From form to meaning: an empirical visual–aesthetic–semantic framework for perceiving tall-building skylines

Tall buildings increasingly shape the visual and symbolic identity of contemporary cities. Yet, previous skyline studies have typically explored visual, aesthetic, and semantic dimensions in isolation, without empirically examining how these dimensions relate to one another within a unified framework. This gap limits a comprehensive understanding of how the physical form of tall buildings translates into perceived meaning in urban environments. This study develops and empirically tests a visual–aesthetic–semantic model to investigate the interdependencies among skyline dimensions. Using survey data collected from residents of four Tehran neighborhoods and urban experts, the research employs mean comparison tests (ANOVA and t-tests) to examine how variations in physical and visual characteristics of tall buildings influence semantic interpretations. The findings show that skyline meaning is not a simple outcome of physical form but emerges through aesthetic perception, which shapes symbolic interpretations such as power, wealth, density, and urban progress. Significant perceptual differences across social groups highlight the contextual and experiential nature of skyline understanding. Beyond the Tehran case, the study empirically validates a visual–aesthetic–semantic analytical framework that explains how the physical characteristics of tall buildings are translated into symbolic meaning through aesthetic perception at the skyline scale. The framework integrates physical, visual, and semantic dimensions into a unified perceptual model applicable to other metropolitan contexts.