Analysing Virtual Reality Applications in Built Environment Education: A Study of Existing Research

The application of Virtual Reality (VR) in built environment education has wide-ranging potential to enhance experiential learning through simulating accessible real-world scenarios for practical application of classroom concepts and providing a spatial scale for students. Relevant applications may have a transdisciplinary impact, with specific relevance to fields such as engineering, urban planning, and architectural studies. The continued diffusion of VR technology and applications may alter diverse sectoral value chains and production, necessitating educational responses in design, analysis, and management approaches. Evident is the importance of integrating related tools in tertiary education practices to enable the resilience, productivity, and competitiveness of built environment students. However, the lack of existing research restricts the development of best practice that is applicable to the diverse activities of built environment practitioners. This paper aims to investigate the existing body of knowledge to delineate lessons that inform tertiary sector stakeholders on the use of VR to support the development of graduate attributes in the process of teaching and learning. The research methodology applied is centred on a bibliometric review of current research. The VOSviewer (v1.6.20) software is utilized to identify relevant themes and trends among the publications. The latter is sourced from the Scopus database using keywords such as “virtual reality”, “built environment”, and “education”. The most cited papers are also qualitatively analyzed to interpret the findings of the review. Findings indicate that current research themes include the application of VR in education and pedagogy, user perception and experiences in this regard, and informing practical training and decision making toward sustainable development and applied practice. The qualitative content review indicates four categories of VR application in built environment education, including visualisation, participation, and collaboration, knowledge creation and transfer, and an integrated approach. Recommendations include institutions utilizing said findings to inform curriculum transformation, improving student and stakeholder participation, supporting evidence-based teaching.