The use of virtual reality to support participatory design processes in environmental design for cognitive change

Abstract

The capability of virtual reality (VR), to enable full-scale immersive experiences of architectural designs provides the potential to use VR as a co-design tool amongst underrepresented groups, such as those experiencing cognitive decline. This chapter discusses two sequential VR-supported co-design research projects which included older people living with cognitive change. It evidences the potential role of VR as an effective means of achieving equity and inclusion in the design process, achieved through removal of historic barriers to design participation. It concludes with a vision for an achievable future, where VR-supported democratisation of the design process leads to improvements in environmental design, and subsequent improvements in quality of life for people living with cognitive change.