Fabiana Bugs Antocheviz, Arquiteta e Urbanista

Antônio Tarcísio Reis, PhD, Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Postgraduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning (PROPUR), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)

Introduction

Coastal areas are defined as the interfaces between the land surface and the ocean (Rodríguez & Windevoxhel, 1998) and its location is seen as privileged because of its particular geographic features and the fact that land near the sea is relatively scarce in relation to the existing lands in the world (Moraes, 1999). In this context, the increasing urban expansion of Brazilian coastal areas has caused significant morphological transformations in these regions, among which the increase in height of buildings stands out (Ramires & Gomes, 2002). The height of buildings can have a major impact on the aesthetics of cities, as higher buildings tend to be the most visible building elements in the urban landscape (Gonçalves, 2010).

However, the higher the height of the building, the greater the distance required to view it entirely at street level, which is directly related to the width of the road on which the building is located (Gehl, Kaefer, & Reigstad, 2006). Thus, the ratio between the width of the roads and the height of the buildings may affect or make it impossible the full view of buildings at street level, especially on smaller roads or when taller buildings are built on both road sides (Gonçalves, 2010). In addition, depending on the height of the buildings and the distance of observation, the celestial vault can be partially obstructed or eliminated and cause a marked fall in aesthetic satisfaction levels with an urban scene (e.g., CIBSE, 1999; Gregoletto, 2013; Reis, Seadi, & Biavatti, 2016).

Evidences supporting the importance of aesthetic satisfaction with urban spaces and its broader implications for a sustainable city have been put forward by several authors (e.g., Whyte, 1990; Nasar, 1997; Stamps, 2000). An aesthetically pleasing urban environment can attract people and contribute urban vitality while an aesthetically unpleasant urban environment can create a negative image and keep people away (e.g., Cooper Marcus & Sarkassian, 1986; Kaplan, Kaplan, & Ryan, 1998; Isaacs, 2000). It follows that aesthetic evaluations have been adopted in several countries (such as Germany, Japan, Spain, and the United States, among others) to assess the impact of urban projects on the environment and to be a basis for public policy initiatives (Sanoff, 1991; Stamps, 2000). Nonetheless, due to the lack of conclusive studies, it is necessary to deepen the knowledge regarding the aesthetic impacts of buildings of different heights perceived at street level.

Moreover, there are contradictions about the influence of college education on aesthetic evaluations. Some studies reveal the existence of differences in aesthetics evaluations between architects and laypeople (e.g., Jeffrey & Reynolds, 1999; Fawcett, Ellingham, & Platt, 2008). These differences might be explained by the fact that architects, contrary to laypeople, are involved with the study of aesthetics of the built environment (Lang, 1987). On the other hand, other research shows that the level and type of college education do not significantly influence aesthetic evaluations of buildings (e.g., Reis, Biavatti, & Pereira, 2011; Gregoletto & Reis, 2012). Hence, these contradictions show the relevance to investigate how far, if it is the case, aesthetic evaluations are significantly affected by type of college education. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to explore the aesthetic perception at street level of buildings with different heights in Brazilian coastal cities, of architects and non-architects college graduates.

2. METHODOLOGY

   1. Case studies

Two small coastal cities (population range between 20,000 and 50,000 inhabitants according to the IBGE – Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics - classification), Capão da Canoa and Torres (Figure 1), located on the north coast of the southern Brazilian state (Rio Grande do Sul), are considered as case studies.

Figure 1: Location of the cities of Capão da Canoa and Torres Notes: Area in orange = Urban Agglomeration on the North Coast of Rio Grande do Sul State. Source: Adapted by the authors from http://www.fepam.rs.gov.br/biblioteca/geo/bases_geo.asp

As a result of a high degree of population growth and urbanization rate (Table 1; IBGE, 2011), these two cities have been experiencing morphological transformations including a strong process of urban verticalization in its most central áreas. The two cities are part of the Urban Agglomeration of the North Coast of Rio Grande do Sul State (Figure 1), a region that has been showing a high degree of urbanization and population growth since its creation in 2004.

