Learning Composition and Architectural Design with Immersive Virtual Reality Application CREALITY 1.0

Abstract

This document focuses on identifying how the CREALITY 1.0 application (self-development) played an important role in teaching and teaching processes in the architectural career, working with topics such as architectural composition and supported by immersion in virtual realities that could stimulate student creativity in a college education setting. As a theoretical basis, this research and exploration exercise focused on the composition and formal principles underpinning the student-generated design proposals. The evaluative component of the exercise was directed toward the analysis of evidence of learning using the application, and it was possible to emphasize that the advantages in execution time, expenses of materials and dynamization in the cognitive processes allow considering the application as a relevant tool with the field of education in architecture and the present world.

1. Introduction

For university education in architecture, it is important to consider the demands of countries and the increasingly globalized world, not only in this area of professional practice; also, in relation to the formative profile that academic programs seek to develop in response to these challenges. In this sense, the prevailing need for education to generate knowledge is added, with teaching processes based on the support of information and communication technologies (ICTs) that can extend the boundaries of imagination easily and easily.

These educational boundaries were demarcated by traditional teaching, characterized by a development of processes that could only be supported by physical materiality. Now, immersive virtual reality is a key alternative within the educational realm, because it becomes a versatile method for learning by playing, doing and building [1]. The virtual realities offered by today’s technologies allow to establish differences and interactions between the perceived real world and the subjective world, opening up multiple learning options or possibilities; What del Vasto [2] stands out when referring to educational processes centered in the development of creative and actitudinal skills. In the current medium of higher education, there are strategies and didactics, whose objective is to give shape to the architectural sensitivities of the students and to develop their communicative skills, as well as their problem solving [3]. According to some authors, the traditional character of the teaching of composition was characterized by being constituted from simple figures or forms, which acquired complexity when understood together [4]. This is a starting point toward evolution as a final architectural design or buildable model, configured by aesthetic elements, technological and creative aspects that will allow its habitability. For this reason, design as a process should focus on activities that develop the complete visualization and exploration of the components of the ongoing project [5]. Such a process must be based on “spatial ability as a component of human intelligence. It is understood as the ability to degenerate, retain, retrieve and transform well-structured visual images” ([6], p. 2). Based on the above, the new challenges of university education are oriented toward the application of new technologies that can provide technical aspects and facilitate the educational processes. For Escorcia and de Trivino [7], the use of information and communication tecnologìas are priorities that are established from the guidelines managed by the Ministry of Education in Colombia. This implementation should encompass every area of professional knowledge. This technology education will allow students to interact with devices on a daily basis in a normal way. Other authors argue that inclusive education with technology is required; instead, it must be supported by it [8].

2. Architectural composition, the developmental method and virtual reality

At the University of La Costa (Barranquilla, Colombia), a developmental pedagogical model is being implemented that is based essentially on processes of learning by doing [9]; and in the case of the architecture program, they are process activities that involve topics such as proportion, geometry or composition, including the study of the context where it can be implemented in a created project. Finally, these processes arrive at an architectural proposal with contextual bases that would allow their materialization and implementation. Virtuality as a teaching method demands versatile forms of work and pedagogies to dynamize the relationships generated between the precepts and concepts of architectural discipline, applied in the design proposal, in this case, from a virtual reality. This work has a starting point. From the basics of Ching [3], it corresponds to speaking of plane and volume. Celani [10], for its part, allows to define other complements and principles, fundamental in the teaching and learning process with virtual reality; these refer to balance, rhythm, pattern and proportion, in interaction with algorithms or protocols for its modeling. Geometry, for obvious reasons, plays an important role here. In these architectural design lessons, the instructor makes some recommendations and corrections about the student’s project; this allows you to determine that architectural education is learned by trial-and-error method [11]. In addition, the education of the contemporary post-pandemic world allowed to dynamize virtualization scenarios, with which educational advances focused on the use of immersive technology to improve learning based on experiences that foster collaborative commitment and increased creativity; therefore, “it is beneficial for students to add immersive experiences to the teaching process as appropriate” ([12], p. 4).

