7/4/2020

Visual Acuity and Perception

HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE
Department of Architecture
Lecture Content in Theory of Architecture 1 (ARTHEORY1)
1st Semester, Curriculum 2018-2019

Target Program Outcomes (PO):

(a) create architectural solutions by applying knowledge in history,
theory, planning, building technology and utilities, structural concepts
and professional practice
(b) effectively communicate orally and in writing using English or Filipino
Week 6 Learning Output:
•Compare & contrast the pros & cons of one scheme with another before
finalizing or concluding
•Develop the student’s skill in determining possible & impossible figures
(i.e. forms & illustrations, etc.)
•Recognize the possible visual illusions that manifests on an architectural
design
•Develop critical thinking & communication skill

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READ:
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid, too.
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe tuo fo 100 anc.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was

rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a
rscheearch at
Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,
it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are,
the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in
the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a
pboerlm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
istlef,
but the wrod as a wlohe.
Azanmig huh?
yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

If you can read this, your brain is 50% faster than those who can't

FINISHED FILES ARE THE

RESULT OF YEARS OF
SCIENTIF IC STUDY
COMBINED WITH THE
EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

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HOW MANY F’s DO YOU SEE?

There are six F's in the sentence.

•A person of average intelligence finds three of

them.
•If you spotted four, you're above average. If you
got five, you can turn your nose at most anybody.
•If you caught six, you are a genius.

HOW MANY CUBES ARE THERE?

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HOW MANY COLORS WERE USED?

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Perception – it is the
process by which we
organize & interpret the
patterns of stimuli in our
environment, the
immediate intuitive
recognition, as an act of
aesthetic quality.

Acuity – it increases with

the increase in the
intensity of illumination.

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Perception

Perception

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Spatial Perception
Man uses two eyes for the perception of objects in nature & continually shifts
his focus on attention. In so doing, two different types of vision are used:

B.1.1. Stereoscopic - is the ability to overlap views, which are slightly

different, into one image. The visual process created an illusion of a 3-
dimensional depth making it possible to judge distances.

B.1.2. Kinesthetic – man

experiences space in movements
of the eye from one part of a
whole work of art or another.
Space is experienced while
viewing a two-dimensional
surface because we
unconsciously attempt to
organize its separate parts so
that they can be seen as a
whole.

Figureground
Figureground – a phenomenon
wherein drawings consisting
black lines, any line which
surrounds an area, and which is
recognized as representing an
object is quickly picked by the
observer.

We always perceive the ground

side as being shapeless and
extended behind the figure, never
seeing both shapes simultaneously.

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Figureground

Figureground

This ambiguous image

shows either a lady peering
at herself in her mirror, or a
grinning skull. To see the
skull, back up a distance
from the picture.
Entitled "All Is
Vanity", this certainly
is one of the most famous
optical illusions of all time.

Drawn by Charles Allen

Gilbert in 1892, the
illustration was not seen by
the mass public until 1902
when it appeared in a
magazine.

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Figureground

Impossible Figures
Impossible Figures - is a type
of optical illusion consisting of
a two-dimensional figure which
is instantly and subconsciously
interpreted by the visual
system as representing a
projection of a three-
dimensional object although it
is not actually possible for such
an object to exist (at least not
in the form interpreted by the
visual system).

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Impossible Figures

Impossible Figures

Escherian Stairwell

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Impossible Figures

Relativity (M. C. Escher) Waterfall (M. C. Escher)

Impossible Figures

The Penrose triangle, also known

as the Penrose tribar, is an impossible
object. It was first created by the
Swedish artist Oscar Reutersvärd in
1934.

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Visual / Optical Illusions

Visual or Optical Illusions - characterized by visually perceived images
that differ from objective reality. The information gathered by the eye is
processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with a physical
measurement of the stimulus source.

Visual / Optical Illusions

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Visual / Optical Illusions

There are three main types: literal optical
illusions that create images that are different
from the objects that make them,
physiological ones that are the effects on the
eyes and brain of excessive stimulation of a
specific type (brightness, color, size, position,
tilt, movement), and cognitive illusions, the
result of unconscious inferences.

Visual / Optical Illusions

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Visual / Optical Illusions

Trompe-l'œil - is an art technique
involving extremely realistic imagery
in order to create the optical
illusion that the depicted objects exist
in three dimensions. Forced
perspective is a comparable illusion in
architecture.

Visual / Optical Illusions

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Visual / Optical Illusions

Perception of Space, Depth & Distance

An important feature of our perception of depth and solidity of objects is
constituted by the shadows which are casts upon parts of them by the general
illumination. Normally SHADOWS appear on the receding parts of object &
indicates recession & hence solidity.

4 Types of Monocular Cues in depth perception:

1. Superposition – If the object appears to be cut off the view of
another, we usually perceive the first objects as nearer.

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Perception of Space, Depth & Distance

2. Apparent Magnitude & Relative Size – If there is an array of like objects
of different sizes, the smaller ones are perceived as being farther away.

Perception of Space, Depth & Distance

3. Height in Place – As we look along a flat plane, objects farther away appear to
be higher, so that we can create an impression of depth for objects of the same
size by placing them on different heights.

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Perception of Space, Depth & Distance

4. Texture – For irregular surfaces such as rocks or waving surfaces of the ocean,
there is gradient of texture with distance so that the ‘grain’ becomes finer as
distances becomes greater.

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