ARchitect

This research investigates gaming as a framework for design democratization in architecture, where the end user is the key decisionmaker in the design process. ARchitect is a multisensory game that promotes and explores the educational aspects of learning games and their influence on end user engagement with house co-design. This combinatorial game relies on an augmented reality (AR) application accessible through a smartphone, serving as a low-threshold tool for converting architectural drawings into 3D models in real time and using AR technology for design evaluation. By allowing for learning through playing, ARchitect provides alternative ways of gaining knowledge about design and architecture and empowers non-experts to take active and informed positions in shaping their future urban environments on a micro-scale, rethinking conventional market relations and exploring emerging personal and public values. The ARchitect game challenges conventional participatory design where an architect plays an essential role in facilitation of the design process and translation of end users’ design proposals. In contrast, the proposed game system allows non-architect players to autonomously produce and access design solutions through embedded computational simulation by an AR application, thus giving an equal chance to non-professionals to express their design visions and become aware of potential implications of their ideas. By providing free access to the game contents through the ARchitect platform and a playful user experience by which design principles can be learned, this game will inspire the general public to engage in conversation about home design, eventually spreading architectural literacy to less-privileged communities.