DCIO.2020.MQSO4855
- REDIRECT [[]]
Assessing the role of virtual reality as a psychological design tool within current architectural practice
by PATRICK HORNE.
Virtual environments present architects with a new feedback tool to assess the psychological influence of their designs upon future inhabitants. This paper outlines five different methodologies for collecting data from participants within a virtual environment, appraising the potential value of these results in a process of informed architectural design. Specifically, the paper focuses on the feasible implementation of such a process within the context of an architectural office, critiquing the current void between environmental psychology, ‘Neuroarchitecture’ and architectural practice. Each test was administered to 12 participants and the datasets collected from each methodology critiqued regarding their potential influence upon the projects design and value to the profession. Crucially, the procedures of each test are to be repeatable and the results useful within current architectural practice. The paper poses that whilst this may come at a loss of scientific validation, the compromise is worthwhile to begin implementing meaningful evidence-based design within the built environment. This paper contextualises this research within the overlapping fields of Environmental Psychology and ‘Neuroarchitecture’ and discusses the role of virtual reality within informed, data driven design. Ultimately, the paper outlines the basis for a new methodology of meaningful architectural public consultation within virtual environments, informing future work in this field.
Keywords
Architecture, Phenomenology, Virtual Reality, Environmental Psychology, Neuroarchitecture, Cognitive Neuroscience.
