Appraisal of Architectural Ambiances in a Future District

Abstract

Auditing future public places that have not yet been constructed can be a laborious, time-consuming, and expensive task. However, the human factor plays a crucial role in successful infrastructure design. By involving users early in the design process, valuable insights can be gained prior to the physical construction, resulting in more appealing spaces for users. In this research, we explore the potential of non-immersive virtual reality to perceive atmospheres in architectural projects. We investigate suitable methodologies for studying this subject and examine its educational implications in architecture. The study focuses on a large-scale neighborhood currently undergoing complete reconstruction. We extract and model four environments in 3D, offering a virtual tour of these spaces and their infrastructures to both expert and non-expert participants. Through a questionnaire, we collect their responses to evaluate the architectural atmospheres of these distinct areas. This article analyzes the expressed feelings and provides projections on the anticipated sensations once the real estate project is completed. Additionally, it compares the expectations of professionals with the impressions of the public based on virtual visits. By emphasizing outdoor architecture and employing a larger city 3D model in the experimentation, this study contributes to the existing literature on participatory studies. The empirical research findings underscore the advantages of involving users early in the design process for buildings and streetscapes, leading to an enhanced user experience before implementing infrastructure renovations.

Exploring Virtual Environments to Assess the Quality of Public Spaces

“…A first perspective to this study would be to enrich the set of questions to allow for a more explanatory characterization of urban streetscapes. Indeed, it has been found in [26] that direct questioning of participants about the emotion brought by various environments was not discriminative of places.…”

“…We have chosen to follow the experimental protocol proposed in [26] without providing specific definitions of urban space auditing to the participants. They have not been trained in the various subjective characterizations of urban spaces presented in the questionnaire, to avoid biasing their judgments.…”

Modeling Visit Potential to Predict Hotspots of a Future District

“…Human operators measured subjective criteria including enclosure, human-scale, transparency, tidiness, and imageability. Ewing et al [23] added complexity to the measured attributes, but other type of indicator of urban ambiances and auditing public spaces can be found in [24,25]. These are important streetscape qualities for promoting population aggregation at a microscopic scale, and are influencing mechanisms of urban vitality.…”