Visual Literacy in Built Environment Context

Architecture as a language is not a new subject that has been brought up on the table recently but rather is an assumption that has arisen since the last century. The purpose of this research is to understand how can this language be read visually as long as its designs are written text by formulating terms adopted by the basic concept of Literacy which has been defined as the ability to read and write. This paper refers to architectural projects as written text in a built environment, and perception will be referred to as reading. In the formulation of this concept, the research methodology is designed to establish a framework of analysis through the use of theoretical factors derived from previous studies and mainly focused on the work of Gestalt Theory. The research concludes that the audience is literate and conscious of architecture, which indicates that the potential to read architecture can be acquired

hence to make a world visible. It does this as a thing, and the world it brings into presence consists in what it gathers." (Norberg-Schulz, 1983). And being visible is described in the theory of phenomenology for Husserl which is the basis for the emergence of aesthetics in architecture and stated that "systematic investigation of consciousness and its objects." (Gamez, 2014). "Consciousness, awareness, and experience depend on and are constituted in and through social acts of meaningmaking (signification)" (Kalelioglu, 2017). The relationship between form and meaning is explained by the theory of significance which Bonta quoted that the architectural result is the composition of shapes and that each shape is a set of signs (Atkin, 2010). According to Jencks, architecture must be positioned within a process of meaning based on cultural values, rather than consisting of clear meanings dependent on psychological factors of perception (Necipoglu, 2015). However, Merleau-Ponty extended the idea of Language as a gestural or existential significance, and the spoken word is identified with a gesture, moreover, Ponty identified the gesture with expression, "we do not comprehend the meaning of the gesture cognitively." (Lapointe, 1973). "Architecture has been prevalent since the day man decided to create shelter. Whether you notice it or not, every space you live, work and play has been designed with a certain intention." (Avila, 2018). This intention might be as a result of what is there in the mind or for a certain purpose, that all been collected in the memory as explained in the theory of intentionality by Bernanto. Now, the process of gathering and analyzing the data gotten and comparing it to the existing data, and defining new responses or conclusions based on past encounters as well, is the process of Perception. Yolanda Williams defined perception as "our way to recognize and interpret the information we've gathered through our senses. This also includes how we respond to a certain situation with the given information." (Essays, 2018). "Our eyes play a role in perceiving information to our brain, but really, our mind has the most power." (Essays, 2018). "The human brain is exceptionally good at filling in the blanks in an image and creating a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. It's why we see faces in things like tree leaves or sidewalk cracks." (Pingale, Tejas B;Damugade, Snehal Y;Jirge, Neela D, 2017). "Gestalt theory emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts." (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020). The Austrian philosopher Christian von Ehrenfels introduced this movement its name in his most famous book The Attributes of Form. "The earliest gestalt work concerned perception, with particular emphasis on the visual perceptual organization as explained by the phenomenon of illusion." (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020). Ehrenfel used Gestalt's concept of generalized geometry in the greatest detail. In theory, Ehrenfel acknowledged that the concept applies to all forms of experience, both perceptual and non-perceptual (Smith, 1988). "Gestalt Principles are an essential part of visual design." (Foundation, 2020). Gestalt principles of visual perception, in particular, the gestalt theory states that the whole is structured and organized according to grouping principles, which are Figure and Ground, Proximity, Similarity, Closure, Symmetry, Continuity, Simplicity (Roth, 2017). "To get a good result from student work in design courses, the ways to complete architectural projects by using gestalt principles" (Uzunoglu & Uzunoğlu, 2011). The gestalt theory establishes a relationship between the stimuli and the response and explores how cognitive consistency is required to stimuli, and how this cognitive perception, in turn, translates into the response (Wasiti, 2001). This theory heavily relies on the individual's cognitive/ perceptual ability to understand the surrounding by the visual images with stimuli components that operate on the integration between the parts to create the whole based on the same individual's experience. The gestalt theory is premised on the idea that the human brain is trying to simplify and arrange complicated images or designs consisting of various elements by subconsciously organizing them into a system that creates a whole rather than a series of disparate elements. Hence, regarding the literature that was mentioned earlier, it is obvious that architecture is a language composed of words that construct sentences and are subject to grammar identical to those of the literary and poetic language. And if this assumption is to be acknowledged, then the designer of architecture and anyone who connects to this field is a writer of this language. The previous studies include broad review relied on tremendous theories that were summarized in this paper, but Table  1 contains all the theories with the most significant findings. Based on the above, several factors related to the process of reading architecture, but the principles of gestalt theory are the capacity to perceive and recognize the surroundings through stimulating visual images. The most common factors in this study are then selected to be tested in greater depth. The factors are configuration, figure, form, organization, pattern, stimulation, structure, and totality with multiple polar adjectives to understand the process of reading. Therefore, the previous studies suggest that architectural designs are written texts, but these studies were ineffective in providing an understanding of the potential of reading such physical objects.

