Landscape architects, engineers, urban planners, and designers are interested in the use of 3D models for presentation of designs. The use of 3D models is a centuries]old practice beginning with physical models and advancing to the digital realm. In this study, participants were asked to evaluate the aesthetic quality of 100 images including 25 images of a 3D Google SketchUp 7 (SU) model with 25 corresponding photographs of the same scene and 50 photographs used in a previous study by Burley (1997). There was found to be significant concordance between SU images and corresponding photographs (p<0.025). These findings suggest SU models are valid constructs for photographs, allowing the inference that SU modelsmay be a valid and useful tool for designers when presenting designs to the general public or a typical private client.
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