Visual Perception and Contextual Relationship of Contemporary Extensions and Historical Buildings

Abstract

This paper aims to raise awareness of how design methods can significantly influence the visual perception and contextual relationship of contemporary extensions and historical buildings. This study focuses on assessing the design elements that affect visual perception and contextual relationship in 15 contemporary extensions designed by different architects. First, the authors reviewed the literature on restoration, conservation and contemporary extensions, and then generated a questionnaire. The authors surveyed 223 respondents. A mixed qualitative and quantitative evaluation model was established. SPSS was used to evaluate and analyze the 15 selected contemporary extensions and 223 survey samples. The results indicated that contemporary extensions are considered successful when designed using a method compatible with the historical buildings in congruence with related literature and hypothesis. For the buildings examined within this research, no examples were found that copied historical buildings within the scope of visual perception. Despite rich variety, contemporary extensions have been rarely investigated within the scope of visual perception and context relationship. This paper is among the few works that investigate contemporary extensions using approaches of visual perception and context relationship.