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VIRTUAL SKETCHING: Learning via Low Resolution Virtual Reality SimulationsKeywords: VR, Immersive Simulation, Spatial Design, Parametric Thinking, Virtual Sketch. This research paper reports on the use ofimmersive Virtual Reality (VR) tools in the implementation of the “Virtual Sketch (VS) Method”, which aims to support comprehensive spatial design tasks during the conceptual stages of a project. The VS Method allows for the simulation ofthe design and the full perceptual experience of its interior and exteriorspaces. The research study seeks to achieve the following objectives: To test amethod that can be easily adopted by novice design students when dealing withconceptual design tasks. A method that is regarded as effective because itpermits fast feedback to the design process and with little production cost ifcompared with high resolution methods that demand long hours of preparation.To fosterparametric thinking related to spatial design by highlighting the effects ofvariations of geometrical parameters. To increasethe critical mass of students exposed to the use of the VR environment as weestablish the immersive simulation studios within our educational curricula. Beginning design studios are usuallychallenged with the solution of basic architectural problems dealing with minimalfunctional requirements and very basic material intentions. Seldom such designassignments are driven by contextual conditions, and a big emphasis is placed onthe formal appeal of the building. There is a tendency to giving priority tothe design of the exterior volumetric shape and frequently these types ofdesign tasks may cause the novice student to simply depict the architecturalobject as a crude three-dimensional artifact. Such an artifact is usuallyrepresented and manipulated devoid from the understanding of what the interiorshape needs to be, or in the best case the interior space becomes a casualconsequence of the exterior shape. Aiming towards a more comprehensiveunderstanding of architectural designs, this study has implemented analternative that may correct such a negative tendency by seeking theincorporation of spatial requirements in the design. The requirements posed bythe spatial design may force the student to switch the focus of the design fromthe inside out, or minimally this alternative may inspire the students tore-consider artifact-like solutions as objects of multiple perceptions withinner and outer cohesive formal expressions. While the design of interior architectureusually emphasizes effective layout and movement inside buildings, the impactof the formal aspects of the interior space are left as secondary. Again, thisstudy acknowledges that the affective appraisal of interior spaces as evoked bytheir geometrical properties may impact the perception of the interiorarchitecture and therefore it has sought also to incorporate that criterion inthe design process. Three-dimensional modeling is commonly usedby the novice designer; the techniques that allow geometrical representationsto be immediately seen and manipulated on computer screens are part of thebasic digital design training in most schools of architecture. Three-dimensionalmodeling applications are ideal tools for artifact-like manipulation whileadvanced object manipulation may include the incorporation of parametricmodeling, the latter is only common among the more proficient students.Parametric modeling is effectively implemented when there is a clearunderstanding of the parameters of the design, thus it is of vital importancethat clear parametric thinking precedes the application of any parametricmodeling (Moussavi, 2012). Exterior shapes can be easily described in terms offormal parameters that depict their geometries, and the manipulation of thesegeometries can be also described as parametric manipulations seekingmorphological evolution, transformation, or controlled variation (Kolarevic,2003). The three-dimensional modeling and/or parametric modeling needed for thedesign of interior spaces are more complex processes because the correspondinggeometries are usually visualized through multiple perspectives and cameraviews that may provide a series of fragmented views of the space. It may alsobe possible to prototype a physical model and implement relevant endoscopicmethods to inspect the interior space and thus asses an evolving design. The alternativethat may speed up all these cumbersome and lengthy processes is a VR tool withreal-time playback and immersive simulation of the interior spaces.  