Abstract
In a time shaped by technological developments
dissolving the boundaries between the real and
the virtual world, we are challenged to newly
define the potentials of virtual and mixed reality
in the field of landscape architecture. Critical
analyses of the primary application areas of these
technologies show that the current focus mostly
lies on the optimization of 3D visualization and
navigation in virtual space. Within professional
practice, mixed reality tools are increasingly being
used to test and communicate design decisions,
for marketing purposes, and more often, within
the smart building industry as well.
Thus far, the incorporation of immersive
environments in landscape architecture is
lacking research on human-centered data
interaction and the perception of space. At
Aalto University, Finland, the team of Pia
Fricker, Professor of Practice for Computational
Methodologies in Landscape Architecture and
Urbanism, researches new immersive co-design
methodologies to introduce new meaningful
trajectories for participatory processes. Mixed
reality applications are thus extended beyond
common and conventional uses to help create
multidisciplinary immersive interactive spaces
using data informed processes. The research and
teaching results showcased in the article address
international discourse on the larger theme of
“Digital Humanism — Big Data and Human-
Centered Design.”
Key words
Virtual Reality; Mixed Reality; Augmented Reality;
Landscape Architecture; Participatory