Search Results (22)

This article provides a critical review of the current design and research challenges in contemporary timber architecture. Conducted from the perspective of a designer-researcher, the review focuses on the role of wood as a material at the intersection of environmental performance, cultural meaning, and spatial practice. The study adopts a conceptual, problem-oriented approach, eschewing the conventional systematic aggregation of existing data. The objective of this study is to identify, interpret and categorise the key issues that are shaping the evolving discourse on timber architecture. The analysis is based on peer-reviewed literature published between 2020 and 2025, sourced from the Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection databases. Fifteen thematic challenges have been identified and classified according to their recognition level in academic and design contexts. The subjects under discussion include well-established topics, such as life cycle assessment and carbon storage, as well as less commonly explored areas, such as symbolic durability, social acceptance, traceability, and the upcycling of low-grade wood. The review under consideration places significant emphasis on the importance of integrating technical, cultural, and perceptual dimensions when evaluating timber architecture. The article proposes an interpretive framework combining design thinking and transdisciplinary insights. This framework aims to bridge disciplinary gaps and provide a coherent structure for understanding the complexity of timber-related challenges. The framework under discussion here encourages a broader understanding of wood as not only a sustainable building material but also a vehicle for systemic transformation in architectural culture and practice. The study’s insights may support designers, educators, and policymakers in identifying strategic priorities for the development of future-proof timber-based design practices. Full article

This study focuses on the visual attention of residents and tourists to elements of urban landscapes from above. It screens out elements that attract viewers’ attention, assesses their aesthetics, and explores how these aesthetic evaluations affect the psychology of place identity. We tracked data from 30 participants, collected responses from 237 participants, and observed differences in visual behaviors and emotional connections to place identity. The results show that while residents and tourists exhibit similar visual behaviors when viewing the same landscape, they have large differences in their perceptual behaviors for different visual elements and have very different familiarity levels in the place identity dimension. Landmark buildings attract strong visual attention despite their low proportion in the overall landscape. Aesthetic factors such as the color vividness of elements like water, mountains, and landmark buildings significantly affect place identity. This study shows that combining eye-tracking and psychometric analysis can effectively evaluate urban landscape perception and provide valuable insights for visual planning and preservation efforts in historic neighborhoods. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the role of urban parks as green spaces in mitigating social isolation and supporting public mental health. Research in this area is limited due to the lack of large-scale datasets. Moreover, timely studies are indeed necessary under pandemic conditions. This study employs quantitative methods to analyze the temporal and spatial changes in social interaction in 160 urban parks before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and assesses their correlation with the built environment. Social media data from the Dianping platform were collected for this purpose. A two-step analytical approach was employed: first, machine learning-based keyword analysis identified review data related to social interaction, leading to the construction of two indicators: social interaction intensity and social interaction recovery rate. Second, we applied regression models to explore the correlation between the two indicators in urban parks and 18 characteristics of the built environment. The built environment characteristics associated with social interaction intensity varied across different periods, with seven factors, including natural landscapes, perceptual experience, building density, and road intersections, showing significant correlations with the recovery of social interaction capabilities in the post-pandemic era. Based on these findings, it is recommended that urban planners consider integrating more flexible design element, such as adding greenery and enriching the audio-visual experience for visitors. Furthermore, enhancing the quality and accessibility of park amenities can foster social interaction, thereby contributing to public health resilience in future crises. This research recommends that urban park design should not only support communities’ immediate needs but also prepare for unforeseen challenges. Full article

With the new phase of urbanization in China, enhancing urban spatial quality has become a key task in urban development. As an important indicator of residents’ willingness to live, housing prices provide valuable feedback from their perspective for improving spatial quality. Taking Wuhan as a case study, this paper constructs an indicator system with 12 explanatory variables, including a subjective evaluation of buildings generated using deep learning techniques. Using OLS and GWR models, the study analyzes the factors influencing housing prices and their spatiotemporal dynamics in Wuhan’s core urban areas from 2016 to 2024, encompassing the full cycle of housing price fluctuations from an upward to a downward trend. The findings reveal that, as housing prices return to more rational levels, the impact of location factors diminishes, while the influence of community quality factors—such as property fees, green space ratio, and building quality—significantly increases. Factors such as proximity to hospitals also exhibit a certain degree of spatiotemporal complexity. This trend highlights residents’ growing attention to housing quality and living environments, marking a fundamental shift in the behavior of homebuyers. The results of this study provide crucial insights into the evolution of residential preferences and the spatiotemporal dynamics of the housing market. They offer significant theoretical and practical references for understanding residents’ housing needs from their perspective, thereby promoting the healthy development of the real estate market and improving urban spatial quality. Full article

