The ‘visual attractiveness’ of architectural facades: measuring visual complexity and attractive strength in architecture

The ‘visual attractiveness’ of a building façade refers to the extent to which it provokes an immediate or ‘pre-attentive’ physiological response. Two factors that can shape this response are ‘visual complexity’ and ‘strength of attraction’. The former refers to the innate capacity of a façade to draw the viewer's eye, and the latter to its capacity to hold the viewer's gaze. In this article two computational methods – fractal dimension analysis and visual attention simulation – are explored for their capacity to measure these attractive properties and to predict immediate physiological responses to architectural façades. This article describes the application and limits of these methods, along with the ways they simulate key visual properties. The methods are demonstrated using an analysis of three styles of façade designs: Modernism, Postmodernism and Neo-modernism. This research contributes foundational knowledge to the computational assessment of aesthetic and environmental preference theory relating to buildings and cities.