Can one measure architectural contextuality? A simple “building similarity indicator”

Adaptation of a building to the environment – often referred as “contextuality” – is considered a key quality of architecture. The assessment of such contextual coherence is frequently attributed to the perception and expertise of architects. This is generally appropriate, as coherence depends on multiple factors such as form, color, materials, landscape, professional knowledge about ideas and historical contexts and an assessment of the genius loci, often described as atmosphere. Nevertheless, there is increasing interest in quantifying such aspects, particularly in the context of sustainability assessments like Social Life Cycle Assessment (sLCA).
This paper explores and discusses an approach to “quantifying the quality” of contextuality. It proposes a simple, image-based method for assessing contextual suitability using "Google Lens". The approach is as follows: Ten visually similar buildings are identified via "Google Lens" in relation to a specific reference building. The average distance between the physical locations of these search results and the location of the reference building is then calculated. This average distance serves as an indicator of whether comparable architectures are predominantly situated within the regional environment or dispersed over larger distances. The indicator is named the “Building Similarity Indicator” (BSI). The BSI was calculated for a dataset of 320 buildings. Data analysis shows significantly increasing BSI values depending on the estimated “modernity” of a building, representing a loss of geographical contextuality.
This highly oversimplified approach is ultimately discussed critically. It might offer no more than a quantifiable supplement to discussions on “contextuality.” As such, it is suggested as appropriate for playing a role in quantitative storytelling for planners, architects, or sustainability scientists. Furthermore, integration into sLCA for buildings is suggested. Geographical contextuality can be seen as triggering identity and the conservation of (parts of the) perceived cultural history of a place. Therefore, it possesses social value.