How Virtual Reality is used when involving healthcare staff in the design process

Paper in proceeding, 2021

The design process of a new hospital is often recognized as a complex task involving a diverse group of actors. The most common information media used today are project related documents and drawings. Hospital users´ ability to interpret information through these varies. This affects the design feedback from users. However, an increasing use of Virtual Reality (VR) support possibilities to facilitate better understanding. This paper presents six case studies of hospital design projects, where VR has been used with the purpose of involving end-users, investigating how and when VR has been implemented and which effects and experiences that could be noted.
The findings show different levels of involvement, engagement, collaboration, and interactivity. Using VR contributes throughout the design process but is dependent on purpose and setup. Furthermore, there is a strong connection between engagement and the interactivity of the VR model.