Integrating Immersive Virtual Environment User Studies into Architectural Design Practice: A Pre-Occupancy User Study of Train Station Waiting Preferences With VREVAL
Grayson Bailey, Olaf Kammler, Rene Weiser, Sven Schneider, Ekaterina Fuchkina · 2022
User-centered studies in Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs) are able to provide valuable feedback in the form of Pre-Occupancy Evaluations (Pr-OEs). Pr-OEs allow for immersive design reviews of architectural space before construction is complete, thus providing better opportunities for user-centered values to be appraised and addressed by designers. If integrated into the architectural design process, PrOEs can also aid in design development by comparing participant responses to multiple design variations.In this paper we present the further development of VREVAL, a framework for performing user studies in IVEs, and a case study of its application in the study of waiting preferences. An overview of the VREVAL web platform and desktop application explain the modular study components within a BIM workflow. An example study showcases the VREVAL “Placing” module while examining participant waiting preferences in four alternative designs for a train station building in Germany.