Date of Graduation

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Architecture

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Architecture

Advisor/Mentor

Baker, Emily

Committee Member

Veloso, Pedro

Second Committee Member

Miri, Marjan

Abstract

This is an undergraduate thesis research about the exploration of Virtual Reality (VR) in the architectural design career field at the design development stage for architectural projects. VR is a tool that is available for designers to use to make design decisions for their projects and is used to explore the design in space at a one-to-one scale. VR has proven itself to be a valuable resource for designers and clients; however, it has been personally observed that VR is not as utilized as much as it could be in the architectural design development workflow. The purpose of this research is to test using virtual reality equipment in the design development stage of an architectural project to both discover how VR can be beneficial to the architectural designer and what hindrances might exist that would discourage the use of virtual reality in the workflow for an architectural project.

The research done for this thesis included the testing of four different types of virtual reality headsets, working with an adaptive use remodel architectural student project and a professional industrial distribution center project in their design development stages. The virtual reality equipment was tested to see what where the requirements to initially set up each VR headset and how long it took for a designer to enter the VR environment. Any hindrances in the VR performance were taken into consideration in the final synopsis of the thesis research and in the speculation of how virtual reality can be improved for the architectural designer. In addition to the experimental testing, contextual research and a few interviews were conducted to learn more about how virtual reality is being used currently in the architectural design career field.

Keywords

Architecture; Virtual Reality; Visualization; Technology; Design Development; Innovation

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