New Service: Visual Impact Assessment
Terra is currently offering a new service for our existing and future clients. We will be offering visual impact studies, which will help municipalities and the local public to visualize how a future building or tower will impact their city’s landscape.
Using visual impact assessments (VIA) in conjunction with our existing ability to provide and create photo-simulations, Terra will be able to provide an even more accurate representation of any new structures being built around your neighborhood.
What is a visual impact assessment? (VIA)
VIA is a technical study that assesses potential impacts that an object or building may have to the existing surrounding environment. The study uses a tangible object (balloon) to help local municipalities visually see how a new object or building will look against their current city landscape.
What are “visual impacts?”
Visual impacts are any objects, most commonly buildings and/or towers, that can change the scenic attributes of a city’s landscape, be it rural or urban. They affect the human visual experience of the landscape. These impacts can affect the scenic and aesthetics of the existing landscape.
What is the purpose of VIA?
The purpose of a VIA is to protect the scenic integrity of the city’s current landscape. It also provides the municipality and the local public a tangible and visible idea of how a new building would look after it has been constructed. It will help the local municipality mitigate adverse visual impacts to its current landscape.
In addition, with a VIA, the municipality will be able to better assess the public’s opinion about the new building and its location. With a VIA, the municipality will be able to recognize the visual impact a new building will have and use it to minimize public reaction. After the study, the public will be able to provide feedback to the municipality with recommendations, questions, comments, or concerns.
Terra and VIA
Terra recently performed a VIA in the form of a balloon study to help a local municipality show the public how a new tower will look in their area. The balloon was raised to the height of 100’ and was suspended in air for four hours. This allowed the local public to visually see how a new tower would impact their current landscape.