Table 1: Population growth and urbanization rates

Source: Elaborated by the authors from IBGE data – cities 2010

Capão da Canoa and Torres are also among the small cities in Rio Grande do Sul with the largest number of permanent inhabitants and inhabitants living in apartments, and with the highest total number of dwellings of different types, the highest number of apartaments and the highest number of dwellings for occasional use (Table 2). In addition, despite the strong tourist attraction during the summer period, these two cities maintain many economic activities during the whole year.

These cities were also chosen because they present different characteristics in relation to high rise buildings and to their natural landscapes, allowing a more detailed comparative analysis of the morphological transformations that have been taking place. The urban expansion of the city of Capão da Canoa has provoked changes in the permitted height limits for new buildings with each new City Master Plan.

Table 2: Population and number of dwellings and apartments - Capão da Canoa and Torres

Source: Elaborated by the author from IBGE data - cities 2010

The first Master Plan of Capão da Canoa as an emancipated city was created in 1986 (Law 185/86), delimiting the maximum height of two floors in residential areas and five floors in shopping areas located in the city center (Capão da Canoa, 1986). This limit of five floors was changed to six floors in 1990 (Law 433/1990; Capão da Canoa, 1990). After the emancipation of the Xangri-la district (Figure 1) in 1992, the height limit was changed again in 1993 to seven floors (22.70 meters high) (Law nº 730/93; Capão da Canoa, 1993).

According to the current Master Plan elaborated in 2004 (Supplementary Law nº 3/2004) and the various changes that have occurred up to now, it is possible to build up to twelve floors (37.40 meters high) in the central area, including the waterfront, considered special area of scenic, historical, cultural and tourist interest. These limits have been discussed for the review of the current Master Plan of Capão da Canoa, with those who argue that these limits should be adopted in other city areas and those who advocate a greater building height control (Monteiro, 2014).

The city of Torres begins to be populated around 1809, being one of the oldest urban centers of Rio Grande do Sul, and acting, at the time, due to its strategic position, as a defense center for the region that served as commercial route. Only in the 1910s the city begins to turn into a tourist center (Torres, 2003). The first signs of verticalization of the city emerge in the 60s, raising concerns about the need to control this process (Torres, 2003). Thus, the first Master Plan of the city was elaborated in 1962 (Law nº728 / 62), establishing a height limit of two pavements in the waterfront, no limit of height in the central area, and allowing a built area ​​up to three times the area of ​​ the respective plot of land in the rest of the city. This Master Plan also controlled the urban occupation in the waterfront zone, preventing the urban landscape from being altered by the construction of high-rise buildings in the waterfront (Giralt, 2006).

In 1987, the height limit on the waterfront was altered from two to three floors (nine meters high) in the Master Plan (Law nº 2.265 / 87). The current Master Plan (established in 1995) maintains the height limit on the waterfront and limits the construction in other areas of the city to a height defined by the ratio between the utilization index (is a number that, multiplied by the area of a plot of land, indicates the total amount of square meters that can be constructed) and the occupation rates (percentage of the total area of land occupied by construction) (Torres, 1995). As a consequence, the tallest building in the city is 28 stories height. This height exceeds the limit of 18 floors allowed in Porto Alegre, capital of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, 2010).

Despite arguments (during debates about changes in the Torres Master Plan in 2014) favouring the construction of 30-storey buildings also in the waterfront areas, to bring greater development to the region, these changes were not approved due to criticism of the residents, who highlighted the negative impacts on the city's natural landscape (Monteiro, 2014). However, it is likely that these changes will again be debated due to the constant pressure of the real estate market for the increase of the height limits.

Methods of data collection and analysis

In order to reach the proposed objectives, the methods of data collection and analysis used in this paper are part of those in the Environment and Behavior area of studies, which deals, for example, with perceptions and evaluations of the built environment by people (e.g., Proshansky, Ittelson, & Rivlin, 1970; Mitchell, 1993).

