Too often, design competitions and signature architecture result in costly eyesores that do not work. How can sponsors and clients get more meaningful results? To answer this question, Dr. Nasar, supported by riveting studies of competitions and Peter Eisenman's competition-winning design for the Wexner Center at the Ohio State University, suggests the use of pre-jury evaluation (PJE). He shows the potential value of this approach as well as visual quality programming for many kinds of environmental design for which the client wants to convey certain desirable meaning. The studies, from those specific to the Wexner Center to those covering the scope of history, point to a new method for shaping the visual form of buildings, places and cities. Architects, urban designers and planners, social scientists, clients, government officials and residents will want to read this thought-provoking book. It will give them a new perspective on the designed environment.

Too often, design competitions and signature architecture result in costly eyesores that do not work. How can sponsors and clients get more meaningful results? To answer this question, Dr. Nasar, supported by riveting studies of competitions and Peter Eisenman's competition-winning design for the Wexner Center at the Ohio State University, suggests the use of pre-jury evaluation (PJE). He shows the potential value of this approach as well as visual quality programming for many kinds of environmental design for which the client wants to convey certain desirable meaning. The studies, from those specific to the Wexner Center to those covering the scope of history, point to a new method for shaping the visual form of buildings, places and cities. Architects, urban designers and planners, social scientists, clients, government officials and residents will want to read this thought-provoking book. It will give them a new perspective on the designed environment.

How do people react to the visual character of their surroundings? What can planners do to improve the aesthetic quality of these surroundings? Too often in environmental design, visual quality--aesthetics--is misunderstood as only a minor concern, dependent on volatile taste and thus undefinable. Yet a substantial body of research indicates the importance of visual quality in the environment to the public and has uncovered systematic patterns of human response to visual attributes of the built environment. Efforts to understand environmental aesthetics have been undertaken by investigators from such diverse fields as landscape architecture, environmental psychology, geography, philosophy, architecture, and city planning. As a result the relevant information is scattered and not readily available to professionals and policy makers. The book brings together classic and new contributions by distinguished workers in different disciplines. It explores theory and data on preferences in the visual environment, and also addresses the practical application of aesthetic criteria in design, planning and public policy. Promising directions for future research are identified.

In 1960, Kevin Lynch wrote The Image of the City, which transformed the way design professionals and social scientists dealt with the urban form and design. The Evaluative Image of the City follows the work of Lynch and further explores the role of human evaluations of the cityscape. This book describes how to assess, plan, and design the appearance of cities to please inhabitants. It presents a series of studies on evaluative images, discusses methodologies, findings, and applications to design and planning at various stages. Urban designers and planners, architects, business people, and the general public will find this book a valuable guide for improving the image of their surroundings.

In 1960, Kevin Lynch wrote The Image of the City, which transformed the way design professionals and social scientists dealt with the urban form and design. The Evaluative Image of the City follows the work of Lynch and further explores the role of human evaluations of the cityscape. This book describes how to assess, plan, and design the appearance of cities to please inhabitants. It presents a series of studies on evaluative images, discusses methodologies, findings, and applications to design and planning at various stages. Urban designers and planners, architects, business people, and the general public will find this book a valuable guide for improving the image of their surroundings.