VR-DesignSpace: A Creativity Support Environment Integrating Virtual Reality Technology into Collaborative Data-Informed Evaluation of Design Alternatives

Abstract

In the Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) projects, the project team continuously evaluates and reflects on alternative design solutions during the design process. However, there are limited computational tools to support the real-time collaborative analysis of design alternatives and practical data-driven decision-making. This paper investigates the potential integration of Virtual Reality (VR) technology into the design process to augment real-time collaborative evaluation and reflection on design solutions in a data-informed architectural design context. We argue that: (a) the collaborative assessment of design ideas requires to occur in an immersive 3D environment since architectural design space and interactions are inherently three-dimensional; (b) reducing the cognitive load of shifting between various tools and multiple interfaces during the examination of alternatives augments decision-making accuracy and efficiency; (c) the collaboration experience can benefit from the advantages of VR over physical reality in addition to simulation of preferable in-person collaborations and interactions. To address these high-level considerations, we propose a technical approach for designing and implementing an interactive Creativity Support Virtual Environment called VR-DesignSpace, inspired by VirtualCoLab, an immersive scientific collaboration system used in the mathematics domain. VR-DesignSpace system facilitates real-time interactions between designers, clients, and stakeholders involved in an AEC project to promote evaluation and decision-making tasks. It also augments the interactions between the design team and the design solutions space. For future work, we develop a prototype VR-DesignSpace system using Tivoli Cloud VR and assess the system’s functionality in an architectural design setting through a formative expert review.