Abstract
Visual quality assessment plays a major role in determining the visual sustainability of the physical environment. Visual sustainability underscores the visual relationship between people and their environment. Several studies have been carried out on the subject of visual quality in architecture from other parts of the world. However, not much is seen on record in the Nigerian context. There are also concerns that there is a decline in the visual quality of university buildings. In the light of foregoing, it is essential to understand in detail the visual quality of university buildings not only from the perspective of built environment practitioners but also from the general public as potential users of the buildings. In this respect, the senate buildings of selected universities in Southwest Nigeria were selected for the study given the central role such buildings play in university administration and interaction with a variety of users. However, the senate building of Covenant University Ota is the focus of this paper. The study was aimed at identifying the architectural elements on the Covenant University Senate Building facade to understand public perception for future applications in architectural education, design, and overall visual sustainability. A cross-sectional survey was adopted for the study, and a stratified random sampling technique used in selecting respondents. In Total, 577 valid responses were collected from respondents in ten selected universities in Southwest Nigeria and analysed descriptively using frequencies, percentages, and mean score on the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Photograph of the Covenant University senate building façade was attached to the questionnaire to aid the visual assessment. Qualitative research involving the use of an interview guide preceded the survey research. The result from the study revealed that façade shape and height were perceived as the most interesting in the Covenant University senate building façade attractiveness. The study implied the need for equipping of designers on the perception of building design elements for adequate facade conceptualisation in designing. This, in essence, will enhance the attractiveness of the university senate building façade and also impact the entire campus visual sustainability.
Highlights
Visual quality as an indicator of aesthetics can be classified as a social need of man under the subject of sustainability [1]
This was done by using an interview guide to elicit information from 10 professional architects drawn from the Department of Architecture, Caleb University, Imota, Lagos for further scrutiny of shortlisted elements for appropriateness in the inclusion of actual visual quality assessment
This includes all the 54 Universities found in Southwest Nigeria which comprises of 7 Federal universities, 11 State universities and 36 Private owned universities
Summary
Visual quality as an indicator of aesthetics can be classified as a social need of man under the subject of sustainability [1]. Visual quality assessment is significant in the appraisal and improvement of the natural and built environment [2]. Visual quality assessment involves different approaches, methods, models, and, the basic elements of the physical environment for its understanding. Visual quality, as it affects every other field, plays a critical role in prequalifying a building as a piece of architecture and the level of appreciation by the users and the design professionals. The visual quality assessment of diverse aspects of the natural and built environment is currently on the increase with the quest to find, apply, and establish a generally acceptable vocabulary for an excellent aesthetic appreciation. [3] evaluated the physical cues in a residential design
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