Empirical Research On Sculpture In Urban Street In Xi’an City Through Experiential Perception

John Ormsbee Simonds, the famous American landscape architect, once said:"Weare not planning substances, or space, but the experience of the people."We feel the surrounding environment through the biological function of the bodyand the cognitive surrounding environment through experience of personal space, lifeexperience, cultural background and social background. Access to the informationprocess comes through perception. As the body moves, people continually receive newinformation. We gradually form clear overall judgment on space and generate thinkingon the environment; this is experience. Experience is the basic way people feel space.Streets are the most commonly used outdoor space. Urban sculpture as a work ofart, is most likely caused by the spirit resonating with physical entities. In the citystreets, sculpture (as well as construction) is an artifact which is highly successful atcontrolling space. At the same time, streets function as both paths and places in the city.The space defined by urban sculpture is an important area in the street: a focal point ornode.The article uses the theory of experiential perception to investigate the streetsculpture spaces in Xian city, using status, spatial features and problems in experientialperception. The analysis of information addresses the following problems: identifyingthe factors which influence urban spaces with sculptures, the causes of the problems,the way people perceive and the level of experience. Using the results of thisinvestigation, the street sculpture spaces can be categorised. Finally, it is possible todesign space for different kinds of urban sculptures in different sites, in order to helppeople understand and feel the art of sculptures.