The data were collected through an online questionnaire made available in the LimeSurvey program to two groups with different types of college education, in a total of 115 respondents, as follows: 40 architects and 75 non-architect’s college graduates. The respondents from the category of non-architects college graduates should not be graduated in courses whose contents deal with aesthetics, such as Visual Arts, Graphic Design and Product Design, in order to characterize a sample without aesthetic training, unlike the sample of architects. Most respondents are women (53.9% - 62 out of 115), and 46.1% (53 of 115) are men. The majority of the respondents are people aged from 31 to 65 years (73.9% - 85 of 115), followed by people aged from 18 to 30 years (23.5% - 27 of 115) and people over 65 years (2.6% - 3 of 115).

The application of questionnaires via the Internet has been used in other studies in a satisfactory way (e.g., Gregoletto, 2013; Reis, Antocheviz, & Limberger, 2014; Figueiredo, 2018), making it possible to obtain a greater number of respondents in a shorter period of time, eliminating the need for face-to-face meetings with the respondent and reducing or suppressing financial expenses and the time needed to tabulate the data collected, as these are transferred directly from LimeSurvey to the statistical software.

The two groups were contacted through social networks and emails (personal, master's and doctoral students in the Graduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning - PROPUR/UFRGS) with an invitation letter with research explanations and questionnaire access link, and the request to send this letter to their networks, using the technique of snowball sample in order to enlarge the sample. Apart from allowing for the statistical tests, sample sizes were limited by the period in which the questionnaire was available on the Internet (between January 15 and February 15 of 2017), and the number of people who were willing to respond to the questionnaire.

The questionnaire consisted of closed questions of simple choice with the statement "indicate the most pleasant scene" related to four sets of scenes. In order to investigate the aesthetic perception at street level of buildings with different heights, in the city of Capão da Canoa, two sets of scenes, one representing these heights in arterial roads (avenues) of 35m wide (Figures 2 – Scene 1 and 3 – Scene 2), and the other representing such different heights in 20m wide collector (local) roads (Figure 4 – Scene 3, Figure 5 – Scene 4, and Figure 6 – Scene 5), were included in the questionnaire.

Figure 2: Scene 1 - two-storey buildings in an arterial road - Capão da Canoa Source: Authors (2016)	Figure 3: Scene 2 - 12-storey buildings in an arterial road - Capão da Canoa Source: Authors (2016)
Figure 4: Scene 3 - two-storey buildings on a collector road - Capão da Canoa Source: Authors (2016)	Figure 5: Scene 4 - two-storey buildings on one side and 12-storey buildings on the other side on a collector road - Capão da Canoa Source: Authors (2016)	Figure 6: Scene 5 - 12-storey buildings on a collector road - Capão da Canoa Source: Authors (2016)

In order to investigate the aesthetic perception at street level of buildings with different heights in the city of Torres, three sets of scenes, one representing these heights in arterial roads of 33m wide (Figures 7 – Scene 6 and 8 – Scene 7) and two representing such different heights in 22m wide collector roads (Figures 9 – Scene 8 and 10 – Scene 9; and Figures 11 – Scene 10 and 12 – Scene 11) were also included in the questionnaire.

Figure 7: Scene 6 - predominance of 12-storey buildings on one side and of one-storey houses on the other side in an arterial road - Torres Source: Authors, 2016	Figure 8: Scene 7 - predominance of buildings up to 20-storey in an arterial road - Torres Source: Authors, 2016
Figure 9: Scene 8 - predominance of buildings of up to two-storey in a collector road - Torres Source: Authors, 2016	Figure 10: Scene 9 - predominance of buildings up to 4-storey (9 meters high) in a collector road - Torres Source: Authors, 2016
Figure 11: Scene 10 - predominance of 12-storey buildings in a collector road - Torres Source: Authors, 2016	Figure 12: Scene 11- predominance of 20-storey buildings in a collector road - Torres Source: Authors, 2016

