ABSTRACT
Systems of observation and notation have been developed to standardizing the reporting of behavioral events. Visual anthropology expands the recording capability of notation systems by providing photographic evidence with accuracy, which extends the credibility and scope of descriptive records. Although legibility is not the only property of a beautiful city, it is important for the design of large-scale complex urban environments. To understand this, Lynch argues, is not only to consider the physical properties of the city, but how the city is perceived by its inhabitants. Structuring and identifying the environment is a function of its imageability, or the mental pictures carried by city inhabitants. To understand the sequential experience of architectural and urban spaces, Thiel developed a sequence-experience notation system. The work was stimulated by the discontinuous nature of sketches and photographs, and the fact that the viewpoint of those projects was remote from the actual experience.
