Texture

**TEXTURE**

Texture is that specific quality or a surface which results from its three dimensional structures.  Everything, including works of art, has a texture or surface. Texture can be rough, bumpy, slick, scratchy, smooth, silky, soft, prickly…

Types of Textures 

TACTILE textures are real and can be felt by touch. All Tactile Textures provide visual texture as well.  VISUAL textures are seen by the eye. It may be illusory or real.  AUDIBLE texture affects how the object or room sounds.

What is it that texture describes of an object?

Texture describes the relative smoothness or roughness of a surface. It also can be use to describes the characteristic surface quality of familiar materials.

How can texture influence the characteristics of a space?

Different textures can be used to create the illusion of space. We base these physical reactions to the textural qualities of surfaces on previous associations with similar materials. Artists create the illusion of texture with paint, wood, stone and clay.

Scale, viewing distance, and light are important modifying factors in our perception of texture and the surfaces they articulate. The relative scale of a texture can affect the apparent shape and position of a plane in space. Textures with a directional grain can accentuate a plane’s length or width. Coarse textures can make a plane appear closer, reduce its scale, and increase its visual weight. In general, textures tend to visually fill the space in which they exist.

What is the importance of texture in Urban Planning?

"Textures make a significant contribution to the expressive quality of a city. They impact how we relate to specific places, whether it be a distinct address, a neighborhood or an entire metropolitan area. While individual cities share several common textures, such as asphalt, concrete, gravel and grass they are integrated in diverse ways. On top of this, they are combined with local species of plant and styles off architecture. Combined, this mix of common and distinct textures provides a unique stage on which a city’s story is played out." <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: right;">Yuri Artibise <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;">I agree with this opinion; I think that textures are an important element that help to define the identity of a city.