III. Problem Statement
The central issue to be considered is the skill to read the architectural designs that have been written by architects, which are embodied in an integrated visual environment. This paper aims to understand that through descriptive philosophical studies records of western researchers and theories mentioned earlier in this thread, and to provide an improved understanding of the ability to read architecture.

a. Research Questions
The fundamental question for this paper constitutes that: -If architects design (write) architecture (text), then, will this architecture be perceived (read) by the public (audience)? -How literate is the audience regarding architecture? -To what extent does reading architecture reflect the writing?

b. Research Methodology
The research study began under the premise with the assumption that since architecture has been presumed as a language in prior theories, this language can be read visually, as long as its designs are a written text. Gestalt theory has been used as an approach for enhancing the assumption of architectural reading. A systematic methodology of several steps is established to achieve the assumption above as the following: 1. Setting up a theoretical framework based on the previous studies of western theories; 2. Extract theoretical parameters (factors) from the previous theories and transform them into quantitative data; 3. Select case studies from local buildings projects in Erbil/ Kurdistan-Iraq with different architectural styles; 4. Incorporate a survey questionnaire focused solely on visual data; 5. Statistically assess the architectural design findings by using the SPSS program to draw up the required approach.

IV. Theoretical Framework
To produce quantitative answers to the questions, the study extracts key factors to create a systematic structural framework that functions as a questionnaire survey to generate a measurable outcome. The previous literature summarized various factors related to the key subject of the research. The gestalt theory-with its principles-is selected for the methodology and the measurement model. "Gestalt psychology was in part an attempt to add a humanistic dimension to what was considered a sterile approach to the scientific study of mental life." (Britannica, 2020). This paper has determined that Literacy is the architectural style which is the building appearance full of geometric in five different styles working as A, B, C, D, E and considered as writing. This paper also has proposed the reading process in the process of perception.
a. Literacy is the architectural style "We cannot understand history without reference to prevailing styles, sometimes one style dominates the whole architectural production, most buildings look similar to one another because architects are selecting from the same set of typical forms" (Brown, 2015). Buildings are physical objects, and architecture is the resemblance between these physical objects. Architecture that characterizes these buildings that translated from a design of elements from a given vocabulary-the selection and combination of elements-to fit the particular context. If architecture is the

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785 resemblance between buildings then the style is the local language of that context. Hence, styles can now cross-cultural boundaries as global communication (Brown, 2015). Style arises from selecting and combining from each other's work. "Built form (shape) can be defined as a physical appearance in architecture. Nevertheless, it constitutes a space having configurational properties which also have social and cultural meanings." (Hasgül, 2015). Architecture is a collaborative enterprise, a network of interacting systems and it develops and evolves among many, many architects through the communication and interaction of ideas and forms. The vocabulary of modern architecture was not invented by Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, or Walter Gropius, but what they did is that saw which way the wind was blowing, in the midst of babel they produced models of those key ideas that could be imitated. Consequently, if the context is dominated by a certain architectural style. The questionnaire included an explanatory table that describes the most popular characteristics of the styles that have been chosen to assess the projects and were used to help the audience to understand yet also assess their preference based on their interpretation.

