Public Perception in Contemporary Portugal: The Digital Representation of Space

Abstract

The digital revolution is influencing and changing working habits in various fields and changing society in general. When communicating design, the digital representation of space, especially the computer visualization medium, represents a clear improvement in relation to what was achieved with only the use of conventional representation methods. Nevertheless, for effective communication to take place the digital representation of space and computer visualization must be used carefully and sensibly so that their potential is not undermined. The results of the Ribeira study showed, among other things, that when communicating new designs both to specialists and lay people, both realistic and abstract representations should be used. Nevertheless, to achieve effective communication, special care must be taken to avoid form taking precedence over content. It was confirmed that the context wherein communication takes place is as important as the representation methods and media which are used. In addition, the whole design process should imply several types of meetings, where various forms of communication support—digital and non-digital—should be used, i.e. virtual Internet-based communication and non-virtual public meetings. Finally, it was concluded that the communication of architecture and urban design aimed at the public should not be just a matter of the appearance of the built environment. Effective communication has to include other issues apart from aspects to do with built form and its realistic representation, and should be a good balance between ‘image’ and ‘content’.