An Augmented Reality Application and User Study for Understanding and Learning Architectural Representations

Advances in computational technology provide opportunities to explore new methods to improve spatial abilities and the understanding of buildings in architecture education. The research employed BIMxAR, a Building Information Modeling-enabled AR educational tool with novel visualization features to support learning and understanding construction systems, materials configuration, and 3D section views of complex building structures. We validated the research through a test case based on a quasi-experimental research design, in which BIMxAR was used as an intervention. Two study groups were employed - non-AR and AR. The learning gain differences within and between the groups were not statistically significant, however, the AR group perceived significantly less workload and higher performance compared to the non-AR group. These findings suggest that the AR version is an easy, useful, and convenient learning tool.