These scenes represent urban contexts with buildings of different heights in arterial and collector roads shaped by the different Master Plans of Capão da Canoa and Torres. Thus, to represent the characteristics of existing urban contexts, elements that are permitted by these Master Plans, even if they could interfere in the aesthetic evaluation of the scenes, such as vegetation, were kept in the scenes. However, the same sky-blue color was used in all the scenes, so that there would be no sky differences among the scenes to interfere in their aesthetic evaluations. Multiple choice questions to justify the main reasons for choosing the most and least pleasant scenes in each set were also included in the online questionnaire, with the following alternatives: “( ) Adequate height of buildings, ( ) Inadequate height of buildings, ( ) Adequate amount of visible sky, ( ) inadequate amount of visible sky, ( ) Others: ……” . The "other" option allowed the respondent to include some other perceived difference among the scenes that could influence his/her aesthetic evaluation. The reasons considered in this paper have been mentioned by at least 5% of the respondents who selected a particular scene as the most or the least preferred. The data analysis was carried out in the statistical program SPSS Statistics 17.0 through Mann-Whitney and Kendall's W non-parametric statistical tests.

3. Results

   3. Evaluation of aesthetic perception of arterial roads in the city of Capão da Canoa

Statistically significant differences were found regarding the preferences for scenes 1 and 2 by architects (Kendall's W, Chi² = 8.100, sig = 0.004) and non-architects college graduated (Kendall's W, Chi² = 9.720, sig = 0.002). For most architects, scene 1 (Figure 2, two-storey buildings on both sides of the road) is the preferred one (29 out of 40 – 72.5%), mainly because of the adequate amount of visible sky (22 out of 29 – 75.9%), the adequate height of the buildings (15 out of 29 – 51.7%), and the existence of vegetation (17.2% - 5 out of 29, Table 4).

Table 3: Order of aesthetic preference for scenes with arterial roads in Capão da Canoa

Notes: the comparison between the Mann-Whitney mean rank values should be made horizontally between the two groups of respondents with different types of college education, for each scene; the comparison between the Kendall's W mean rank values should be made vertically between each of the two groups of respondents with different types of college education. Source: Authors, 2017.

The preference for scene 1 (Figure 2, two-storey buildings on both sides of the road) also predominates for the group of non-architects college graduates, although by a lower percentage of respondents (68% - 51 out of 75) in comparison to the architects, mainly due to the adequate amount of visible sky (70.6% - 36 out of 51) the adequate height of the buildings (49% - 25 out of 51), and the existence of vegetation (15.7% - 8 out of 51, Table 4). Also, no statistically significant differences were found (Mann-Whitney test) between the preference of the two groups of respondents in relation to scenes 1 and 2 (Table 3).

Table 4: Main justifications for choosing the most pleasant scene in relation to the arterial roads in Capão da Canoa

Source: Authors, 2017.

Evaluation of the aesthetic perception of arterial roads in the city of Torres

Statistically significant differences were found between the preferences for scenes 6 and 7 by architects (Kendall W, chi ² = 4.900, sig. = 0.027) and non-architects’ college gratuated (Kendall W, chi = 29.453, sig. = 0.000) (Table 5). Scene 6 (predominance of buildings of up to 12 storey-buildings on one side and of one storey houses on the other side of the road) is preferred by most of architects (67.5% - 27 out of 40) mainly due to the adequate amount of visible sky (63% - 17 out of 27), the adequate height of the buildings (25.9% - 7 out of 27), and the difference between the height of the buildings (14.8% - 4 out of 27, Table 6).

Table 5: Order of aesthetic preference for scenes with arterial roads in Torres

Notes: the comparison between the Mann-Whitney mean rank values should be made horizontally between the two groups of respondents with different types of college education, for each scene; the comparison between the Kendall's W mean rank values should be made vertically between the total sample of respondents and between each of the two groups of respondents with different types of college education. Source: Authors, 2017.

The preference for scene 6 (predominance of buildings of up to 12 storey-buildings on one side and of one storey houses on the other side of the road) is even higher for the non-architects college graduates (81.3% - 61 out of 75) specially due the adequate amount of visible sky (75.4% - 46 out of 61), and the adequate height of the buildings (37.7% - 23 out of 61) (Table 6).

Table 6: Main justifications for choosing the most pleasant scene in relation to arterial roads in Torres

Source: Authors, 2017.

Moreover, no statistically significant differences were found (Mann-Whitney test) between the preference for scenes 6 and 7 by the two groups of respondents (Table 5).

