%0 Journal Article
%T A Phenomenological Framework of Architectural Paradigms for the User-Centered Design of Virtual Environments
%A Matthew E. Gladden
%J -
%D 2018
%R https://doi.org/10.3390/mti2040080
%X Abstract In some circumstances, immersion in virtual environments with the aid of virtual reality (VR) equipment can create feelings of anxiety in users and be experienced as something ¡°frightening¡±, ¡°oppressive¡±, ¡°alienating¡±, ¡°dehumanizing¡±, or ¡°dystopian¡±. Sometimes (e.g., in exposure therapy or VR gaming), a virtual environment is intended to have such psychological impacts on users; however, such effects can also arise unintentionally due to the environment¡¯s poor architectural design. Designers of virtual environments may employ user-centered design (UCD) to incrementally improve a design and generate a user experience more closely resembling the type desired; however, UCD can yield suboptimal results if an initial design relied on an inappropriate architectural approach. This study developed a framework that can facilitate the purposeful selection of the most appropriate architectural approach by drawing on Norberg-Schulz¡¯s established phenomenological account of real-world architectural modes. By considering the unique possibilities for structuring and experiencing space within virtual environments and reinterpreting Norberg-Schulz¡¯s schemas in the context of virtual environment design, a novel framework was formulated that explicates six fundamental ¡°architectural paradigms¡± available to designers of virtual environments. It was shown that the application of this framework could easily be incorporated as an additional step within the UCD process. View Full-Tex
%K user-centered design
%K architecture
%K virtual reality
%K virtual environments
%K phenomenology
%K user experience
%K human-computer interaction
%K cyberspace
%K place
%U https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/2/4/80