THE PROBLEM OF PERCEPTION OF AN ARCHITECTURAL ENVIRON-MENT BY A PERSON IN MODERN RESEARCH

Abstract

The article provides insight into the psychological peculiarities and mecha-nisms of human perception of an architectural environment. It considers the concept of an architectural environment with its saturated visual elements having a profound impact on the mental state of a person, which directly affects oneʼs psychosomatic health, behaviour, intellectual and social development, as well as subjective well-being. It is suggested that an architectural environment is a tool for displaying the identity and differences of peoples. In addition, it shapes each person influencing his or her thoughts and behaviour. The paper offers a theoretical analysis of re-search related to particular types, levels, and conditions of human perception of architectural objects that fill the modern architectural environment. It has been highlighted that the perception of an architectural environment by a person is determined by various factors, namely the individual characteristics of an observer, his/her experience, constant symbols, and semiotic references. The paper states that human activity is vital in the perception of the architecture; other-wise, architecture will only serve a background picture of a subjectʼs life. The article describes the types, levels, and conditions of perception of the architectural environment. The perception of architecture includes the perception of its volumetric and spatial structure, understanding and comprehension of its practi-cal significance, functional and social content, perception and understanding of its artistic form, its semantic understanding, value identification and relationship with individualʼs internal disposition and with past experience, as well as comprehension of conceptual and stylistic content and its evaluation. There are three principal levels of influence of an architectural environment on a personality: psychophysiological, psychological, and logical levels. The paper considers the negative aspects of the architectural environment, in particular, ho-mogeneous and aggressive visible fields. It summarises the subjective semantics of the architecture image in personʼs perception of the architectural environment, and the psychological aspect of percep-tion of the architectural environment can be regarded as a dynamic picture in time development.