How can virtual reality and augmented reality support the design review of building services

Cost overrun, failure and defect in civil engineering are known problems, which among other things are caused by increased complexity, more rigorous requirements for the building services, indoor environment and building energy performance. Existing design and design review are primarily based on 2D drawings and descriptions and less on 3D models, which places demand on human interpretation. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are technologies that allow a user to experience a computer-generated environment or add virtual models and information as a layer on top of the physical world. These technologies make it possible to inspect building design proposals as intuitively as in a real building and with minimal need for interpretation.
Research from the manufacturing industry shows that the quality and roductivity can increase significantly with the aid of VR and AR. The aim of this study is to identify possibilities for new VR and AR supported design review processes, that potentially can improve the quality of building services. This paper reports an interview-based qualitative study, where five representatives from different parts of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry in Denmark were asked to go in to detail about 1) failure and defects, 2) traditional design review and VR and AR supported design review. This study showed that VR supported design review can potentially replace a physical mock-up and be suitable in the design phase, especially when reviewing constructability. Furthermore, AR supported design review clearly has a potential in the construction phase. It is suggested that the VR and AR supported design review take place in the existing design review processes. Furthermore, an information filtering process in the VR and AR setup, that is controlled by the project’s type, complexity and users, is suggested.