Designing in virtual reality : tools with the human field of vision

Abstract

Virtual reality, or VR, will be the next common medium for digital visualization. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how designers will use and discover new design methods with the representation in virtual reality. How do computational design tools such as CAD and VR, which are digital representations of the physical, affect our designs of physical space? In this thesis, I explore the benefits and shortcomings of VR as a design medium. My first hypothesis claims that VR will excel in representing site context, depth, and scale, in comparison to CAD. The second hypothesis says that VR will encourage a preference for monumentality and open spaces in comparison to a higher packing density of objects in CAD. The third hypothesis claims that designers will prefer 3d models with realistic rendering textures in VR, more so than CAD. The fourth and final hypothesis is that architects, familiar with CAD, can design immersive views just from a 3d omniscient plan without immersion, unlike novices. The first part of the research is the creation of a proof-of-concept virtual reality design review tool that can be integrated easily into existing design practices. The VR tool allows a user to explore their 3d modeled spaces with full locomotion and visually records their experiences in the space. This VR tool integrates virtual reality into the process of iterative design. Through subject testing, we explore our understanding of how our spatial perception interacts with simulated virtual space and thus affects our manners of designing. The results led us to several different conclusions. First, intuitive perception of scale and other spatial relationships is easier in VR. Secondly, VR, despite its intimate relation to the human scale, does not promote a preference for large spaces and monumentality. Thirdly, designers slightly prefer realistic rendering textures in VR. Finally, those with architecture training perform slightly better than novices in visualizing 3d immersive views from plans. This project illustrates where virtual reality's value and flaws as a digital visualization medium. It examines what manner the mode of representation affects and limits the process of designing and making.