Tenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

All modes of 2D spatial representation are abstracted views of 3D embodied space, and therefore subject to interpretation. Because architects use various modes of graphic representation in their design process and as tools to communicate the design to others, it is valuable to understand how people perceive an architectural space in different modes. Our objective with a recently completed study is to compare how participants visually perceive photographs and drawings of the same architectural view, determined through eye tracking data. We hypothesize that there are differences between the features attracting attention in the photo versus the drawing, suggesting that different modes of representation could be utilized to draw attention to specific features of a design. While our data describes the visually dominant features of an image for our participants, an existing tool called saliency mapping claims to determine these features using algorithms that consider color, intensity and orientation. We are comparing the dominant features identified by the participants’ eye tracking data against the highlighted areas of a saliency map. This comparison will evaluate the accuracy of the computationally determined salient features. Our study compares the visual perception of drawings versus photographs for two demographic groups: preschoolers and architecture students. The larger research project, of which this study is a part, is a cross-disciplinary investigation involving researchers in computer science, cognitive science, and architecture. One long-term objective is to identify modes of representation that most closely correlate with the embodied architectural experience to predict how spaces affect the viewer’s physiological state.