b. Visual is the Perception
An article published by Maria Lorena Lehman in MLL Design Lab with the title Gestalt Principles in Architecture: Achieving Design Balance, where the question that must be answered is: Can theories, like the Gestalt Principles, highlight why a design works the way it does. "Architecture usually tries to achieve some sort of design balance, whether asymmetrical or symmetrical." (Lehman, 2020). Lehman continued that when viewing a building, for example, from almost all distances and perspectives, the observer may be pulling from one of the Gestalt Principles of visual perception. Simply looking into why human brains are wired for symmetry will provide deep knowledge for designers. How and why all the elements in a scene are regarded at once by our brains will help us understand why architecture is always greater than the sum of its parts. "Architectural design success can become a visionary and creative act, by genuinely making laws like the Gestalt Principles." (Lehman, 2020). In another article Well, the answer is, human behaviour (Design, 2019). Particularly in terms of perception, the underlying psychological tendencies of human behavior remain reasonably constant. The Gestalt theory is a system of psychological principles for visual design. The central core of the theory is based on the psychological principle that humans see a picture as a unified whole instead of perceiving each part differently (Design, 2019). Such theories pick up on combinations of elements reflecting patterns like similarity, continuation, closure, proximity, and figure/ground. And these formed the base for the factors which are configuration, figure, form, organization, pattern, stimulation, structure, and totality. It's quite an interesting topic to learn how humans understand patterns and balance. An explanatory table was included in the questionnaire also, the principles of gestalt theory were adopted and polar adjectives were selected to measure each project according to respondents' perception.

V. Case Study
The selection of the case study for the implementation depends on five styles of design and architecture (building appearance). The case studies are 10 public project designs of local construction. These 10 projects have been chosen for their specific and unique design, most of which are iconic and landmark projects in the city of Erbil as shown in Table 2. These projects were visited by the researcher and had an observation experience. Multiple pictures were taken for the projects and used in a questionnaire based on the gestalt theory formulated and designed according to the theoretical framework, to measure the perceptual reading of selected groups to evaluate the projects according to the provided pictures and the process of how they translate it as part of the perception process.

VI. Results
The results of this paper represent the questionnaire survey analysis of 125 respondents. The selected sampling was limited to Erbil City. Two groups have been classified as readers and writers, where the readers of non-architects (audience) who exploit 44.8% of the selected sample tend to interact and engage with the psychological questions while the writers group (Architects) whom practitioners of 32% and architecture engineering students of the grade 5th 23.2% were more conscious and aware of the projects shown in the questionnaire, and they have

Vol. (6), No (1), Winter 2021 ISSN 2518-6566 (Online) -ISSN 2518-6558 (Print)
788 seemed to prefer to choose Neutral scale less in their evaluation. They tend more to evaluate the building structure and design.

a. Literacy Analysis
Merely five architectural design alternatives operate for this literacy measurement assessment. Table 3 showing the analysis of the case studies according to the features of each project, some of the projects were falling into two styles.
The questionnaire conducted this question for each project and the respondents answered by ticking one of the five styles. The results of the respondent's rate of

Vol. (6), No (1), Winter 2021 ISSN 2518-6566 (Online) -ISSN 2518-6558 (Print)
789 cooperation on the styles were remarkable and not surprising as long as the responses of the participants were rather close to the analysis. The findings in Figure  1 below have shown that, in the context of the local built environment, the audience is conscious of the architectural form, where the high percentage of consensus on the style of each project is closely related to the features of each style.

b. Visual Analysis
The questionnaire included 15 questions as polar adjectives with five scales of Strongly Related, Related, Neutral, Not Related, and Strongly Not Related. The factor analysis by the SPSS analysis of each project has been shown in Table 4, where included the most ranked adjectives with a high percentage for the scale Related. The factors used to describe each project and how the audience responding to the pictures shown in the questionnaire. P 01-ALBIT Group Construction gets noticed for the similarity of the pattern, its geometrical configuration with the plain white surface. P 02-Asti Jilamo Restaurant was relevant to its context and noticed for its geometrical configuration and Eyes catching as a figure of plain façade and human status, and the organization. P 03-Empire Business Complex was chosen as a context  Figure 1 The analysis of the audience to the architectural styles for the case study

