The architectural space perception through different visualization media

In the university education of architects, acquiring the competence of the architectural space perception and understanding requires is fundamental. The traditional teaching, allows real experimentation of the space, that stimulates the senses. In an online learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the visualization media turn out to be tools that can help to achieve such competencies. This research sought to compare the perception of the Barcelona pavilion designed by the architects Ludwing Mies Van der Rohe and Lilly Reich through four different visualization media: 360° video, video, color photographs and freehand drawings. The experimental design was applied to 74 students of the first year of the Architecture degree at the National University of San Agustin de Arequipa in Peru. An ad-hoc questionnaire was used to assess five components of spatial perception: measurements and proportions, spatial relationships and orientation, forms and materials, lighting and shadows and experienced sensations of space. It is concluded that each visualization media has strengths and weaknesses in each component, but it is the 360° video which stands out in the integral perception of space, allowing students to have an almost real spatial experience, as an alternative to the physical experimentation of the built spaces.