How scientists are measuring beauty in the beholder

A study by researchers Alexandros A Lavdas and Nikos A Salingaros goes further than health and happiness, arguing that "buildings low on the beauty scale ... activate the ’behavioural immune system’ through stress on the body" with mental effects eventually becoming physical: "Depressingly grey minimalistic design styles mimic pathologies of the eye-brain system such as cataract, carbon monoxide poisoning, cerebral achromatopsia, cortical lesions, macular degeneration, retinal detachment, and visual agnosia." 

Their 2022 paper Architectural Beauty: Developing a Measurable and Objective Scale details research they carried out using Al-based programming coupled with sensors to measure the body’s unconscious response mechanisms to beauty. Such methods were originally developed to test the effectiveness of visual advertising and have since been used to assess visual art. 

Salingaros, it should be noted, has also long been an advocate of traditional architecture and was a member of former American president Donald Trump’s Council on Improving Federal Civic Architecture. He stresses, however, that he was not involved in Trump’s executive order insisting all new federal buildings be in the Classical style, calling it "flawed" for promoting "a limited variety of architectural beauty using historical, top-down arguments instead of scientific, bottom-up ones."

Researchers concluded that artist Jackson Pollock’s enduring appeal is linked to his use of fractals in poured paintings, which closely mimic the complex patterns of nature

In their work, which also measures brain reactions to images, Richard P Taylor, Branka Spehar, Paul Van Donkelaar and Caroline M Hagerhall found that humans overwhelmingly prefer fractal images with a dimension (the measure of fractal complexity) between 1.3 and 1.5. They concluded that artist Jackson Pollock’s enduring appeal is linked to his use of fractals in poured paintings, which closely mimic the complex patterns of nature. 

A 2011 study by FD Abraham found that cultural background and gender did not significantly alter the preference for fractal patterns in the 1.3-1.5 range. The study notes: "Our findings might apply to a remarkably diverse range of fractal patterns appearing in art, architecture and archaeology spanning more than five centuries. In addition to Pollock’s poured fractals, other examples of fractals include the Nazca lines in Peru (pre-7th century), early Chinese paintings (10th to 13th century), the Ryoanji Rock Garden in Japan (15th century), Leonardo da Vinci’s sketch The Deluge (1500), Katsushika Hokusai’s wood-cut print The Great Wave, Gothic cathedrals, Gustave Eiffel’s tower in Paris (1889), Frank Lloyd Wright’s Palmer House in Michigan (1950), MC Escher’s Circle Limit III and IV (1960) and Frank Gehry’s proposed architecture for the Guggenheim Museum in New York (1998)." 

The study of fractal dimensions and the use of EEGs and VAS may seem sophisticated, however a shared flaw in many of these studies is the use of single images, rather than spatial experience - a limitation the PEARL research laboratory in London, which can replicate life-sized environments for neurological experiments, is seeking to overcome. As anyone will know who has admired a building after seeing carefully curated photographs only to be disappointed when actually visiting, buildings and cities are far more complex. 

Not only do they have interiors as well as exteriors, they are practical structures that need to function to be successful. Buildings also have windows, potentially with views onto forests of fractal trees, as well as walls on which Pollock-like paintings could be hung, significantly altering their ’scenicness’.

In comparison to electrodes and labs, research undertaken by the thinktank Create Streets is open to challenge on the basis of rigour. The campaign group founded by Nicholas Boys Smith, who now heads the government’s Office for Place, has argued that beauty is critical in a time of housing shortage. Boys Smith - paraphrasing Secretary of State Michael Gove - has argued that nimbyism is a significant obstacle to new developments, and that locals can be brought onside if the design of new housing is beautiful.

In 2015, Create Streets commissioned an Ipsos/Mori survey which showed respondents images of various built housing styles, asking whether they would support a building in a similar style near where they live. The survey reduced building types to five different streets, evaluated on the basis of a single image for each (presumably selected by Create Streets). Most people wouldn’t book an Airbnb on the basis of one photograph, let alone make an informed decision about what they wanted built in their neighbourhood.

It may not come as a complete surprise to learn that the Create Streets survey showed most of those polled favoured more traditional styles. Writing in the Architects’ Journal about the results, Boys Smith reported: "The most conventional in form, style and building materials won 75 per cent and 73 per cent support. Less conventional, more innovative homes won 23 per cent and 34 per cent support." The highest-rated housing, he said, was a street in arch-traditionalist Poundbury (see Placetest article) which he described as "widely reviled" by the architectural profession.

In contrast, Boys Smith wrote, "the least popular two options have received nine architectural or planning awards". The implications were clear. The broad general public knows what they find aesthetically appealing, but it’s not a view shared by the built-environment profession. 

Ipsos research director Ben Marshall, writing about the same research in a blog post for homelessness charity Shelter, also noted that the survey results show that tastes vary, with renters and those living in London "relatively more favourable towards the less traditional-looking developments" - a rather more nuanced conclusion than presented by Boys Smith.

It’s critical to question whether some of the organisations funding this research to measure beauty have an agenda. Do they hope measuring beauty will scientifically justify their own bias in design preferences? Surely assessing buildings based on user satisfaction, health and wellbeing or environmental and safety standards is far more relevant than what meets the eye. 

Simon Aldous is the production editor for The Developer. He has written and edited for a number of built environment titles including Building Design, Architecture Today, RIBA Journal and Architects’ Journal