The European Landscape Convention (ELC) acknowledges that the landscape is an important part of the quality of life for people everywhere, in urban areas and the countryside, in degraded areas as well as higher quality areas and recognized as being of outstanding beauty, as well as in everyday areas. Nowadays, many suburbs, arisen as public housing neighborhoods and originally located in peri-urban areas, in addition to constituting a substantial part of the built heritage, are increasingly being configured as new strategic areas, redefining the daily landscape of its users. With the post-occupancy evaluation method (POE), it is possible to assess several aspects of the performance of buildings or open spaces from the users’ perspective, taking into consideration objective and subjective factors. It is a multi-method approach, combining interviews, customer satisfaction surveys, behavioral observation, etc. With this perspective, the article, dealing with the ‘Parco dei Murales’, which is a complex of public housing localized in the Ponticelli suburb in the city of Naples (Italy), aims to understand the visual and qualitative perception of the suburban landscape in the light of the transformation processes that have occurred in recent years. For this purpose, starting from the results of the first application of a user satisfaction survey, the post occupancy evaluation has been applied, analyzing the functional, social, and perceptual attributes of the open spaces of the park. Full article

In the context of high academic pressure and inadequate physical activity (PA) among adolescents, it is important to study how the physical environment and students’ perceptions affect their physical activity during school recess. An empirical study was conducted in four secondary schools in Xi’an to gather data on students’ physical activity using DJI Mini Drone recordings and self-reported questionnaires. Three physical activity indices—concentration, type richness and intensity—were visualized and quantified for intercomparison. This study found that physical environmental factors such as the building shape complexity and green space proportion significantly affected the PA concentration and intensity indices, whereas the campus area per student, the average distance to PA facilities and the number of PA facilities indicated a strong correlation with the PA richness index at the school level. Additionally, perceived environmental factors like space safety, facilities enjoyment and visual accessibility exerted influence on the PA intensity and frequency at the individual level. The study’s results confirmed previous findings from a social–ecological perspective and provide a comprehensive assessment framework that includes the spatial organization/spatial quality of the school and the perceived variables of safety, comfort, aesthetics, accessibility and functionality. By incorporating spatial, perceptual and behavioral aspects, this approach provides an efficient and integrated analytical methodology to promote adolescents’ health in school. Full article

To address the challenge of quantitatively assessing the mentalization of emotions in color design schemes, this study uses Baidu Street View images and deep learning, integrates multi-source data, and innovatively constructs a color data model based on a comprehensive color indicator system for the quantitative assessment and visual representation of how the color environments of elementary school urban neighborhoods impact children’s mentalization of emotions. This model systematically incorporates physical color indicators, integrates elements such as perceptual frequency, and provides a novel perspective for color planning. The study’s results reveal that color metrics significantly impact children’s mentalization of emotions across multiple dimensions, with gender and age emerging as important influencing factors. Additionally, significant correlations were found between color and environmental elements such as building façades, roads, and signs. The study provides urban planners and architects with a practical color data model and recommendations for the revitalization of elementary school urban neighborhoods, offering a scientific basis for optimizing color design. Full article

People spend most of their time indoors, and the visual characteristics of indoor building materials affect not only the quality of the indoor environment, but also the well-being of individuals. Ceramic tiles are widely used in interior decoration of buildings due to their aesthetic appeal and ease of maintenance. However, there is currently a lack of a comprehensive framework for assessing the visual comfort of ceramic tile design. This study established an evaluation system using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Delphi method to collect perceptual words, extract evaluation indices, and calculate weights. A visual comfort scale for ceramic tiles, comprising three dimensions and twelve indices, was developed. A total of 342 questionnaires were analyzed using six types of tiles, and the multidimensional visual comfort scores of the various ceramic tile samples were statistically examined. An analysis of variance was conducted to investigate the effects of tile brightness, texture, and participant gender on visual comfort. The findings indicate that tile brightness and texture significantly affect the overall visual comfort score (p < 0.001; p < 0.001), with light-toned, non-textured tiles providing higher visual comfort (3.949). Although gender did not significantly affect the overall visual comfort scores, it did influence the evaluation scores in certain dimensions. Men rated the aesthetic comfort of tiles lower than women (p = 0.035), but they rated the emotional comfort of medium-toned and non-textured tiles higher (p = 0.003; p = 0.017). In terms of theoretical significance, the establishment of this evaluation model can expand the research content and methods of ceramic tiles, which are crucial architectural decoration materials. In terms of practical significance, this study provides an evaluation method and partial evaluation information for designers, enabling them to assess and enhance the visual experience of tiles based on the specific needs of interior spaces and the characteristics of the visual subject. Full article

