The role of complexity and order in determining aesthetic preference in architectural forms /
This investigation, based on empirical research, examined the role of complexity and order in the aesthetic experience of architectural forms. This research generally involved two types of inquiry. The first inquiry examined how complexity can be achieved and evaluated in architectural forms. In thi...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1998.
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| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=732514591&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | This investigation, based on empirical research, examined the role of complexity and order in the aesthetic experience of architectural forms. This research generally involved two types of inquiry. The first inquiry examined how complexity can be achieved and evaluated in architectural forms. In this investigation, a model, which quantified physical complexity and orderliness of elements embedded on a building facade, was tested to verify effectiveness as an information-measuring tool in architecture. Second, the relationship of aesthetic appreciation to complexity in building facades was examined. The basic assumption of this study was that perception in architectural form is a process of interpreting a pattern in a reductive way. determined by the absolute complexity of a configuration. Thus, perceptual arousal is not. Rather, the actual perceived complexity is a function of the organization of the system (order). This investigation, therefore, used an integrated way (Coding method) to evaluate complexity and order simultaneously with quantification of information in building facades. In addition, complexity and order were defined and categorized into four variables according to their significant characteristics; simple order, complex order, random complexity, and lawful complexity. The findings indicated that the Coding method (Leeuwenberg, 1969, 1971, 1982) was an effective tool for simultaneously quantifying complexity and orderliness of a building facade. Information loads of building facades yielded the same ordering of consensual complexity. In addition, the coding process emphasized that the complexity of architectural facades related not only to the number of building elements, but also to the potential relationships between building elements. The series of experiments also confirmed that there is a point on the psychological complexity dimension which is optimal. By demonstrating that consensual and individual aesthetic preference can be measured to have a unimodal function relationship with complexity, the results of the experiments indicated that complexity and orderliness are effective design factors for enhancing aesthetics of a building facade. Finally, perceived complexity and aesthetic pleasantness of a building facade were not only related to simple order (information load), which results from the simplest interpretation of a building facade, but also to complex order (additional regularity), and random complexity. This investigation offered a conceptual framework that (architectural form) and psychological factors (complexity and order) operating in the aesthetic experience of building facades. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. |
| Physical Description: | xv, 230 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references: pages 163-170. |