2.1 Methodology

The research process carried out had a mixed methodological basis; that is, a qualitative and quantitative nature [13, 14, 15]. Similarly, progressive levels of descriptive, experimental, and applied research aspects were managed. Procurations were involved among those resulting from abstract thought in articulation with some perceptible elements of reality. In combination, it was induced to a design process in which the subject (student), the concept (abstract reality), and the technology (virtual immersion) interacted. With a quasi-experimental research design, a group of subjects (architecture students) were targeted, who actively participated in the process and were involved in practical activities, based on systematic and pre-established observations, according to the stages of the research. The application of control surveys and observation sheets supported these follow-up activities, focusing on assessments of the performance of the CREALITY 1.0 software. The student population involved was 57 subjects in the fifth semester, aged between 18 and 27 years and belonging to the architecture program of the University of La Costa, Barranquilla, Colombia. This group was selected because the subject of the design subjects was adapted to the needs of the research. Basically, the sequence in the data collection and collection stage consisted of the students performing the design in virtual reality, in step that they executed surveys of control or follow-up of the application. As for the operational form of the software, it is important to mention that its use consisted of a virtual environment weightless that gives existence to pure forms, susceptible to transformation according to the ideas of design and composition. It presents two virtual hands that act as a user (student) simulator; as visually shown inFigure 1. The application has a collection of forms and solid bases very varied and sufficient. In addition, it presents other sound qualities of ambience and free tools or commands. The basis of this project was the use of the development engine called Unity V 2019.2.4, using the Leap Motion control interfaces: core, Hands Module and Interaction Engine. The visualization processes used the Oculus Rift DK2 hardware.

Figure 1.

CREALITY 1.0 overview.

The haptic immersive reality sensors of CREALITY 1.0 enable the creation of objects (volumes or solids) for the configuration of volumetric compositions. The properties or transformations that the application allows are scaling, blends, displacements, rotations, specific locations, among other options. The practical stage of the research process with the students began with the request for a first sketch or proposal written by freehand and on paper. The participating group was then asked to prepare a first proposal worked on the virtual application, as shown in Figure 2a and b. Both workshops were held at the University of the Coast, with the support of physical computer educational resources. The designated time range was 45 minutes with observation and recording traces of the sessions. This data collection was carried out on the basis of questionnaires sent and completed by the participants. It was structured with 28 question items that were organized into four components: personal data, early stage of immersion virtual reality, creativity and finally, the early stage of the proposed design. The questions in the questionnaire were closed and completed via Outlook.

Figure 2.

(a) Physical experimentation with hardware. (b) Virtual experimentation with hardware.

2.2 Operational variables

The operational variables of the research were three. An independent one (see Table 1), called “integration of immersive virtual reality”; and two dependent type variables, called “creativity” and “early stage of design” (see Table 2).

	Variable	Dimension	Indicator
Independent	Integration of immersive virtual reality (IR) in the early stage of architectural design.; (This variable is intended to familiarize you with the tool, which will allow, through the use of the IR, the conception of your creative idea.).	Technique	Ease of use of the tool
			Appropriation of the tool
			Previous knowledge
		Methodology	Creation process
			Awareness of forms
			Resulting composition
		Attitude	Use of the tool
			Development of the exercise

Table 1.

Independent operational variable.

	Variable	Dimension	Indicator
Dependent	Creativity [16]; (Seeks the student’s sensitivity to a given problem that leads him/her to identify difficulties, speculate and modify in order to reach a compositional result.)	Fluency	Associativity
			Ideation
			Expression
		Flexibility	Spontaneity
			Perseverance
			Adaptability
		Originality	Statistics
			Remote actions
			Quality of responses
		Motivation and curiosity	Curiosity
		Elaboration	Elaboration
		Sensitivity to problems	Problem identification
			Problem solution
	Early design stage [4]; (The synthesis of the composition that will allow to make the general decisions of what will be the architectural project.)	Compositional or perceptual axes	Generating frame
		Organization and significance of the form	Symbolic demand
		Shape Transformations	Generic and specific forms
		Articulations of the form	Connecting, connected, complementary and adjoining spaces
		Proportionalities of the form	Scale and modulus ratio
		Motivation and curiosity	Curiosity
		Elaboration	Preparation of the idea

Table 2.

