View evaluation based on visible quantity and its economic value of high-rise apartment units in the northern area of Seoul

Abstract

This study aims to geometrically measure and quantify the view from the window of residential spaces, especially urban apartments in the northern area of Seoul, and to empirically analyze the value of the view by comparing it with the price of the house. Visibility is determined by irradiating half-straight rays at regular intervals from the measurement point and verifying whether they intersect with view objects, including the sky and natural objects (which are regarded as positive feature in Korea), without obstruction. In order to examine the effect of amount of view on apartment prices, we computed the correlation coefficient between the two. We have found that the economic value of a sky view may not differ from the economic value of a floor, while for natural objects it is reasonable to measure views across rooms because the amount of view is more highly correlated with house prices than the number of floors. At the architectural level, residents can enjoy a better indoor environment if the design integrates the surrounding views. For urban development, the criteria can be revised to enable a range of building forms that are adjusted to the human scale.

Keywords

• view value
• view quantification
• apartment price
• visibility
• ray tracing