TY - JOUR T1 - VIRTUAL REALITY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS IN ARCHITECTURE and DESIGN EDUCATION: A BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW AU - Çalışkan, Arda AU - Girgin Kayaakdag, Suzan PY - 2025 DA - June Y2 - 2025 JF - A+Arch Design International Journal of Architecture and Design JO - ARCH PB - Istanbul Aydin University WT - DergiPark SN - 2149-5904 SP - 73 EP - 91 VL - 11 IS - 1 LA - en AB - Virtual Reality (VR) technologies are increasingy being utilized in the fields of architecture and design education due to their potential to supporting creating interactive, immersive learning environments. This paper provides a bibliometric review of 68 academic studies between 2000 and 2025 that discuss the use of VR tools, platforms, and games in learning environments. The research aims to find trends, gaps in research, and thematic trends in the application of VR technologies in design education. The findings indicate a growing interest in integrating VR technologies into architectural education worldwide. Architectural design emerges as the most researched topic, highlighting VR's significant potential in supporting design-related activities, visualization, and collaborative learning. Besides design-oriented research, VR applications have also been researched in fields like construction education, architectural history, and landscape architecture. The paper categorizes the reviewed works into three broad categories of VR uses: tools and applications, platforms, and game-based learning environments. Among these, tools and applications are the most prevalent, typically developed to address specific educational needs, while game-based approaches remain less explored, despite their potential to enhance engagement through interactive, game-like settings. While the bibliometric analysis highlights the educational benefits of VR—such as enhanced visualization, interactivity, and increased student motivation—it also identifies key challenges. 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