ABSTRACT
The top section and edge of the barrier are critical to its visual appeal and appearance when seen against the landscape/townscape backdrop. For a pedestrian, with an average eye level of approximately 1.5-1.7 m, the top of a barrier is nearly always going to be above eye level. This means that, more often than not, the top edge of the barrier will be silhouetted against the sky, a backdrop of vegetation or perhaps against buildings and other built forms. In a car, eye-level is considerably lower, at approximately 1.3-1.4 m, and thus barriers are always likely to be viewed upwards. The background against which the barrier will be viewed is, therefore, an important consideration and it is essential to ascertain whether the visual and aesthetic strategy calls for losing the top edge of the barrier within the landscape, or alternatively providing some strength to the edge so that it makes a more dominant visual statement (Figures 4.2 and 4.3).
