Tall buildings and the urban skyline - The effect of visual complexity on preferences

Tall buildings are a significant feature of many urban skylines. The visual complexity of the tall buildings that make up the urban skyline can vary a ccording to the degree of silhouette complexity and the extent to which the facade is articulated. This article reports a study in which 60 undergradu ate psychology students ranked a set of 9 synthetic skylines according to e ither the perceived complexity of the skyline or their preference. The plea sure and arousal associated with each skyline was also measured using the A ffect Grid. The strongest influence on preference, arousal, and pleasure wa s the degree of silhouette complexity, with higher silhouette complexity as sociated with higher levels of perceived complexity and preference and high er arousal and pleasure. Facade articulation only influenced the evaluation s of skyline complexity, although this isolated finding may be due to the p retask training.