Enhancing Online Learning in Architectural Education: A Virtual Reality Enabled Experiment with Arkio

Abstract

This study examines the role of Arkio, a Virtual Reality (VR) platform, in facilitating design critiques during online learning in first-year architectural design studios. This research, which was conducted after the severe earthquake that required a return to remote education, is based on the experiences of instructors who had previously adapted to online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. Arkio provides an innovative solution for the preservation of the quality of architectural education by offering an immersive, real-time environment for design feedback, which is essential in the absence of in-person studio sessions. Using a mixed-methods approach that incorporates surveys and qualitative feedback from students, the study investigates the impact of Arkio on students' understanding of architectural principles, participation in design critiques, and overall learning experience. The results suggest that Arkio was generally well-received for its ability to facilitate critiques and enhance spatial understanding. However, students encountered difficulties with the platform's interface, 3D modeling tools, and file integration. The significance of user-friendly design in educational technologies is underscored by the strong correlation between the perceived educational value of Arkio and its usability, as revealed by cross-analysis. The study identifies critical areas for improvement, despite the fact that Arkio has the potential to significantly transform the critique process in architectural education, particularly in an online setting that is influenced by external disruptions. These insights are essential for the continuous adaptation of VR-driven tools in architectural education, particularly as institutions navigate the complexities of post-pandemic and disaster-responsive remote teaching environments.

Keywords

• Arkio
• Virtural reality
• Online learning
• Architectural design studio

References

1. Alvarado RG, Maver T. 1999. Virtual reality in architectural education: defining possibilities. ACADIA Quarterly, 18(4): 97-99.
2. Angulo A, Velasco GV de. 2015. Virtual sketching: instructional low resolution virtual reality simulations. In: SIGRADI, November 23-27, Florianópolis, Brazil, pp: 506-513.
3. Angulo A. 2015. Rediscovering virtual reality in the education of architectural design: the immersive simulation of spatial experiences. Ambiances, 1: 1-23.
4. Aydin S, Aktaş B. 2020. Developing an integrated vr infrastructure in architectural design education. Front Robot AI, 7: 1-13.
5. Bashabsheh AK, Alzoubi HH, Ali MZ. 2019. The application of virtual reality technology in architectural pedagogy for building constructions. Alexandria Engin J, 58(2): 713-723.
6. Carbonell-Carrera C, Saorin JL, Jaeger AJ. 2021. Navigation tasks in desktop VR environments to improve the spatial orientation skill of building engineers. Buildings, 11(10): 1-20.
7. Caro PW. 1973. Aircraft Simulators and Pilot Training. Human Factors, 15(6): 502-509.
8. Chakraborty I, Patel P. 2020. Virtual Reality: Implications for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning in Architecture Design Studio. Inter J Architect Design Manage, 3(1): 1-8.

