Introducing Immersive Virtual Reality in the Initial Phases of the Design Process—Case Study: Freshmen Designing Ephemeral Architecture

Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) has proven to be an important tool for the exploration and communication of architectural projects prior to their real construction; however, there have been few scientific advances of its use in the understanding, exploration, and definition of architectural space by architecture students in their initial design processes. The purpose of this research is to determine how the use of IVR incorporated in the initial phases of the architectural design process improves, among students, the achievement of three specifics design competencies, and to know the evaluation that professors make of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of this tool in the design process. A mixed methodology was applied, considering participatory observations and surveys of students and teachers concerning the initial architecture workshop on architectural careers. It was found that the three analyzed competencies are better achieved with the use of IVR due to its high utility in the perception of space on a real scale and in its interior experimentation, both referred to as important advantages by students and teachers. It is concluded that the application of the interactive and immersive VR is a pedagogical tool that allows students to get feedback from their own spatial experience to correct and improve their designs, while teachers find the tool useful in the initial phases of architectural design.