Landscape Effects of Urban Furniture Textures

Abstract

The various materials the urban furniture objects are made of may create comfort when providing the user leisure, pleasant, dynamic or relaxing atmosphere. These materials can influence the human psychic generating various positive and negative inside conditions. Many psychologists use the virtues of materials in their therapies, the effects being carefully studied and tested. The surface texture constitutes a very important characteristic of urban furniture object materials influencing the obtaining of some physical or psycho-emotional effects. Nevertheless, the study of the texture effects is mostly ignored or neglected. As a consequence of this fact, often the textures are inadequately used, generating negative effects added to the other already existing urban pollution forms. The study aims to analyze the human perception of the furniture texture in the urban spaces and the relations with the reactions on multiple levels. The multitude of pollution forms created by the presence of inadequate urban furniture in the city areas is an alarming sign for the landscape designers. There are many patterns that can create discomfort and rejection reactions to the users. The tendency is to obtain more resistive materials but, at the same time, lighter materials, more flexible and more aesthetic, at moderate costs. The study aims as final result to guide the use of the natural and artificial textures in order to create appropriate, attractive and healthy multifunctional furniture for our urban spaces. The researches in the field of material texture represent a source of technological evolution in the field of urban furniture.