Vol. (6), No (1), Winter 2021 ISSN 2518-6566 (Online) -ISSN 2518-6558 (Print)
790 relevant with 82.6% and a clear configuration of geometric shapes and lines with the notice of its similarity. P 04-Erbil City Center is a similar set of objects as a pattern, and an eye-catching for the material used and strongly related to the context with 83.5%. P05-Erbil Martyr Monument is a clear presentation of Geometrical configuration and people noticed that with a high percent of 77.4%. P 06-Jalil Khayat Mosque is a powerful figure with distinguishing shapes, geometric and eye-catching alongside the grouped elements as a totality and arranged structure. P 07-Khanzad Castle is relevant to the context with 81.6%, similar pattern with 75.4%, and geometric configuration with 74.4%. P 08-MRF Quatro is a geometrical configuration that draws the attention by 77.3% eye-catching and a similar pattern of cubic composition. P 09-Park View is 79.4% eyes-catching with the high-rise structures that relevant to the context with 78.9%. The last project, P 10-Rubar restaurant is relevant to the context and catching attention with its metaphoric design that looks like a dynamic structure with 73.9% .

VII. Conclusion
The research study logical endpoint for the ability to read the written text of the built environment. this study outlined the following conclusion by analyzing the outcomes of the questionnaire where Research findings suggest that the visual formation would label the building in a particular context and define its architectural style, but with no reference to the memory of the audience unless it has been done consciously and deliberately, as long as it was clarified and explained in the questionnaire and the respondents have been following. However, the agreement on the projects by the respondents indicates that the audience is literate and aware of architecture and The projects are related to the local context. People who have limited knowledge of architecture tended to use psychological adjectives to explain how they perceive each project But architecture doesn't make them feel the same way as their responses were varied over the 10 projects that have contributed which to the result that readers 'reading reflects the architects writing.

Visual Literacy and Architecture "Architectural Visual Distinctions with their Contexts"
Dear Respondent, This questionnaire survey is a fundamental requirement for academic purposes as part of the research thesis requirements for MSc degree in Architecture Engineering, Salahaddin University, namely (Visual Literacy and Architecture "Architectural Visual Distinctions with their Contexts"). It was planned and designed by the MSc student (Hameeda Ibrahim) and intended to gather information. To fill in this questionnaire, a number of questions and pictures are listed below with a set of scales to rate selected public buildings built in the city of Erbil. Kindly, do not base your opinion on the content design and quality of the pictures or the irrelevant objects, and base your own opinion directly on what the picture of the building will represent to you. Your objective evaluation to the questions will help to complete the study analysis. Your kind cooperation will be highly appreciated and helpful. For more information regarding the thesis, please do not hesitate to contact Hameeda.Muslat@su.edu.krd or call 0751 516 1004.

Metaphoric Architecture
A direct use of metaphor and analogy as the key design inspiration.

Monumental Architecture
A relatively large human-made structures used as public buildings.

Post Modernism
Sculptural objects and Ornaments; Flying buttresses and High ceilings; Does not integrate completely with its surroundings; Cultural Expression.
And this part provides an explanatory presentation on selected factors that were included in the survey in order to understand each factor when rating the selected projects.

798
The following part showing how to answer the questions by ticking one of the following scales:

Related
Neutral Not Related Strongly Not Related Configuration The result from a particular arrangement of parts or elements.

Context relevant
Not context relevant 2 Geometric Organic

Figure
The distinguished or significant shape or form that makes the object noticeable. 3

Eyes catching
Familiar 4 Powerful Weak

Form
The visible shape or external appearance of an object.

5
Bold Soft

6
Dynamic Stable

Organization
The arrangement of elements or patterns according to a particular system.

7
Duplicate Unique

8
Public Private

Pattern
A set of shapes that shows a regular arrangement of lines, colors with a repeated decorative design.

9
Connected Integrated 10 Similar Contrast

Stimulation
The source that arouses the sense of curiosity, excitement, and enthusiasm.

Structure
Objects arranged in a definite pattern as dominated by the general character of the whole.

14
Complex Simple

Totality
The quality of being total, the wholeness.