Scenario-visualization Of Vegetationcreated Enclosure For The Assessement Of Aesthetic Preference

With the increasing demands and constructions of urban parks, people prefer to use public spaces to relax or experience the nature environment more frequent than ever before. Therefore, how to apply landscape visualization technology to the urban landscape design process, which could radically reduce the gap between designers, decision makers and the public, is the main entry point of this research.As a form of technical media, 3D visualization tools play an essential role in the area of landscape assessment research. In this project, which is based on a case study of Litchi Park in Shenzhen, a practical framework with theoretical supports will examine the relationship between planting, spatial configuration(visual and physical enclosure created by vegetation) and people’s aesthetic preferences in the Chinese urban park context. This paper explores people’s aesthetic preferences regarding different combinations of enclosure created vegetation by combining the scenario landscape visualization technique with environmental psychology theories. The work includes: 1) testing the feasibility of 3D vegetation materials in digital modelling simulations used in small-scale landscape visualization projects; 2) using online survey to collect and explore people’s aesthetic preference evaluations regarding visual and physical enclosure created by vegetation; 3) discussing the practical significance of this study’s results in the context of Chinese landscape design. 188 participants were asked to rate specific aesthetic preference factors(coherence, complexity and legibility) after viewing simulated through landscape scenario images. There were significant differences in participants’ aesthetic preferences regarding enclosure created by vegetation showing in the results of this research. When the visual and/or physical space was enclosed, participants gave lower ratings for legibility than in open scenes. Under visually enclosed situations, participants’ rated physically open scenarios as having higher coherence than physically enclosed scenarios. Participants’ assessment of complexity gave lower ratings in physically enclosed scenarios than in the physically open scenes. However, participants gave higher ratings for complexity in visually open scenarios than in the visually enclosed scenes. The results of this study suggest that more simple and open spaces should be built than ever before. Theses spaces are beneficial for enabling people’s movement around the park and for enabling them to identify different spaces within the park; building such spaces will enhance people’s aesthetic appreciation.