Visualisation of Architectural Design Schemes through Static Computer Generated and Traditional Visual Representations: An Investigation of Subjective Responses

Before architects can begin to make changes in the actual physical environment they must create visual representations of design scheme proposals. Thus, in architecture, information visualisation in graphic form is crucial for discussions and for design review process of architectural design. Within the context of design research and studies there has been a growing interest in recent years in the computer methods of visual representation of architecture. This paper presents the first findings of an Economic and Social science Research Council (ESRC) funded project which explores those factors and issues which determine the perceived credibility of visual representations of architectural design. It specifically considers differences between architects' and other professionals' perceptual responses to the static forms of traditional and computer visualisation. The paper concentrates on the question: what factors are relevant to people's perceptions and which method of information visualisation is perceived as a more reliable way of visualising information about the design proposals?