Enhancing the Indoor-Outdoor Visual Relationship: Framework for Developing and Integrating a 3D-Geospatial-Based Inside-Out Design Approach to the Design Process

This research study aims to enhance the effectiveness of the architectural design process regarding the exploration and framing of the best visual connections to the outside environment within built environments. Specifically, it aims to develop a framework for developing and integrating an inside-out design approach augmented and informed by digital 3D geospatial data as a way to enhance the explorative ability and decision-making process for designers regarding the visual connection to the outside environment. To do so, the strategy of logical argumentation is used to analyze and study the phenomenon of making visual connections to a surrounding context. The initial recommendation of this stage is to integrate an inside-out design approach that operates within the digital immersion within 3D digital representations of the surrounding context. This strategy will help to identify the basic logical steps of the proposed inside-out design process. Then, the method of immersive case study is used to test and further develop a proposed process by designing a specific building, specifically, an Art Museum building on the campus of Virginia Tech. Finally, the Delphi method is used in order to evaluate the necessity and importance of the proposed approach to the design process and its ability to achieve this goal. A multi-round survey was distributed to measure the consensus among a number of experts regarding the proposed design approach and its developed design tool. Overall, findings refer to a total agreement among the participating experts regarding the proposed design approach with some different concerns regarding the proposed design tool.