An examination of people’s preferences for buildings and streetscapes in New Zealand

Abstract

The appearance of the built environment is an important matter for most people, as it can affect their physical, financial and psychological wellbeing. Many studies have been conducted to understand people’s visual preferences for buildings and streetscapes and the majority have used photographic or video representations to stimulate responses. Few have asked people for their preferences as they walk along the street. This research addresses that gap in knowledge, utilising a mixed methods research methodology. People were invited to indicate their preferences while walking along three streets in New Zealand cities. The survey responses were supplemented by two focus group discussions. This research found that people prefer streetscapes where differences in height and architectural composition vary within a narrow band of difference along the length of the street. At the scale of the individual building façade, people were found to prefer traditional cladding materials such as brick and those that could be painted or refinished. Compositionally, people preferred buildings with discrete window openings, a finding that was strongly supported by a dislike for horizontally banded façade treatments. The findings invite questions around contemporary architectural design practices and how these can be directed toward creating a better liked built environment.