Preferences and Perceptions of Design Elements of Sinmin Campus at National Chiayi University

• Main Authors: Pitiya Kumsakun, 畢蒂雅
• Other Authors: Jung-Jer Tsai
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/94518813138298848356

碩士 === 國立嘉義大學 === 園藝學系研究所 === 97 === Talking about campus plans or design in several countries, the Western design have became main pattern. Whatever the model selected and whatever the site, a campus plan will almost always be the arrangement of buildings with spaces created between them. However, in the master plan, the outdoor open spaces necessary for circulation, study, relaxation and aesthetic pleasure was frequently ignored. It is necessary to find different designs of open spaces with the aim to have some new perceptions for the landscaping. User requirements are the key to get a successful design. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the user activities and preferences in element design of open spaces. Three plazas at Sinmin campus of National Chiayi University were studied. The campus has an area of 14.91 hectares and is located at the central of Chiayi city, Taiwan. Two studies were presented, study A and B. In the study A, three plazas panoramic photographs were used and the respondents were asked to give rating scales of 1-5 based on the frequency of usage of the plaza and their suggestions for plaza improvement. Plaza usage were analyzed according to user simple activities and requirements in the plazas such as what they usually do there, their reasons to visit those areas, and what are their suggestions to modified the plaza by giving scale to options given. Study B, on the other hand investigated the user scenic preferences of various simulated element designs of plazas. 48 color pictures of element designs were simulated using various kind of tree model consisted of umbrella form, columnar form, and pyramidal form. Also flower colors consisted of yellow, red and blue, were used. To prevent the bias from the background influence, all pictures of each plaza was taken with the same background. In the study A, result showed that there is significant difference between each plaza which plaza one (located among school building) was the most used compared with the other plaza. The most frequent activities in three plazas were walking and watching and walking was significantly highest among all activities at p < 0.05. In all plazas, “pass through” were the main reason they use the plaza, the second and third were come to sit and outdoors/fresh air, respectively. Most of respondents preferred “more greenery” for plazas improvement. Study B, showed that yellow flower and umbrella tree form were the most preferred and their combination had the highest preference than the other combinations.