Comparison of Spatial Layout of Tall Buildings Clustered in Circular, Rectangular, and Linear Geographical Areas and Impact on Skyline

Abstract

Modern cities with tall building clusters can create powerful and distinctive features on the skyline more so than those with scattered tall buildings. In terms of their role in the city, tall building clusters can improve the image of the city, provide for high population density, and distinguish the urban centers. However, the planning of tall building clusters needs to be conducted using in-depth analysis in response to the spatial context to create an attractive skyline. This research attempts to compare different layouts of tall building clusters organized in circular, rectangular, and linear geographical areas. Their impact on the skyline was determined by analyzing the visibility and height transitions of these tall building clusters. Grasshopper was used to calculate the degree of surface visibility of these tall buildings from observers in urban spaces. To quantify the height transition of the cluster, the obstructed buildings were identified and mapped on the skyline viewed from a specific viewpoint. The results showed that the linear cluster had high visibility, followed by the circular and rectangular clusters. Decreasing the heights from the center to the periphery supported the focal point of the cluster.

A Study on the Regional Evolution of the Hefei Political and Cultural New District Skyline Based on Exploratory Factor Analysis and Semantic Segmentation

“…A city's unique skyline can serve as a representative image of the city, and in the above context, the study of the city skyline has strong practical significance [19]. Puspitasari A W et al obtained that linear clusters have higher visibility by comparing different layouts of circular, rectangular, and linear geographic area organisations in high-rise complexes [20]. Mehrdad Karimimoshaver et al used respondents' judgments of colour images of the skyline on the three types of natural, traditional, and modern skylines and obtained that people preferred natural and traditional skylines [19].…”

“…Puspitasari A W et al [20] used the spatial layout of tall structures as an entry point for the study and categorised the spatial layout of building groups in terms of circular, rectangular, and linear layouts to examine how high-rise structures affect the skyline of the city, and the map images of three representative areas were selected as the research object, which led to the conclusion that different spatial layouts of building groups are adopted in different urban street patterns and that the linear layout has the best visibility.…”

A Survey of the Landscape Visibility Analysis Tools and Technical Improvements

“…At the same time, a large number of researchers have conducted case studies in different regions (Table 4). For example, Puspitasari and Kwon [62], based on the above 3D ISOVIST method, conducted an empirical study on local landmark high-rise buildings in Pudong, Qingdao Shinan, and Mega Kuningan, and performed a multiregional quantitative comparison. Yin [63] analyzed and compared the skyline of multiple nodes on a street in Buffalo based on the 3D viewshed and line-of-sight methods.…”

“…However, these case studies have certain limitations and can hardly perform overall landscape performance evaluations of urban areas. First, these studies were mainly based on the observation and analysis of simple viewpoints; for example, the object of analysis was only landmark high-rise buildings [62]. Second, the large-scale urban environment analysis was not realized.…”

Measuring the precise carbon sinks of green spaces in high-density urban areas based on UAV oblique photography: the case of Lujiazui CBD area, Shanghai

“…of Green Spaces Based on UAV Oblique Photography: The Case of Lujiazui CBD, Shanghai intermediary services (Jiang & Waley, 2020). Nowadays, Lujiazui is full of shimmering skyscrapers, including the famous Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and Shanghai Tower, which form the remarkable skyline of the city (Puspitasari & Kwon, 2020). This beautiful urban skyline has become a culture symbol of the Shanghai metropolitan area.…”