Abstract
Visual appearance of the built environment contributes to psychological affect and influences subjective well-being. However, little is known on how residents perceive and experience the visual appearance of global contemporary trends in architecture and urban design. This paper evaluates environmental perceptions and affective appraisal of contemporary versus traditional styles in architecture and public space. A recently-developed research method in this field of study is employed: panel evaluations of 360-degree videos of real environments, viewed with mobile-based virtual reality platform. The examined urban spaces are streetscapes and public squares. Results suggest that contemporary architectural styles – inspired by postmodernism and characterized by asymmetry, lack of ornamentation, and industrial appearance – are evaluated less positively than traditional styles – characterized by symmetry and ornamentation. Contemporary architecture scores lower in environmental perception than traditional architecture. This finding poses critical questions on current trends in architectural styles and subsequently on the livability of new built environments. Further research is necessary to obtain a more in-depth understanding of how the detailed physical characteristics of architecture contribute to perceptions and emotional well-being.
Highlights
The visual appearance of the built environment contributes to emotional responses and psychological affect (Hanyu, 1997, 2000; Zhang & Lin, 2011), and can thereby influence happiness and life satisfaction (Mouratidis, 2018, 2019a; Negami, Mazumder, Reardon, & Ellard, 2019; Seresinhe, Preis, MacKerron, & Moat, 2019)
The level of familiarity with the public space yields significantly positive associations with all variables of environmental perception and affective appraisal, according to bivariate correlation analysis conducted by the present study
Environmental perception and affective appraisal are not influenced by potential factors such as neighborhood location, street size, and street orientation
Summary
The visual appearance of the built environment contributes to emotional responses and psychological affect (Hanyu, 1997, 2000; Zhang & Lin, 2011), and can thereby influence happiness and life satisfaction (Mouratidis, 2018, 2019a; Negami, Mazumder, Reardon, & Ellard, 2019; Seresinhe, Preis, MacKerron, & Moat, 2019). Emotional response to the visual appearance of the built environment is one of the key responses induced by such environment (Nasar, 1987), since humans actively interact with their immediate environment in their everyday lives (Nasar, 1994) Considering these everyday interactions along with the increasing evidence linking visual appearance of the built environment to subjective well-being (Seresinhe et al, 2019), it becomes clear that understanding how the visual appearance of buildings and public spaces affects perceptions and emotions becomes key to successful urban development (Nasar, 1994; Zhang & Lin, 2011). Such research is necessary to inform urban planning decisions on the visual appearance of current and future development and provide critical insights for citizens willing to participate in local urban governance
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