A Study on the Visual Comfort of Urban Building Colors under Overcast and Rainy Weather

Abstract

The color of urban architecture plays a crucial role in influencing the visual comfort of city inhabitants. During overcast and rainy conditions, there is a noticeable shift in how people perceive the comfort level of building colors and their visual recognition. This research selects Hangzhou, a city renowned for its prevalent overcast rainy weather in China, gathering 60 samples across two distinct architectural types. It encompasses 120 architectural images captured during both overcast rainy and clear days. Furthermore, color values were extracted utilizing the Chinese architectural color card, adhering to the Munsell color system. As an empirical approach, a survey was conducted, enlisting 40 participants for a questionnaire assessment based on the Likert scale. Following descriptive analysis of the data, SPSS was utilized to conduct correlation analysis and regression analysis, unveiling the relationship between visual comfort and color attributes (hue, value, chroma). Subsequently, RStudio was employed to analyze the threshold of architectural color comfort, comparing overcast rainy weather with clear weather. The findings suggest a significant correlation between the value contrast of architectural colors and visual comfort during overcast rainy weather. Concerning value, the visual comfort threshold for residential buildings is within the range of 7 ≤ value < 10 and 3 ≤ value contrast < 5, whereas for commercial buildings, it is within the range of 4 ≤ value < 7 and 3 ≤ value contrast < 5. Regarding chroma, there is no correlation between chroma contrast and commercial buildings, while the visual comfort threshold for residential buildings lies within the range of 0 ≤ chroma < 4 and 4 ≤ chroma contrast < 8.

Keywords

• overcast and rainy weather
• urban architecture color
• visual comfort
• Munsell color system