The emotional responses and perceptual preferences of individuals for urban public spaces are shaped by their interactions with the physical environment. Emotions and perceptions are inextricably linked, forming the basis of people’s spatial experience. For instance, the presence of dense city buildings can result in feelings of crowding and friction. By improving the urban landscape, it is possible to reduce the stress experienced by citizens. In this study, architectural styles and building facade colors were examined to explore design approaches and features of stress-relieving building facades and identify metrics that measure participants’ stress-relief when viewing buildings. The color of 600 buildings in Japan and Taiwan was analyzed to understand stress-relief from architecture. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 70 participants who viewed images of 30 buildings. The semantic differential method with a seven-point image scale was employed to assess the stress-relieving potential of different architectural styles and colors. The findings of this study indicated that participants perceived that architectural colors influenced feelings of relief. Additionally, they anticipated variations in architectural colors contingent on architectural usage patterns. To substantiate this observation, three principles—city image, identity, and spiritual atmosphere—were identified as fundamental elements in designing cities for livability. The three principles are illustrated by several case studies for a detailed understanding of their applicability in biodesign practices. Full article

Numerous studies have examined the impact of the built environment on mental health, yet there remains an underexplored area concerning how microenvironments within educational buildings affect students’ mental well-being from a physical environment standpoint. This paper fills this gap by utilizing data from 440 valid questionnaires to develop regression models that assess students’ perceptions of physical environment factors in college teaching buildings and their impact on anxiety likelihood. This study examined the physical environment of the teaching building’s interior, courtyard, and semi-outdoor areas. Findings indicate that students’ perceptions of specific physical environment factors—such as classroom ventilation (p < 0.01, OR = 0.330), lighting (p < 0.01, OR = 0.444), noise conditions (p < 0.01, OR = 0.415), courtyard thermal comfort (p < 0.01, OR = 0.504), and the views from semi-outdoor areas (p < 0.01, OR = 2.779)—significantly influence the likelihood of experiencing anxiety. Optimal physical conditions are linked to reduced student anxiety. The suitability of the physical environment of teaching buildings is interrelated, and it is urgently necessary to address issues related to unsuitable lighting in window areas of classrooms, as well as problems with ventilation, lighting, and noise caused by the corridor layout within teaching buildings. These insights are crucial for the design and renovation of academic buildings to enhance students’ mental well-being. Full article

Urban spatial perception critically influences human behavior and emotional reactions, emphasizing the necessity of aligning urban spaces with human needs for enhanced urban living. However, functionality-based categorization of urban architecture is prone to biases, stemming from disparities between objective mapping and subjective perception. These biases can result in urban planning and designs that fail to cater adequately to the needs and preferences of city residents, negatively impacting their quality of life and the city’s overall functionality. This research scrutinizes the perceptual biases and disparities in architectural function distribution within urban spaces, with a particular focus on Shanghai’s central urban district. The study employs machine learning to clarify these biases within urban spatial perception research, utilizing a tripartite methodology: objective mapping, subjective perception analysis, and perception deviation assessment. The study revealed significant discrepancies in the distribution centroids between commercial buildings and residential or public buildings. This result illuminates the spatial organization characteristics of urban architectural functions, serving as a valuable reference for urban planning and development. Furthermore, it uncovers the advantages and disadvantages of different data sources and techniques in interpreting urban spatial perception, paving the way for a more comprehensive understanding of the subject. Our findings underscore the need for urban planning strategies that align with human perceptual needs, thereby enhancing the quality of the urban environment and fostering a more habitable and sustainable urban space. The study’s implications suggest that a deeper understanding of perceptual needs can optimize architectural function distribution, enhancing the urban environment’s quality. Full article

