Visual Impact Assessment in Rural Areas: The Role of Vegetation Screening in the Sustainable Integration of Isolated Buildings
Rural tourism has led to an increase in the number of buildings, meaning that visual integration of these buildings into the landscape is not always achieved. The silhouettes of buildings in rural areas are always recognisably simple but can be visually discordant if their sharpness is high. The lit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/9/1450 |
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| author | María Jesús Montero-Parejo Lorenzo García-Moruno Julio Hernández-Blanco Jacinto Garrido-Velarde |
| author_facet | María Jesús Montero-Parejo Lorenzo García-Moruno Julio Hernández-Blanco Jacinto Garrido-Velarde |
| author_sort | María Jesús Montero-Parejo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rural tourism has led to an increase in the number of buildings, meaning that visual integration of these buildings into the landscape is not always achieved. The silhouettes of buildings in rural areas are always recognisably simple but can be visually discordant if their sharpness is high. The literature provides analyses of how the visual impact of a given construction can be minimised by vegetation screening. The main objective of this study was to propose a method of quantifying the visual impact of isolated buildings (1 (low visual impact)–5 (high visual impact)). The method combines a measurement of the sharpness of building silhouette lines and vegetation screening (<i>Scr</i>) percentage (high or low) using theories based on the cognitive aspects of visual perception and digital image processing. The method was validated through a survey in which photos were shown to a wide range of respondents. A second objective was to analyse the combined effect on the visual perception of <i>Scr</i> and building colour (C), which is broadly analysed in the literature. The main result is that the required percentage of vegetation screening for a building with sharp lines and discordant colours to be accepted was determined to be around 40%. The proposed method can be applied by landscape planners; it is easy to use, and the cognitive principles on which it is based do not depend on the working environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:26:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3fb86551b55e4b54a4302928168d4f51 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:26:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-3fb86551b55e4b54a4302928168d4f512023-11-23T17:17:15ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2022-09-01119145010.3390/land11091450Visual Impact Assessment in Rural Areas: The Role of Vegetation Screening in the Sustainable Integration of Isolated BuildingsMaría Jesús Montero-Parejo0Lorenzo García-Moruno1Julio Hernández-Blanco2Jacinto Garrido-Velarde3Department of Graphical Expression, University of Extremadura, Avda. Virgen del Puerto 2, 10600 Plasencia, SpainDepartment of Graphical Expression, University of Extremadura, Avda. Sta. Teresa de Jornet 38, 06800 Mérida, SpainDepartment of Graphical Expression, University of Extremadura, Avda. Virgen del Puerto 2, 10600 Plasencia, SpainResearch Institute for Sustainable Territorial Development, University of Extremadura (INTERRA), 06006 Badajoz, SpainRural tourism has led to an increase in the number of buildings, meaning that visual integration of these buildings into the landscape is not always achieved. The silhouettes of buildings in rural areas are always recognisably simple but can be visually discordant if their sharpness is high. The literature provides analyses of how the visual impact of a given construction can be minimised by vegetation screening. The main objective of this study was to propose a method of quantifying the visual impact of isolated buildings (1 (low visual impact)–5 (high visual impact)). The method combines a measurement of the sharpness of building silhouette lines and vegetation screening (<i>Scr</i>) percentage (high or low) using theories based on the cognitive aspects of visual perception and digital image processing. The method was validated through a survey in which photos were shown to a wide range of respondents. A second objective was to analyse the combined effect on the visual perception of <i>Scr</i> and building colour (C), which is broadly analysed in the literature. The main result is that the required percentage of vegetation screening for a building with sharp lines and discordant colours to be accepted was determined to be around 40%. The proposed method can be applied by landscape planners; it is easy to use, and the cognitive principles on which it is based do not depend on the working environment.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/9/1450vegetation screeningbuilding silhouette linesvisual impact assessmentsustainable rural developmentplanning policies |
| spellingShingle | María Jesús Montero-Parejo Lorenzo García-Moruno Julio Hernández-Blanco Jacinto Garrido-Velarde Visual Impact Assessment in Rural Areas: The Role of Vegetation Screening in the Sustainable Integration of Isolated Buildings Land vegetation screening building silhouette lines visual impact assessment sustainable rural development planning policies |
| title | Visual Impact Assessment in Rural Areas: The Role of Vegetation Screening in the Sustainable Integration of Isolated Buildings |
| title_full | Visual Impact Assessment in Rural Areas: The Role of Vegetation Screening in the Sustainable Integration of Isolated Buildings |
| title_fullStr | Visual Impact Assessment in Rural Areas: The Role of Vegetation Screening in the Sustainable Integration of Isolated Buildings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Visual Impact Assessment in Rural Areas: The Role of Vegetation Screening in the Sustainable Integration of Isolated Buildings |
| title_short | Visual Impact Assessment in Rural Areas: The Role of Vegetation Screening in the Sustainable Integration of Isolated Buildings |
| title_sort | visual impact assessment in rural areas the role of vegetation screening in the sustainable integration of isolated buildings |
| topic | vegetation screening building silhouette lines visual impact assessment sustainable rural development planning policies |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/9/1450 |
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