Visual Perception of Engineering Institutional Campuses’ Entrance Edifices of Tamil Nadu Region, India

Abstract

Institutional Campuses are increasing in numbers but struggling to market themselves in a highly competitive business domain. The entrance edifice of these campuses is an Artifact, presenting a visual representation of their imperial status in society. To empirically analyze how these edifices create meaning in recently established campuses, this paper presents a series of qualitative case studies from the Tamil Nadu region of India. Specifically, it seeks to identify the visual elements of the entrance edifice that influence observers’ perceptions of the Institutional Campus. With this regard, visual elements of the entrance edifice and their physical characters were examined and expand into a questionnaire. Through follow-up interviews with observers on the campus and analyses of the entrance edifice at each Institution, several themes were identified in the observers’ perceptions. The empirical findings suggest that several visual elements can significantly impact the visual perception of an Institutional Campus’s image: Form Identity, Architectural Elements, Scale and Portion, and Color and Material. Integrating these elements into an Institutional Campus entrance edifice design can strengthen its image in urban settings, potentially building up the image for the urban populations around the campus.