Presenting Architectural Research in VR

In recent years, new standards for sustainable development and innovations in technologies require us to rethink the forms and functions of architecture that meet emerging needs for future cities. Anticipated developments in digital communication, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and new energy harvesting technologies are expected to change our lifestyles, leading us to reconsider how we design and organize spatial conditions in our built environment. Such changes will challenge the roles of designers and how they represent and promote their design solutions using new media, including virtual reality (VR) and digital design technologies. In this submission, I present a design assignment that challenges students to create speculative building designs by applying anticipated technologies that can make our built environment more sustainable. The process in this assignment can be applied to other design fields, including product design and urban design. Many design disciplines can benefit by exploring educational approaches that help integrate new emerging technologies for sustainable product developments and incorporating new digital means for representations for such visions.