Hybrid Creative Process: Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence in Architectural Design

• Grant number: 25/20349-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 14, 2026
• End date: January 13, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Architecture and Urbanism Project
• Principal Investigator: Simone Helena Tanoue Vizioli
• Grantee: Angelica Poon
• Supervisor: Weixin Huang
• Host Institution: Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo de São Carlos (IAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Tsinghua University (TU), China
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/23637-9 - The Potential of 3D Digital Sketching and Its Physical Model in the Creative Design Process, BP.IC

Abstract

The ongoing FAPESP project 2024/23637-9 (The Potential of 3D Digital Sketching and Its Physical Model in the Creative Design Process) investigates sketching, the creative design process, and the potential of virtual reality. This scholarship applicant has developed experiments that highlight new potentialities and approaches that contribute to modifying the modus operandi of the creative process, traditionally carried out through paper sketching. The research will be developed in China, under the BEPE scholarship, focusing on experimentation with the digital architectural design process. The objective is to investigate how the use of 3D sketching in virtual reality and the application of artificial intelligence in the initial and preliminary stages of the design process can transform formal conception and architectural reasoning. The activities involve attending practical classes, interviewing teachers and students, participating in or developing design workshops, and recording the available infrastructure (laboratories, software, and hardware). At the same time, a systematic field survey will be conducted, including visits to urban spaces and structures produced by local research groups led by Professor Weixin Huang. The study seeks to understand how different cultural and academic contexts contribute to the introduction of 3D design and AI in digital architectural production, aided by parametric design software and 3D printing. The expected result is the construction of a hybrid design protocol that articulates the research developed in China and Brazil, allowing comparative reflections on how the use of new digital technologies, such as Oculus VR and AI, can assist in the design education of architecture students. (AU)