Abstract
One of the most important factors of a control room is to keep the condition of man-machine interface stable. This type of rooms do usually not have windows in order to prevent outside visual disturbances from entering, so that only artificial lighting is gererally adopted. On the other hand, the atmosphere of this room tends to be monotonous and uncomfortable. Under such conditions, employees who work here monitoring the many panels and signals often experience psychological stress. It is here that a pleasant interior atmosphere can play an important role in alleviating stress and fatigue. In this study, the relationship between a pleasant atmosphere and the physical factors which constitute visual environment of the control room are made clear. A series of experiments were carried out using 1/15 scale models of a control room. Observers were asked to look into each model and to mark their subjective responses on the questionnaire sheet. Semantic differential method was used in this series of experiments. The results are summarized below. 1) Two factors, "Spaciousness" and "Friendliness", which describe the atmophere of a control room, were extracted. 2) "Spaciousness" is mainly related to type of lighting system, reflectance of panels and floor, illuminance level, height of ceiling and existence of window. 3) "Friendliness" is mainly related to color of panels and floor, existence of accessory colors, height of ceiling, and existence of potted plant.
