Analysis of the Visual Quality of Riverfront Skyline Through the Feature of Height and Spatial Arrangement of Tall Building

In modern times, numerous cities are competing to create the unique skyline adjacent to the water. Tall buildings located across the river have a great contribution to the skyline of a riverfront city and can be a precious asset for the city. Moreover, in several cities, tall buildings and their impact on the urban skyline are a matter that should be considered and regulated in urban design. Therefore, as a prominent element in a larger visual setting of the city, tall buildings should improve the visual quality of the skyline rather than diminish that quality. This research attempts to provide an objective method to analyze the visual quality of the skyline made by a group of tall buildings through their feature of heights and spatial arrangement from riverfront views. The analysis is determined by the design variables of building heights variation, heights transition, density, and spacing of a group of tall buildings. A comparative case study of tall buildings in Yeouido and Lujiazui was conducted to prove the effectiveness of the analysis. The proposed method can be used in a simple way in the quantitative approach to quantify the visual quality of the skyline. In conclusion, Yeuido’s skyline is not quite interesting from the riverfront view in terms of height variation and continuity of the skyline view because they are dispersed. Conversely, Lujiazui’s skyline from the riverfront vantage points has a good quality in all aspects of the feature of height and spatial arrangements of tall buildings cluster. These factors can be used for the urban designer on how proposed tall buildings within the cluster should appropriately respond to adding image on the skyline.