We want to introduce advanced XR visualization techniques as standard tools in teaching architectural design. In the “Immersive Studio” we evaluate the developed technical solutions and workflows by observation as well as student feedback. This effort is inscribed in the larger D-ARCH strategy to equip future architects with the computational competencies needed to master the challenges to come.
Extended reality (XR) technologies (generic term for VR, AR, MR) are increasingly being applied in architectural practice and will change the way architecture is designed, simulated and evaluated. The ability to experience architecture immersively and realistically in virtual space allows for easier examination of complex spatial relationships. XR technologies are also setting new standards in the areas of presentation, communication and instruction, whether to clients, specialist planners or those carrying out the work.
At the Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich, these technologies have been applied several times in recent years in the context of research projects, but their use in teaching, especially in design classes, has not yet taken place. This is due to the lack of simple yet effective software environments and workflows that are tailored to the specifics of architectural design and especially studio teaching. The proposed project «Immersive Studio» fills this gap and provides a robust, open, well documented design-to-XR pipeline adapted to the didactic requirements of D-ARCH.
The concrete project goals are as follows:
– Development of new approaches for immersive design evaluation and design workflows during studio teaching.
– Development of new interactive presentation and communication methods for design projects.
– Development and refinement of the RADii interface to Rhino/Grasshopper for real-time control of presentations.
– Development of the needed technical infrastructure.
– Development of video tutorials on the use of the RADii interface to Rhino/Grasshopper
– Establishment of a best practice for the use of XR technology at the D-ARCH.
– Dissemination of developed tools and workflows among the students of D-ARCH by introducing them in the second year bachelor course Computational Design.
The developed methods and tools will:
– Foster the computational competences of the students (Rhino/Grasshopper, Radii and corresponding workflows)
– Improve their spatial thinking skills by evaluating spaces in VR
– Teach them to communicate their designs in XR through appropriate storytelling
Effects of the project
For the students it is an entirely new experience to design and present in XR. Through the design studio, the students will be equipped with digital competencies in the field of 3D modeling and XR presentation techniques, which prepares them for a future professional environment, since more and more architectural offices adopt XR technologies in their daily workflow.
The faculty involved in the Immersive Studio will build up expertise in using XR tools and integrating them into a design studio teaching methodology. The tools and methods resulting from this project as well as their documentation, will allow other faculty to apply these tools to their studio teaching in a simple and intuitive way.
The chosen dissemination method will ensure that the knowledge needed for the application of the tools will spread throughout the department in a bottom-up manner and contribute to the department’s strategy of fostering digital literacy among architecture students. While the bachelor courses “Computational Design” (I – IV) establish the 3D modeler Rhinoceros and the visual programming environment Grasshopper as common toolset for designing Architecture at ETH, the Immersive Studio contributes the missing link to XR.
