What is visual impact analysis?

a multi-point ZVI
No, this is not one of Damien Hirst's spin paintings.

Visual impact analysis is just one aspect of visual impact assessment. The idea is to create a picture of the visibility of some new development (a power station, a wind farm, a sports stadium etc.) within the landscape. We use a number of tools to do this but the two chief tools (and the ones that have become my own specialism) are photomontage and ZVI. I'm sure you're all aware of photomontages although the ones I create have to be super accurate and involve a great deal of survey work. Few of you may be aware of the ZVI (Zone of Visual Impact or Influence). The result of a ZVI analysis is a map showing where various parts of a new development may be visible from. I won't go into the detail of how this works since it is quite complicated but those of you who are interested should come back and do the diploma year at Greenwich. The image above shows a ZVI I did a couple of weeks ago for a new Energy from Waste power station somewhere in the South of England. Areas of highest visibility are shown in red and lowest in blue.

This kind of stuff illustrates the range of skills within Landscape Architecture which go from the objective analytical of ZVIs to the subjective conceptual of design. Naturally, it's not possible for one person to become expert in all aspects of Landscape Architecture and as with all professions, individuals must specialise or... (teach?)

See ZVI Analysis for more details.

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