Daylight colour renditions of urban environments

A range of changing sky conditions shifts and changes our visual perceptions of the built environment. Working in Singapore and within the context of an equatorial climate, these shifts are notable within a span of a day. These shifts are also evident based on the materiality of the built environment. Hence, I categorise Singapore’s built environment based on commonly experienced spaces like the plaster facades of the HDB (Housing Board Development) where 80% of the Singaporeans live, heavily vegetated spaces, and reflective facades of the office buildings. I choose three sites that represent the different materiality and measure their colour and spectra in different directions and four sky conditions (clear, overcast, morning, and evening skies).

Two of the major contributions of this research project is a method to analyse the colour and spectra of light in built environments and characterising light in Singapore’s built environments. Several design conclusions are also drawn from the analysis.