Investigation of the Oppressiveness of Tall Building Scapes: Architectural Variation and Vegetation

Subject Areas : Landscape Architecture

Pooria Saadativaghar ¹ , Esmaeil Zarghami ² , Mehrdad Karimimoshaver ³ , Abdulhamid Ghanbaran ⁴

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Received: 2025-08-29 Accepted : 2025-10-08 Published : 2025-10-09

Keywords: Tall Building, Architectural Variation, Vegetation, Urban Perception, Oppressive Environments, Environmental Psychology,

Abstract :

The uncontrolled growth of tall buildings in contemporary cities has caused numerous visual and psychological issues for urban citizens. This study's framework examined the combined effect of architectural and vegetation variations on the scape of tall buildings and the oppression imposed on citizens. The architectural changes of the tall building included form (rectangular, stepped and pyramidal), gap (in single building (without gap, small and large gap) and between buildings (middle, sides and middle and sides)), console (1, 2, 2,5, 3, 3.5 and 4 m), and setback (1, 2 and 3 m) of the building from the base. Vegetation changes also included the distribution of different tree species on the façade and the positioning of the trees within each species. To assess the impact of architectural and vegetation changes on oppression, the method was based on the framework for assessing the oppressiveness of tall buildings and people's opinions. In conclusion, vegetation demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in perceived oppression compared to architectural modifications. The results of examining the architectural scenarios showed that as the pyramidal form of the building increased and the gap between the single tall building (or between tall buildings) widened, citizen-imposed oppression decreased. Also, as the console of a tall building decreased to less than 2.5 m and the setback increased to more than 2 m, the oppression decreased significantly. Also, the results showed that using concentrated and horizontal vegetation at the base and shaft of tall buildings has effectively reduced oppression (Compared to other vegetation change scenarios).

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