Ornamental motifs and visual concerns: Exploring aesthetic pleasure and conservation intention in architectural heritage renovation

In the ongoing efforts of architectural heritage renovation, ornamental motifs serve not only as aesthetic embellishments but also as carriers of cultural symbolism. However, how their visual perception influences public aesthetic judgments and conservation intentions remains underexplored. This study focuses on two types of culturally embedded motifs – the native Chinese dragon and the imported lion – and examines their impact under two visual forms (2D and 3D) within a 2 × 2 experimental framework. A combination of eye-tracking measures and questionnaire assessments was employed with a sample of 80 participants to investigate the effects of iconographic category and visual form on four dependent variables: aesthetic pleasure, conservation intention, fixation time, and time to first fixation. Results revealed significant main effects of both iconographic category and visual form across all outcome variables. Notably, significant interactions were found in conservation intention and time to first fixation. This study advances understanding of how iconographic meaning and visual form jointly shape visual attention, aesthetic evaluation, and conservation intention in architectural heritage contexts.