The Visual Perception of Residential Buildings: Le Corbusier’s Modernism and Zaha Hadid’s Parametric Architecture

Abstract

Abstract: This research paper studies visual perception by focusing on the material functionality of residential buildings in the different architectural style periods, which are the modernism and parametric styles periods. Two pioneer architects of these architectural style periods were selected to study and focus study on their works, Le Corbusier, a pioneer architect of the modernism architectural style period, and Zaha Hadid, a pioneer architect of the Parametric architectural style period. This research uses a mixed-methods approach including quantitative and qualitative approaches, represented by a survey directed at architects to study and analyze the visual perception of the selected architects’ building designs. Besides, this research studies the material functionality of each selected case study. The results showed that the residential buildings designed during the modernist architectural style period by Le Corbusier were characterized by simplicity, comfortability, and regularity. However, the residential buildings of the parametric design style period designed by Zaha Hadid were characterized by complexity, uncomfortability, and irregularity but meaningful.