Why Immersive? - Using an Immersive Virtual Environment in Architectural Education

Abstract

Teaching the process of design is a primary objective of the architectural studio. Due to the complexity of the process, the studio encourages active learning and peer participation during crit sessions. This paper explores the potential of immersive virtual environments (IVEs) for enhancing architectural learning, and proposes a framework for evaluating its educational potential.We have developed a model for coding the three main activities of the architectural design process (analysis, synthesis and evaluation), along with their physical and social settings. The model comprises of units we call Knowledge Construction Activities (KCAs). We suggest that this model presents a detailed description of the environmental implications of each activity. Applying the KCA model to a studio course that used both a traditional classroom and an IVE revealed that the IVE increased the number of synthesis KCAs, and supported effective criticism. Though limited in scope, the results clearly indicate IVEs potential contribution to architecture pedagogy.