Psychological Acceptance of Sustainable Architecture in Lithuania: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The concept of sustainable development has been applied to the field of architecture since the end of the 20th century and has become an official paradigm for planning, design, and construction policies. However, a lot of researchers notice the lack of attention to cultural, place-based, and aesthetic aspects in the field of sustainable architecture. Moreover, the efforts to implement sustainability ideas sometimes lead to very unusual designs that can even be provocative experiments, and may sometimes lead to conflicting assessments in the general public. This study investigates the architectural language of sustainable design and how the aesthetics of sustainable architecture are distinguished and psychologically accepted by people. An online sociological survey was prepared and conducted, the results of which were analysed by general statistical calculations. The study analysed respondents' preferences towards sustainability in architecture, opinion towards sustainable architecture trends, and their features. The results of the study are illustrated by comparing opinion between professionals in the field of architecture and general public.