The Role of Serious Gaming using Virtual Reality Applications for 3D Architectural Visualization

Abstract

This paper investigates the advantage of VR technology in architectural education. Different studies showed that VR increases the engagement and motivation of students by creating an interactive environment and provides deeper learning. On the other hand, Precedents in architecture are the first and the most important step toward architectural education. One needs to study these precedents and store them in the experiential/episodic memory. Visiting precedents is more beneficial than conventional ways of studying them such as hand sketching but it is costly and not available to all students. Therefore, we believe that the VR technology can take the place of visiting precedents since it resembles the precedents exactly and offers a better, cheaper and easier way for accumulating highly specific architectural knowledge than a local visit due to providing architectural interactivity. We tested our hypothesis by using Therme Vals and an HTC Vive headset among architecture students. This paper shows that VR is an advantage in architectural education because it offers cheap and easy solutions for studying precedents. Also, it motivates the students and leads to deeper learning because of the interactivity that it offers. The students were able to recognize a complex plan clearly and remember the spatial configuration.

Perceptions of the use of virtual reality games for chemical engineering education and professional training

“…However, more appealing gameplay experiences were reported by IVR game users compared to tablet computer users. Kharvari and Hohl (2019) tested a prototype IVR game, Therme Vals, for architectural education and found that students were able to recall spatial configuration of the simulated building without physically visiting the site. They claimed that VR could be a simpler, cheaper, safe and effective way of accumulating 'highly specific architectural knowledge' compared to site visits.…”

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“…Virtual environment makes the students more attentive by establishing the interactive environment that helps to reveal the results of interaction immediately which accomplish the goal of learning by doing [14]. A collector game for architectural education to learn the precedents of architecture was introduced in [15] where the students were trained to use episodic memory appropriately to remember spatial configurations and doing the proper use of episodic memory to store the cubes for later use.…”

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“…By doing so students would be able to explore and apply what they have built up in civil Engineering situations. Likewise, Kharvari and Hohl [65] used virtual reality methods for reproducing the virtual form of a building for architecture students to study the precedents of a particular structure without the need for a field visit. The fact that virtual reality is capable of replicating how lightning behaves in a room also favours lightning education as proposed by Boyles et al [66].…”