Co-creation of virtual experiences: How virtual reality can facilitate workplace transformation

Abstract

This thesis studies the implementation of Virtual Reality (VR) in the process of co-creating work environments with stakeholders. As organisations are facing complex challenges in embracing unavoidable changes while keeping individuals’ preferences in mind, designers are continually seeking innovative methods to aid them cope with the process of transformation. One of the approaches to overcome these challenges is to involve users in the problem-solving stage. This method, however, necessitates facilitators with the right toolsets to convey their expertise and passion to the participants. The objective here was to explore the potentials of utilising VR as a facilitation tool by observing the transformation process and applying existing knowledge in this context.

This study establishes a theoretical framework through gathering relevant discussions from scholars in the fields of virtual reality, spatial design, and co-creative design to assess their applications in real-life scenarios. In order to determine the utility of this technology, the practice-based research was carried out by identifying problems with the experts, prototyping various use cases, and ideating with the end-users through questionnaires and observation.

The findings include my personal reflections as an interior architect facing new opportunities and challenges, reports on observations and user insights, and analysis on the current state of using VR as a design tool. Despite identifying many adoption barriers, mostly due to the immaturity of this technology, VR revealed significant benefits as a communication facilitator, such as providing engaging and immersive experiences, enabling the user to interact with the environment, and facilitating change management. The findings led to proposals for new services and platforms to enhance the process of workplace transformation. The study opens new discussions for further research, e.g. to enhance user experience, potentially resulting in improving the quality of co-creative design practices.