User-Centered Evaluation of Metaverse Spaces: Spatial Fidelity, Immersion, and Conceptual Continuity

Tuğçe Gökçen Kütüklü; Belinda Torus

doi:10.57019/jmv.1800976

User-Centered Evaluation of Metaverse Spaces: Spatial Fidelity, Immersion, and Conceptual Continuity

Abstract

By examining the translation of architectural experience into immersive environments, the study aims to unfold the experience-based spatial outputs of metaverse contexts by deploying physical spaces. While the term metaverse is often approached from technological or social perspectives, its architectural dimension, how space is constituted, perceived, and redefined across realities, remains underexplored. In this respect, the research positions Virtual Reality (VR) as a visualization technology and a proto-metaverse condition in which architectural meaning can be preserved and reconfigured. To evaluate spatial fidelity within such conditions, the study takes the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) foyer as a case study where participants experienced the same space in three folds: on-site, VR real scene, and VR semi-abstracted scene. The study was conducted with 45 participants using in-situ presence and head-mounted 360° VR in both realistic and semi-abstract scene conditions. Collected data were analyzed through concept–affect mapping and a tessellation-based framework correlating perceptual concepts to predefined architectural systems. This methodology blends qualitative spatial descriptors with systematic architectural categorization, enabling a precise understanding of how spatial concepts emerge, stabilize, or diverge across different realities. Results demonstrate that while some architectural concepts remained consistent in all conditions, affective and atmospheric descriptors varied, particularly in the semi-abstracted scene, where participants reported altered immersion. Moreover, through the embodied presence, navigational thinking, and continuity in affection, metaverse environments are generated with the correlation of findings. Therefore, it cannot only be evaluated as an extension of realism but also as part of a more complex design process. The proposed methodological approach reveals a framework that can be adapted to different studies, such as interior design and extended reality (XR) environments, by enabling a system to assess spatial quality in immersive environments. With the discourse on architectural literacy, the study presents opportunities for designing competent multi-reality experiences for metaverse environments.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

This research did not receive any outside funding or support. The authors report no involvement in the research by the sponsor that could have influenced the outcome of this work.

Ethical Statement

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were conducted in accordance with ethical standards. Ethics approval was obtained from the Bahçeşehir University Research and Publication Ethics Board.

Thanks

We would like to thank the İzmir Academy Association, the publisher of the Journal of Metaverse.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Design (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Tuğçe Gökçen Kütüklü ^*
0000-0001-6958-8437
Türkiye

Belinda Torus
0000-0003-0699-3421
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

December 16, 2025

Publication Date

January 8, 2026

Submission Date

October 10, 2025

Acceptance Date

December 12, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 6

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57019/jmv.1800976

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA45DR66EP

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Gökçen Kütüklü, T., & Torus, B. (2026). User-Centered Evaluation of Metaverse Spaces: Spatial Fidelity, Immersion, and Conceptual Continuity. Journal of Metaverse, 6, 84-99. https://doi.org/10.57019/jmv.1800976