Dependent operational variable.

Based on the results consolidated by the application of the observation sheet and the questionnaires, it was possible to determine that the indicator of prior knowledge on virtual reality was rated at 1.64 out of 5.0, i.e., equivalent to 33% of previous knowledge in the group of participants. It was possible to infer that, although the students are native internet users and digital natives, they did not possess the basic theoretical knowledge for the exercise, which implies the need to sustain their classroom training, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

Assessment of the dimension: methodology.

The data obtained by the indicator of ease of creation showed an average of 4.22 of 5.0, corresponding to 84%. With this data, it was possible to determine that the digital tool strengthens the agility to learn in the participants (see Figure 4). Likewise, the second indicator of volume awareness and spatial location averaged 4.33 out of 5.0, thus 87% development. It was possible to determine that the participants are digital natives and learn intuitively through audio-visual sources, such as videos, video games, images, etc. The third indicator of the level of approach to the imagined composition obtained a 4.04 of 5.0, that is, 81%; showing the work with the representative coordinates that the participant has from his real experiences.

Figure 4.

Assessment of the variable: integration.

With Figure 5 it was possible to identify that the dimensions of fluidity and flexibility obtained respective scores of 4.61 out of 5.0 equivalent to 92%: and 4.42 out of 5.0 equivalent to 88%; two values being high in this measurement. Both dimensions are related to the processes of participants’ perception of reality. Another very high rating was that of curiosity and motivation with 4.49 out of 5.0, equivalent to 92% in the measurement.

Figure 5.

Assessment of the variable: creativity.

The following Figure 6 showed that the dimension of the compositional axes obtained a 3.35 of 5.0, equivalent to 70% and placed in a high measuring range, together with the dimensions of shape meaning, proportionality, balance, rhythm and pattern, and shape meaning. It was important to emphasize that the application offers freedom of work in respect of compositional management, with respect to the classical forms of Cartesian representation. The application encourages generative ways of creating architectural proposals. On the other hand, other measuring ranges were found close to an intermediate level, as is the case with the Shape Transformations dimension, with 2.92 out of 5.0 equivalent to 58.4%. This reflected some limitations of the application in this process of transformation in virtual forms.

Figure 6.

Assessment of the variable: early design stage.

The results obtained allowed to affirm that the application CREALITY 1.0 is a tool with high values of relevance, due to the percentages reached in the early stage of architectural composition. Its dimensions measured in the data described above show that the design process achieved by the participants was highly based on the compositional axes, meaning of the forms, transformation forms, articulation forms, proportionality, balance and rhythm and guideline.

3. Conclusion

The central conclusions that were obtained from this research are concretized in affirming that CREALITY 1.0 is a pedagogical alternative that allowed an interactive experience with the architectural composition of analog and material form, in an educational scenario of the Architecture Program of the University of La Costa, Barranquilla (Colombia). This tool managed to generate interest on the part of the students toward the realization of architectural compositions and increased the possibility of generating alternatives in less time. It also became an incentive for the generation of volumetrics in the early stages and its linkage created links of greater interaction between the teacher and the students. The use of this strategy allowed to strengthen new teaching processes and to face another of the important challenges from the student’s vision, because it allowed its appropriation in the working group and it was possible to generate remarkable levels of creativity within the design proposals and compositions presented. On the other hand, the central theme of the research ensured the prolonged continuation of both the descriptive and experimental phases, allowing better results to be obtained with future research related to immersion and virtual education in architecture.

Acknowledgments

We thank our Universidad de la Costa, Barranquilla-Colombia, for offering spaces and opportunities for professional growth and promoting academic and cientìfica production among the teaching community.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.