“An area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors.”
Landscape is defined in terms of human perception.
But how do people see the landscape?Can we measure it?Can we derive visual signatures of what makes places look like themselves?
Computer vision models let us compare visual qualities across millions of photographs, revealing patterns from individual scenes to geographic regions.
Where does our model recover human-perceived differences in the landscape?
Colour shows visual resemblance; height shows how closely profiles recur in distant places.
Explore in 3D ↗ 02 / AtlasExplore Switzerland’s landscapes
Compare visual profiles, geographic regions and directions, with the photographs and words behind them.
Explore the maps ↗ 03 / CitiesLook closer, city by city.
Explore 15, 10 and 5 km views over aerial imagery.
Choose a city ↗What makes this possible
From small visual qualities
to territorial patterns
Vision transformers measure small image patches. Their recurring combinations describe whole scenes and, in turn, territorial patterns.
Follow a photograph through the method →Opening the explorer…
Cities
Explore the urban landscape.
Choose a city, then adjust the region detail and compare it with aerial imagery. Explore centred 15, 10 and 5 km views; the map identifies when a smaller study area uses its own regional hierarchy.