We have a high resolution VR environment thathas been used to deploy the VS Method hereby described. This method uses basic geometricalrepresentations with low resolution imagery based on color shades or color mapson the surfaces of models. The materialization of the objects is intentionallymuted to highlight geometrical properties such as size, scale, proportion,position of parts, perforations, density, openness, alignment, circulationflow, among others. The VS Method supports the use of entourage objects (i.e.foliage, people, furniture) to emphasize human scale. The VS Method was implemented for the firsttime during the 2015 spring semester within the context of a sophomore designstudio. The participants were distributed in teams of 2 students for the designof a small street café, conceived as a detached restaurant expansion. Theprojects were developed at conceptual level with criteria that included basic functionalaspects (i.e. occupancy), material requirements (i.e. wooden structure), andcontextual constraints (i.e. proximity to the restaurant, solar exposure, and aestheticlook). It also included interior space requirements, namely: intimacy, familiarity,and privacy. State-of-the art digital modeling techniques were used for thegeneration of alternatives that were simulated in the VR environment. The objectives/evaluatorsfor the spatial design were stated in advance as well as the pairing of thesecriteria with geometrical parameters for the assessment of the alternatives.The VS method allowed the assessment of the on-going solutions as the studentswere able to capitalize from the quick feedback that the system provided whileswitching back and forth between screen representations and VR immersive walkthroughsinside and outside of the spaces of the emerging solutions. At this stage ofthe process the representations of the design remained sketchy and devoid ofmaterial texture; there was no need for photo-realistic texture or detail asthe design focused only on a comprehensive exterior-interior shape emergence. Lastly,the students were also asked to produce a final representation of the projectusing high resolution techniques to be simulated in the VR. For this particularcase the students incorporated a daylight system, artificial lighting, and basicmaterial textures. Throughout the design data was gathered in regards to themethodology implemented via surveys about the following topics (1) theusability of the VR system for the simulation of design, (2) the effectivenessof the VS Method to support design decisions matching design objectives, (3) theoverall impression about high resolution simulation and its usability/effectivenessfor conceptual design, and (4) improvements to the VR system to complement theVS Method. Data about the final review was also collected in regards to the environmentalevaluation and the affective appraisal of the final projects. Results from this initial study reportedpositive evidence towards the use of the VS method in conceptual stages ofdesign when materialization and detail are intentionally left ill-defined. The final design solutions demonstrated agreat degree of coherence between the formal exterior shape and the inner shape,while each one independently responded to different design criteria.Students reported strong preference for theVS Method as a tool in support of recursive design processes. The highresolution method was able to provide good visualization of light and shadoweffects and added some material textures to the design, however it was rejectedas a good method for the conceptual design stage as it demanded long hours ofpreparation due to its production complexity. Consensus was achieved on thepreference for high resolution (flat) renderings over the use of the VRwalkthrough showing a high resolution model. Some of the preferred improvementsto the VS Method included the ability to move objects during the walkthrough,and the incorporation of sound effects for enhanced spatial perception.  A similar study will be implemented in thenext academic semester with improvements to the VS Method. It has been evidentthat the VS Method is efficient in providing feedback on geometrical qualities,however some environmental factors (i.e. daylighting, glare control,illumination levels) were left ill-defined in the design. These environmentalfactors have an important effect over the affective appraisal of the interiorspace. An improved VS Method will seek to integrate these aspects withenvironmental analysis methods that would relate geometrical parameters toenvironmental effects. This research is significant because itsupports the effective application of emergent VR systems within academicenvironments. The findings of this study imply that purposely-designedapplications of VR technology can specifically support the initial stages ofthe design process, in contrast with conventional VR applications that aremostly limited to display the final visualization of professional-gradeprojects. We hope that fostering the use of VR for design in academia willgradually find its way into the generalized practice. References:Moussavi,Farshid. “Parametric Software is no Substitute for Parametric Thinking.” The Architectural Review, (2011). http://m.architectural-review.com/8620000.article.Kolarevic, Branco “Architecture inthe Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing, Digital Morphogenesis”, (2003)  Image Caption Virtual Sketching Process using VR: Visualcomparison between low resolution, high resolution VR and renderings

VR; Immersive Simulation; Spatial Design; Parametric Thinking; Virtual Sketch