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Integrating Virtual Reality and Sustainable Architecture for Building Occupants-Centric Design

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Building".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 2177

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Construction Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICEA), Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Interests: virtual reality; indoor environ-mental quality; comfort; behaviour; work-efficiency

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Guest Editor
Department of Building, Civil Engineering and Architecture, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Interests: virtual reality; indoor environmental quality; sustainable construction; building technology; efficiency in building
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the realm of occupant-centric building design and research, virtual reality (VR) is suggested as a powerful alternative to laboratory case studies in terms of the amount of time and resources needed for the setup, which limits the generalizability of the results to real-life contexts. By immersing users in realistic, multisensorial, and one-to-one scale simulations, VR has the potential to facilitate the exploration of various aspects of indoor environments, including health, comfort, aesthetics, acoustics, safety, work-efficiency, behaviour, and overall occupant perception.

VR and building sustainability are increasingly interconnected in the context of occupant-centric design. By integrating VR into the design stages to create immersive simulations suitable to preliminarily assess planning choices, buildings can become more sustainable, improving energy efficiency and better pursuing occupant needs.

This Special Issue seeks scientific and innovative investigations targeting VR assessment methods and design solutions contributing to more sustainable, comfortable, and supportive user-centred built environments. The goal of this collection is to enhance and leverage the current limited adoption of VR and advanced experimental approaches for occupant research to address and improve the human dimension in buildings, promoting sustainability and well-being in the built environment.

Dr. Arianna Latini
Dr. Elisa Di Giuseppe
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • virtual reality
  • immersive virtual environment
  • sustainable buildings
  • building design
  • user-centered design
  • health and wellbeing
  • behaviour
  • comfort
  • perception
  • performance

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 4006 KiB  
Article
Immersive Virtual Training Environment to Improve Building Users’ Awareness of Energy-Related Behaviour: Development and Pilot Testing
by Arianna Latini, Elisa Di Giuseppe, Ludovica Marcelli and Marco D’Orazio
Sustainability 2025, 17(9), 4025; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17094025 - 29 Apr 2025
Viewed by 518
Abstract
Virtual Reality is transforming the engineering and construction sectors by enabling pre-design evaluations and training to foster informed energy decision-making. Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs) can boost user engagement by integrating real-time information and feedback in the virtual space. This research aims to assess [...] Read more.
Virtual Reality is transforming the engineering and construction sectors by enabling pre-design evaluations and training to foster informed energy decision-making. Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs) can boost user engagement by integrating real-time information and feedback in the virtual space. This research aims to assess whether immersive training can increase users’ awareness of the consequences of their energy-related behaviours and improve energy efficiency and thermal condition. Thus, an immersive training activity was developed by integrating an IVE with the results of a real residential Building Energy Model. Fifty-two participants interacted with building systems (e.g., air conditioning, windows, and blinds) to improve thermal comfort under summer conditions. Graphical indicators and tips were updated in real time, showing the behavioural consequences of indoor air temperature and energy consumption. The findings confirmed the ecological validity of the immersive training activity. Over 90% of the participants displayed excellent knowledge acquisition, through effective and simple recommendations, which positively correlated with the number of attempts (τ > 0), highlighting the potential of increasing users’ awareness from the pre-design stages. Full article
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27 pages, 6728 KiB  
Article
Comparing the Restoration Effect and Stress Recovery in Real and Virtual Environments with a Green Wall
by Alireza Sedghikhanshir, Yan Chen, Yimin Zhu, Melissa R. Beck and Amirhosein Jafari
Sustainability 2025, 17(6), 2421; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062421 - 10 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1172
Abstract
Biophilic design, incorporating natural elements, is known to enhance stress recovery. Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) are increasingly utilized for biophilic design validation and research, but their efficacy in replicating the restorative effects of real environments remains uncertain. Varying responses to virtual settings suggest [...] Read more.
Biophilic design, incorporating natural elements, is known to enhance stress recovery. Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) are increasingly utilized for biophilic design validation and research, but their efficacy in replicating the restorative effects of real environments remains uncertain. Varying responses to virtual settings suggest that specific design factors may affect their effectiveness. This study provides a novel comparison of the stress recovery and restoration effect between real and virtual green walls in a controlled climate chamber. Sixty-three participants were exposed to either a real or virtual green wall for seven minutes after a 5 min stressor task. Physiological stress responses, including heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), electrodermal activity (EDA), and skin temperature (ST), were recorded, alongside self-reported restoration and thermal comfort surveys. The findings showed that the real green wall provided significantly greater stress recovery, with reduced HR and EDA and increased HRV. The virtual green wall produced similar recovery effects only when considering procedural factors and specific exposure durations. Participants also reported greater restoration and comfort in the real setting. By identifying critical procedural factors and exposure durations, this study advances the application of IVEs in biophilic design, offering a pathway to enhance well-being in built environments through virtual interventions. Full article
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