9. Coltey E, Tao Y, Wang T, Vassigh S, Chen SC, Shyu ML. 2021. Generalized Structure for Adaptable Immersive Learning Environments. In: Proceedings IEEE 22nd International Conference on Information Reuse and Integration for Data Science, August 10-12, Online Event, pp: 294-301.
10. Darwish M, Kamel S, Assem A. 2023. Extended reality for enhancing spatial ability in architecture design education. Int J Environ Sci Eng, 14(6): 102-104.
11. de Fino M, Bruno S, Fatiguso F. 2022. Dissemination, assessment and management of historic buildings by thematic virtual tours and 3D models. Virtual Archaeol Rev, 13(26): 88-102.
12. Dede C. 2009. Immersive interfaces for engagement and learning. Sci, 323: 66-69.
13. Dorta T, Kinayoglu G, Hoffmann M. 2016. Hyve-3D and the 3D Cursor: Architectural co-design with freedom in virtual reality. Inter J Architectural Comput, 14(2): 87-102.
14. Erkan I. 2020. Investigation of the contribution of virtual reality to architectural education. Art, Design Commun Higher Educat, 19: 221-240.
15. Fathallah NA, Rashed R, Afifi S, Hassan GF. 2022. Virtual Reality: A Paradigm Shift in Architecture and Urban Design Education. In: 1st IEEE Industrial Electronics Society Annual On-Line Conference, ONCON, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., Online Event, pp: 1.
16. Gül LF, Maher ML. 2006. The impact of virtual environments on design collaboration. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe, September 6-9, Volos, Greece, pp: 74-83.
17. Hettithanthri U, Hansen P. 2022. Design studio practice in the context of architectural education: a narrative literature review. Int J Technol Des Educ, 32(4): 2343-2364.
18. Huang X, Guo X, Lo T. 2021. Visualization of ancient buildings: virtual simulation for online historical architecture learning. In: IEEE International Conference on Educational Technology, August 20-22, Online Event, pp: 162-166.
19. Hui V, Estrina T, Huang A, Agma S. 2020. Virtual reality as a response to emergent challenges in architectural education. In: 6th International Conference on Advances in Education, December 18-20, Online Event, pp: 207-216.
20. Ibrahim A, Al-Rababah AI, Bani-Baker Q. 2021. Integrating virtual reality technology into architecture education: the case of architectural history courses. Open House Inter, 46(4): 498-509.
21. Indraprastha A. 2023. Fostering critical collaborative thinking through digital platform: an empirical study on interdisciplinary design project. Inter J Built Environ Sci Res, 7(1): 19.
22. Johnson SL, Knight JR, Sugarman RC. 1975. B-1 systems approach to training. simulation technology assessment report (STAR). URL: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADB007208.pdf (accessed date: 12 September 2024).
23. Kamath RS, Dongale TD, Kamat RK. 2012. Development of virtual reality tool for creative learning in architectural education. Int J Qual Assur Eng Technol Educ, 2: 16-24.
24. Kamińska D, Sapinski T, Wiak S, Tikk T, Haamer RE, Avots E, Helmi A, Ozcinar C, Anbarjafari G. 2019. Virtual reality and its applications in education: Survey. Inform (Switzerland), 10(10): 1-20.
25. Kharvari F, Kaiser LE. 2022. Impact of extended reality on architectural education and the design process. Autom Constr, 141(104393): 1-19.
26. Kieferle J, Woessner U. 2019. Virtual reality in early phases of architectural studies experiments with first year students in immersive rear projection based virtual environments. In: eCAADe, September 11-13, Porto, Portugal, pp: 99-106.
27. Kvan T. 2000. Collaborative design: What is it? Autom Constr, 9(4): 409-415.
28. Laurell C, Sandström C, Berthold A, Larsson D. 2019. Exploring barriers to adoption of Virtual Reality through Social Media Analytics and Machine Learning - An assessment of technology, network, price and trialability. J Bus Res, 100: 469-474.
29. Macnamara W. 2017. Evaluating the effectiveness of the gestalt principles of perceptual observation for virtual reality user interface design. MSc thesis, Technological University Dublin, School of Computing, Dublin, Ireland, pp: 76.
30. Mikropoulos TA, Natsis A. 2011. Educational virtual environments: A ten-year review of empirical research (1999-2009). Comput Educ, 56(3): 769-780.
31. Milgram P, Kishino F. 1994. A taxonomy of mixed reality visual displays. IEICE Trans Inf Syst, E77-D(12): 1-15.
32. Patel P, Khan S. 2023. Review on virtual reality for the advancement of architectural learning. In: IEEE Renewable Energy and Sustainable E-Mobility Conference, RESEM, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., May 17-19, Bhopal, India, pp: 1-6.
33. Rahimian FP, Ibrahim R. 2011. Impacts of VR 3D sketching on novice designers’ spatial cognition in collaborative conceptual architectural design. Des Stud, 32(3): 255-291.
34. Rauf HL, Shareef SS, Othman NN. 2021. Innovation in architecture education: collaborative learning method through virtual reality. J High Educ Theory Pract, 21(16): 33-40.
35. Rho E Chan K, Varoy EJ, Giacaman N. 2020. An Experiential learning approach to learning manual communication through a virtual reality environment. IEEE Trans Learn Technol, 13(3): 477-490.
36. Rojas-Sánchez MA, Palos-Sánchez PR, Folgado-Fernández JA. 2023. Systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis on virtual reality and education. In: Education and Information Technologies. Springer, New York, US, pp: 155-192.
37. Schnabel MA. 2011. The immersive virtual environment design studio. Xi, W and Tsai, JJ, editors. Collaborative Design in Virtual Environments. Springer, pp: 177-191.
38. Shell AK, Pena AE, Abbas JJ, Jung R. 2022. Novel neurostimulation-based haptic feedback platform for grasp interactions with virtual objects. Front Virtual Real, 3: 1-12.
39. Shih SL, Ou SJ, Huang YC, Mu YC. 2019. The difficulties and countermeasures of applying virtual reality to industrial design education. In: ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, pp: 269-272.
40. Sirror H, Abdelsattar A, Dwidar S, Derbali A. 2021. A review on virtual reality for architecture education. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, August 2-5, Rome, Italy, pp: 944-950.
41. Slater M, Wilbur S. 1997. A framework for immersive virtual environments (five): speculations on the role of presence in virtual environments. Presence (Camb), 6(6): 603-616.
42. Sommer KJ. 2014. Pilot training: What can surgaons learn from it? Arab J Urol, 12(1): 32-35.
43. Sutherland IE. 1968. Head-mounted three dimensional display. In: Fall Joint Computer Conference, December 9-11, San Francisco, USA, pp: 757-764.
44. Wang Y. 2023. Procedural content generation for VR educational applications: The investigation of AI-based approaches for improving learning experience. Applied Comput Engin, 17(1): 23-31.
45. Williams JE, Orooji F, Shahnaz JA. 2019. Integration of virtual reality (VR) in architectural design education: Ex-ploring student experience. In: ASEE 126th Annual Conference and Exposition, June 15-19, Tampa, USA, pp: 27354.
46. Xie C, Li X, Hu Y, Peng H, Taylor M, Song SL. 2021. Q-VR: System-level design for future mobile collaborative virtual reality. In: International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems - ASPLOS, April 19-23, Online Event, pp: 587-599.
47. Zajtchuk R, Satava RM. 1997. Medical applications of victual reality. Communicat ACM, 40(9): 63-64.
48. Zhang B. 2020. Research on visual design method and application of architecture based on BIM + VR. In: IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Purpose-Led, Montreal, Canada, 750, pp: 012110.