Evaluation of aesthetic perception of collector roads in the city of Capão da Canoa

Statistically significant differences were found among the preferences for scenes 3, 4 and 5 by architects (Kendall W, chi² = 59.850, sig = 0.000) and by non-architect’s college graduated (Kendall W, chi² = 59.227, sig = 0.000) (Table 7). Scene 3 (Figure 4, two-story buildings on both sides of the road) is preferred by most architects (82.5% -33 out of 40) mainly due to the adequate amount of visible sky (66.7% - 22 out of 33), the adequate height of the buildings (60.6% - 20 out of 33), the similarity of the buildings heights (42.4% - 14 out of 33), and the existence of vegetation (21.2% - 7 out of 33, Table 8).

Table 7: Order of aesthetic preference for scenes with collector roads in Capão da Canoa

Notes: Total score = total score received [ranging from the highest (1 points) to the lowest (3 points) preference for each respondent]; the comparison between the Mann-Whitney values should be done vertically between the three scenes; the comparison between the Kendall's W values should be made horizontally between the total sample of respondents and between each sample of the two groups of respondents. Source: Authors, 2017.

On the other hand, scene 5 (Figure 6, 12-story buildings on both sides of the road) is the least pleasent by most architects (90% - 36 out of 40), mainly because of the inadequate amount of visible sky (50% - 18 out of 36), the inadequate height of the buildings (38.9% - 14 out of 36), and the lack of vegetation (19.4% - 7 out of 36, Table 8).

Table 8: Main justifications for the most and least pleasant scenes of collector roads in Capão da Canoa by architects

Source: Authors, 2017.

The preference for scene 3 ((Figure 4, two-story buildings on both sides of the road) also predominates for non-architects college graduates, although by a lower percentage of respondents (69.3% - 52 out of 75) in comparison to the architects, mainly due the adequate amount of visible sky (67.3% - 35 out of 52), the adequate height of the buildings (44.2% - 23 out of 52), and the similarity between the building’s heights (26.9% - 14 out of 52, Table 9). In its turn, scene 5 (Figure 6, 12-story buildings on both sides of the road) is also the least pleasant scene for non-architects college graduates, although by a lower percentage of respondents (76% - 57 out of 75) in comparison to the architects, specially due the inadequate amount of visible sky (66.7% - 38 out of 57), the inadequate height of the buildings (40.4% - 23 out of 57), and the higher density (15.8% - 9 out of 57, Table 9). On the other hand, no statistically significant difference was found (Mann-Whitney test) between the preferences for scenes 3, 4 and 5 by the two groups of respondents (Table 7).

Table 9: Main justifications for the most and least pleasant scenes of collector roads in Capão da Canoa by non-architect’s college graduates

Source: Authors, 2017.

Evaluation of the aesthetic perception in collector roads in the city of Torres

Regarding architects, although there are no statistically significant differences (Kendall's Test) among the aesthetic preference for scenes 8, 9, 10 and 11, two scenes are equally preferred (50% - 20 out of 40, Table 10): scene 8 (predominance of buildings up to two storey), and scene 9 (predominance of buildings up to 4 storeys (9 meters high), specially due the adequate height of the buildings (75% - 15 out of 20, and 60% - 12 out of 20, respectively), the adequate amount of visible sky (60% - 12 out of 20, and 55% - 11 out of 20, respectively), and the existence of vegetation (10% - 2 out of 20, and 25% - 5 out of 20, respectively; Table 11).

Table 10: Order of aesthetic preference for scenes with collector roads in Torres

Notes: Total score = total score received [ranging from the highest (1 points) to the lowest (4 points) preference for each respondent]; the comparison between the Mann-Whitney values should be done vertically between the four scenes; the comparison between the Kendall's W values should be made horizontally between the total sample of respondents and between each sample of the two groups of respondents with different types of college education. Source: Authors, 2017.

