Analysis of Roofing Materials for Rural Buildings Projects: Costs and Visual Integration

Antonio M. Reyes-Rodríguez, Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo, Lorenzo García-Moruno, and Julio Hernández-Blanco

University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain

Abstract: Technical development has allowed rural buildings to achieve an increasing number of functional capabilities but it has led to a higher incidence on their associated visual impact. This way, not only the prevailing economic and functional standards must be analyzed in the design of a rural building as well as in the selection of suitable construction materials, but visual aesthetic criteria should also be accounted for. Roofs play an important role in the aesthetic appearance of a building and are therefore a key factor to visual impact on the environment. Computer graphics based on the standard construction criteria in rural building. The preferences of population regarding visual integration were assessed by a set of public surveys, and were further linked to the associated costs. Many frequent building solutions were found to be more expensive than some others with equivalent functionality standards and even best rated as related to landscape integration. An average increase of 0.39% in roofing installation costs was found to achieve a 23.65% average improvement in the rating of visual integration. The present study provides a catalogue of design solutions for roofing, and includes economical valuation and quantitative comparison with regard to their impact on the rural scene.

Key words: public survey, building envelope, rural development, visual integration, projects