September 27, 2017 – Sky Factory SkyView™ is a high-tech architectural illusion of sky designed to restore occupant comfort and wellness in enclosed interiors via a ceiling-mounted, digital portal that portrays the dynamic beauty of sky events in unedited, real-time sequences lasting an average of 90+ minutes.  

SkyView offers architects and designers an innovative architectural feature to mitigate the deleterious impact of isolated spaces by restoring access to a healing view to nature. Using the highest quality image capture and the most realistic skylight framework, SkyView displays the dynamic beauty of nature’s skyward events, triggering the automatic “Relaxation Response” in the observer’s physiology; the same therapeutic response we experience outdoors, in nature.

Designed as a self-contained system, SkyView embeds a professional-grade monitor rated for horizontal use within a faux skylight framework to create a simulated portal to open skies. By seamlessly combining visual content to architectural context, interior designers and facility planners can incorporate a genuine, multisensory illusion that imbues isolated environments with a restorative conduit to open skies.

"Rather than distract people in a claustrophobic environment with a constant stream of audio-visual content,” says Skye Witherspoon, CEO of Sky Factory, “we looked at the neuroscience of a calm physiology. We quickly learned that any interior environment providing an engaging change of scale—that is, a view into a larger, natural space—is the most effective way to reset and recharge mind and body. 

“That’s why a window view to wild, undisturbed nature is the hallmark of good architecture,” adds Skye.

As a fully integrated digital cinema system, SkyView features eight hours of real-time, unedited scenes of beautiful sky events—evolving clouds, overhanging branches and blossoms, even occasional fauna—that generate a relaxing psycho-physiological experience.

SkyView’s unedited, feature-length scenes are designed to reduce mental agitation and make waiting periods in any confined interior less distressing. The virtual skylight’s proprietary content is framed, captured, and composed by Sky Factory artists to create a perceived zenith above the observer. SkyView’s content is never looped and does not contain jump-cuts or accelerated motion.

 “All distraction technologies focus on content variety and ease of use across multiple device platforms, none of them architectural by design,” adds Bill Witherspoon, founder of Sky Factory. “Our goal was simple. Make any ceiling, no matter how isolated, an architecturally transparent connection to open sky via a credible illusion of nature.

“When the observer looks up and marvels at the moving Open Sky Compositions, we’ve captured their imagination. When that happens, mind and body are already experiencing the vastness of the sky. They’re no longer beholden to the confining interior space that caused their initial distress” adds Bill.

SkyView takes into consideration the cognitive role of environmental context in how we process visual stimuli. A careful review of neuroscience literature reveals that contextual cues alter how our brain interprets visual images, changing the way our physiology experiences interior environments.

 No other monitor-based platform is designed to seamlessly blend into interior architecture. SkyView makes the most claustrophobic environments, transparent and restorative. SkyView’s Ultra High Definition footage delivers 4X more detail than full 1080 HD content with an overall resolution of 3,840 pixels X 2,160 pixels.

Its self-contained system is encased in a custom designed aluminum enclosure that ensures effective convection, ensuring continuous airflow and proper ventilation. All components are industrial-strength for commercial use, designed to withstand thousands of hours of continuous, 24/7 operation.

The system comes with an 8-button illuminated keypad interface that makes menu navigation simple and easy to use. SkyView requires less than 10” above the ceiling for clearance, making it adaptable a number of commercial building applications ranging from healthcare and education to eldercare, corporate and hospitality settings.

Keywords: #BiophilicDesign, #VirtualSkylight, #Healthcare, #SeniorLiving, #InteriorDesign