To enhance the online education service experience, the emotional valence of the user was studied as an evaluation variable, and both qualitative and quantitative research were used to find how to evaluate online education service touchpoints. First, deconstruct the system service interface with the interactive touchpoint matrix, set service evaluation indicators from four aspects, visual guidance, learning resources, after-class evaluation, and interactive feedback, and build an online education service touchpoint evaluation system. Secondly, using Tencent Classroom as the target of research, an online education service rating experiment is created based on the two dimensions of emotional valence and perceptual cognition. With the aid of a questionnaire survey and analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multidimensional evaluation of online education service touchpoints is accomplished using the learners’ emotional enjoyment, activation, dominance, touchpoint satisfaction, and importance as measuring indicators. Finally, concluding the assessment and optimization of online education service touchpoints, the evaluation data for the service are combined, and the evaluation results are generated using visual design. This study includes successful strategies and practical recommendations for boosting interest in e-learning services, user initiative, and excitement for learning. Full article

To address the challenge of no-reference image quality assessment (NR-IQA) for authentically and synthetically distorted images, we propose a novel network called the Combining Convolution and Self-Attention for Image Quality Assessment network (Conv-Former). Our model uses a multi-stage transformer architecture similar to that of ResNet-50 to represent appropriate perceptual mechanisms in image quality assessment (IQA) to build an accurate IQA model. We employ adaptive learnable position embedding to handle images with arbitrary resolution. We propose a new transformer block (TB) by taking advantage of transformers to capture long-range dependencies, and of local information perception (LIP) to model local features for enhanced representation learning. The module increases the model’s understanding of the image content. Dual path pooling (DPP) is used to keep more contextual image quality information in feature downsampling. Experimental results verify that Conv-Former not only outperforms the state-of-the-art methods on authentic image databases, but also achieves competing performances on synthetic image databases which demonstrate the strong fitting performance and generalization capability of our proposed model. Full article

This study aims to assess a sense of place in the context of an Indonesian city through real-time walking experience. With rapid urban development, the cityscape may change, leading to a lack of a sense of place. Here, the sense of place was measured by utilizing individual reactions to different urban design qualities and perceptual qualities during walking. Previous methods on visitors’ evaluation of places, walking experience and photographing, were adapted by adding two more stages: in-depth interviews and a workshop, obtaining participants’ opinions and behaviours. The analysis results showed that the participants experienced the sense of place through physical and non-physical features corresponding to walking speed. While the old buildings and ornament details attracted participants’ attention, this study demonstrated that the two-way interaction with residents also strengthened the sense of place. The major finding was that the participants were concerned about improving pedestrian infrastructure and the conservation of old buildings in the area. With the assistance of in-depth interviews and a workshop, participants’ perspectives were visually reflected in a comprehensive way. This study may be helpful for urban planners to manage the sense of place in historic city centres under the pressure of rapid urban development. Full article

Good academic performance will occur when learning spaces match or support individual preference and needs. This effect depends on environmental characteristics and individual attributes. Learning styles (LSs) have been used as a tool to capture the behavioral and psychological characteristics of learners in the process of learning activities, which provide instructions to address their learning needs. However, few have focused on the perceptual characteristics of learning space from the view of distinct learning styles. The research aims to identify which kinds of learning spaces in university campus have been preferred by students with different learning styles respectively and the spatial characteristics which have significant influence on the distinct evaluation results; the research consists of 178 college students’ LSs measurement conducted by the Index of Learning Styles questionnaire and their subjective assessment to five typical learning spaces obtained by 5-point Likert-type scale. Then, the key spatial influencing factors were identified by the focus group interviews; the results firstly ranked the learning spaces according to their satisfaction evaluation and restorative potential. The self-study rooms are rated highest, followed by professional classroom, traditional classroom, and multimedia classroom. Then, two dimensions of learning styles were proved as having considerable effects on perception. Specifically, there are significant differences between visual and verbal learners’ evaluations of multimedia classrooms and traditional classrooms, and between global and sequential learners’ evaluations of multimedia classrooms, informal learning spaces, and learning buildings. The other two dimensions including perceiving and remembering have no obvious impacts on learners’ perception of any learning spaces. At last, the important influence factors of perceptions of five typical learning spaces were identified, respectively, and their different effects on various groups were discussed. For example, the serious atmosphere in traditional classrooms was regarded as a motivation for sensing learners but a stress for intuitive learners. The studies emphasize the perceptual difference on learning space in terms of students’ unique learning styles and key points for each kind of learning space with regard to satisfaction of personalized needs. However, before it can be used by designers as tools, more research is needed. Full article