blown away by the glorious views to the outdoors.
Every room had a window that either looked out to lush trees or framed the sunrise. Very instinctively, we decided that the furniture layout for every room should align with the windows and celebrate the view. Hence, you’ll see the bed purposefully oriented to face the morning sunrise in the bedroom or the bathtub hugging the window that looks out to hill views.
Let’s be reminded that our vision works in a linear line. One single straight line. With this appreciation, be mindful of how you navigate around your house. From the point of entry door, you unconsciously view your home in a series of connected lines of sight. Why is this important? An unobstructed line of sight is the secret to achieving visual connectivity. Without this important realisation, very often the line of sight will be peppered with corners and corridors that zig-zag away from one space to another.
Corridors are wonderful spaces to celebrate line of sight. At the colonial building, we caught the potential of the long corridor that greets the main entrance hallway. It was a circulatory space to move from the dining area to the kitchen, but we deliberately enhanced the line of sight by placing a focal point at the end of the visual sight line. To enhance the sense of focus, the existing archways were lined with timber veneer strips to accentuate the repetition of perspective lines. An otherwise rudimentary space is now transformed into a celebrated mini art gallery!
Another tip to remember is the end of your sight line is the most important “end view”. I call it the focal point or point of impact, not impacts of physical collision but the point where your eyes inevitably focus on. Let me explain based on the same example above – the existing living and dining halls were connected by a grand archway.
The line of sight was wonderful, yet the wall at the end of the sight line was plain and lacked a focal point. So, our intervention was to mimic the shape of the existing archway and place it at the end of the line of sight at the dining hall.
Finish it with polished bronze-tinted mirrors, and the outcome is an amplified visual connectivity. The garden-facing bay windows at the living room now becomes borrowed view at the otherwise plain wall at the dining area.
As you can see, the simple notion of celebrating views and vistas has become the core concept for the transformation of the heritage bungalow.
So, look around your home today, go over to your window, observe and listen to your intuition. Your inner wisdom will let you know what you need to do!
Tan Bee Eu is a professional architect registered with Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia. She has two decades of working experience involving diverse local and international projects in architecture and design. Tan also teaches at Universiti Sains Malaysia, advocating passive design strategies, design principles and professional architectural practice.