On the other hand, scene 11 (20-storey buildings) is the least preffered by architects (52.5% - 21 out of 40), mainly due the inadequate height of the buildings (71.4% - 15 out of 21), and the inadequate amount of visible sky (47.6% - 10 out of 21). This lower preference is closely followed by scene 10 (12-storey buildings), wich is less preferred by 50% (20 out of 40) of architects, specially due the inadequate amount of visible sky (60% - 12 out of 20), the inadequate height of the buildings (55% - 11 out of 20), and the lack of vegetation (40% - 8 out of 20; Table 11).

Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was found among the preferences for these four scenes by non-architect’s college graduate (Kendall's W, chi ² = 126,495, sig. = 0.000), confirming scene 8 (predominance of buildings up to 2 storeys), mainly due the adequate amount of visible sky (65.3% - 32 out of 49), the adequate height of the buildings (61.2% - 30 out of 49), and the existence of vegetation (10.2% - 5 out of 49; Table 12). On the other hand, scene 11 (20-storey buildings) is the least preferred by most of non-architects college graduates (58.6% - 44 out of 75), specially due to the inadequate height of the buildings (79.1% - 34 out of 44), and the inadequate amount of visible sky (55.8% - 24 out of 44; Table 12).

Table 11: Main justifications for the most and least pleasant scenes of collector roads in Torres by architects

Source: Authors, 2017.

In addition, a statistically significant difference (Kendall's W, chi² = 72.538, sig = 0.000) was found among the preferences scenes 8, 9, 10 and 11 by the architects, with scene 9 (predominance of buildings up to 4 storeys) as the most pleasant and scene 11 (predominance of 20 - storey buildings) as the least pleasant (Table 10). A statistically significant difference (Mann-Whitney, chi² = 1106, 000, sig = 0.008) was also found between the preference by the two groups with different types of college education for scene 9 (predominance of buildings up to 4 storeys), which is most preferred by architects (Table 10).

Table 12: Main justifications for the most and least pleasant scenes of collector roads in Torres by non-architect’s college graduates

Source: Authors, 2017.

Conclusions

In the evaluation of the aesthetic perception of buildings height increase in two Brazilian coastal cities, the results tend to show that, regardless of the roads width in both cities, the higher the height of the buildings, the more negative is the perceived impact. These results are mainly related to the fact that the lower buildings and a greater amount of visible sky in the scene are perceived as more adequate by both groups, corroborating those of other studies that indicate that the levels of satisfaction with a scene tend to decrease as much as the visualization of the celestial vault is reduced (e.g., CIBSE, 1987; Reis et al., 2016).

Moreover, the existence of vegetation tend to contribute to a pleasant urban appearance, as shown by results of many studies (e.g., Reis et al., 2016; Ulrich, 1984). However, the construction of high-rise buildings is often characterized by ground floor interfaces with garage doors and blind walls, which do not establish a direct relationship between buildings and public open spaces, and prevent or inhibit the existence of gardens due to access by vehicles, not qualifying the aesthetic experience of the pedestrian (Arsego, Antocheviz, & Reis, 2018).

In addition, in narrow roads (collector roads), the negative impact of taller buildings is greater than in wider roads (arterial roads), because the taller buildings are not fully visualized and obstruct the visualization of the celestial vault. Thus, these results suggest that the aesthetic impact is also determined by the relationship between the height of the buildings and the width of the public roads, as already mentioned in other studies (e.g., Gehl et al., 2006; Gregoletto, 2013).

These results are independent of the type of college education of the respondents and, therefore, do not support the studies that indicate the existence of significant differences between the aesthetic preferences of architects and laypeople (eg, Nasar, 1998; Fawcett et al., 2008). On the other hand, these results tend to corroborate other studies that reveal that such difference in the type of college education has no decisive impact on the aesthetic evaluations of these two groups of respondents (e.g., Reis, Pereira, & Biavatti, 2010; Gregoletto & Reis, 2012).

It is hoped that the results of this study will be useful for the discussions about the impacts the increase of buildings heights produce on aesthetic perception of coastal cities. Moreover, this study can contribute to a qualified urban planning, including the regulation of buildings heights according to the different roads widths. Nonetheless, new research in a greater diversity of urban contexts is needed to deepen the existing knowledge.

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