Different aesthetic preferences between designers and laypersons can be a problem in designing a building. User satisfaction is one of the main problems for the architect, which can be caused by differences in the cognitive and physical bases of opinions between architects and laypersons. An important factor for architects is to understand how laypersons would judge different physical cues that are aesthetically used in building façades. This study aims to identify the different cognitive properties between architects and laypersons. Previous studies have concentrated on conceptual properties, instead of cognitive properties of buildings. Although few studies have been concentrating on what might be called formal aesthetics, none of them focused on residential apartment façades. This study attempts to identify the differences between architects and laypersons in terms of aesthetic evaluation of building façade using quantitative survey. As a result, it can be concluded that although there are differences between architects and non-architects in aesthetics evaluation, both groups have scored certain similar physical cues. Findings of this research could help architects to form a better understanding of what laypersons would prefer in their ideal design.

This article investigates the differences in aesthetic preferences on external facades on non-architects. A combination of a card sorting technique, a semi-structured interview, and a Mind sketching technique is employed. Data analysis was carried out using the qualitative techniques of content analysis. Findings reveal that non-architects were able to identify what they like and dislike regarding their preferences on façade designs. It reveals that among the conceptual properties, Originality Meaningfulness, Clarity, Simplicity were the most used properties by non-architects. However, non-architects’ aesthetic preferences and their suggestions for change to the given facades were found to be inconsistent. It can be concluded that involving potential users in the architectural process must be assisted by a design professional. Graphical Abstract