Students’ perception of virtual reality applications to analyse daylighting and spatial functions in architecture and environment

The use of various pedagogies is essential to aid the complex learning of architectural students, especially due to tools for visualising design becoming advanced. Accordingly, experiential learning by simulation or physical presence and case study-based learning in teaching and learning architecture are essential. Using virtual reality (VR), students are able to experience the simulation of daylighting virtually in their modelled case study from various places in the world. Thus, this study investigated the students’ perception of using VR in learning daylighting in architecture. The study’s objectives were to (1) understand the learning process using VR, (2) assess students’ acceptance level of the use of VR, (3) compare VR and traditional methods of architectural learning and (4) suggest improvements needed for using VR for teaching and learning in architectural undergraduate programmes. A mixed methodology consisting of a questionnaire and observation was used for this study. A questionnaire was distributed to 15 students who had gone through a workshop on visualising a case study that was modelled in three dimensions to simulate daylight. Students found that using VR was very useful in understanding daylight and daylight use in space. The study found almost all students (93.4%) agreed that using VR enhanced their learning skills and 80% of the students responded that visualising daylight in VR enabled them to establish their tasks more quickly. This workshop helped students construct their knowledge, enhance the learning experience and motivate learning of daylight using VR. This study concludes that VR is a great tool for teaching and learning.