Immersive Visualization Technologies to Facilitate Multidisciplinary Design Education

Abstract

This paper reports on an integrated project-based course for undergraduate students in industrial design, architecture, and interior architecture, where emerging technologies are used to develop 3D visualization experiences for projects that effectively combine elements from the three design disciplines. The course emphasizes design as a multidisciplinary activity that can benefit from skills that span traditional departmental boundaries. The curriculum moves through the different types of mixed reality technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, and explores how these tools can be combined to harness the design potential across disciplines and create compelling and engaging outcomes. The course follows a student-centered collaborative approach where projects are completed as a team with members from different majors. Student to student collaboration is actively encouraged in an effort to promote dialogue and community and foster creative thinking. The proposed initiative provides an integrative and unifying experience for students and their design concepts and project outcomes, as well as an opportunity for expanding their creative portfolios.