Vision refers mainly to the activity connected with visual perception and the sense of sight. However, it concerns both physiological mechanism and the process of 'understanding' the observed object behind it. As the biology of sight has been thoroughly scientifically explained and is rather similar for all human beings, it is the second part of the phenomena that is architects' main focus, as it is individual and subjective. Extending the subject of Vision to the perception of the urban scale, Kevin Lynch in his book "The Image of the City" draws attention to the image that projects in the psyche of its citizen. He expands on its definition, interweaving it with such terms as legibility, clarity, figurativeness and reference. To quote, “The urban landscape, among its many roles, is also something to be seen, to be remembered, and to delight in. Giving visual form to the city is a special kind of design problem, and a rather new one at that”.

“The urban landscape, among its many roles, is also something to be seen, to be remembered, and to delight in. Giving visual form to the city is a special kind of design problem, and a rather new one at that”.

In Renaissance, 'the rebirth of science and culture', multiple discoveries and inventions took place, many of which laid the cornerstone for what we today call 'the modern world'. Among many, the convergent perspective has been developed. This breakthrough has been strongly supported by humanism, the ideological basis of the period, derived from a concept of Roman humanitas and rediscovery of the classical Greek philosophy, such as that of Protagoras, commonly refered to as the thinker who said that “Man is the measure of all things”. Such a shift in perception has opened numerous new possibilities that could and would be taken into consideration during a design process. Urban planning was no exception, from now on focusing on the human being and looking through eyes of an individual inhabitant. The Renaissance has proven to be fruitful in terms of innovative concepts of new cities, which had been designed not only as a complete vision described by its two-dimensional representation, but also concerning human perspective and field of vision. Famous star-shaped concept of a Renaissance city has been based on an attempt to achieve a comprehensible distance between the observer and a designated focal point. The importance of single person’s perception has finally been transferred from ideology into architecture.

12 Walls - Architecture and Contemporary Ornament from Paradigma Ariadné on Vimeo.