Can an app make us more engaged in environmentally friendly architecture?

Researchers believe that visualisation using augmented reality can help.

The participants could envision how a building might look with different façade materials, each with a different carbon footprint.

(Photo: SINTEF)

Kathrine Nitter Senior COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER

Presented by: SINTEF

Published 21 February 2025 - 00:00

Researchers at SINTEF and NTNU recently developed an app that can add an extra digital layer to the real world, providing users with a more interactive and engaging experience.

“Our aim was to find out whether this could increase people’s understanding, interest, and commitment to sustainable architecture. We thought it was fantastic,” says Claudia Moscoso, research manager at SINTEF.

Augmented reality (AR) adds a digital layer of information and illustrations on top of the real world.

The new AR app can show how different façade materials on a sports hall in Oslo may affect CO₂ emissions.

Simulation of a sports hall

The study, which is part of the EU project ARV, was conducted at Voldsløkka secondary school and cultural centre.

Voldsløkka school opened in 2023 and is the first energy-plus school in Oslo. An energy-plus school is a school building that produces more energy than it consumes, often using renewable energy sources such as solar panels. The goal is to reduce its carbon footprint.

A sports hall that has not yet been built was used as a simulated building in the app. This enabled participants to see the hall in its future environment.

The visual information, taken from the real urban background, ensures a better understanding of the building in its context.

“In this way, the participants saw what the building would look like with different façade materials, and how using different materials would affect the sustainability of the building,” explains Moscoso.

Screenshots of the AR app showing some wall options and two different placements of solar panels.

Both laypeople and experts participated

27 men and women aged between 22 and 63 took part in the study. Using the AR app, they could explore how different façade materials would affect the sports hall’s CO₂ emissions.

These materials included five types of exterior cladding and two types of window glass. Different placements for integral solar cells were also explored.

Afterwards, the participants were asked to evaluate the app based on usability, usefulness, and realism. They also answered questions about their own understanding, interest, and commitment to sustainability issues.

An effective tool

The results showed no significant differences between men and women or between experts and non-experts. This applied both to their assessment of the app and their level of interest in the environment.

One finding stood out: When the perceived user-friendliness and usefulness of the AR app was considered to be higher, the level of understanding, interest, and commitment to sustainable architecture was also higher.

The greater the interest, the greater the willingness to engage.

However, while technology can generate interest in a topic, it is only the first step.

“To turn interest into real engagement and action, we need to know what we are doing. Technological solutions must be user-friendly, useful, and realistic, and they must be incorporated into a comprehensive strategy for citizen engagement,” says Moscoso.

The road ahead

The results from the study are being further developed by researchers at SINTEF’s VR lab. Here, researchers work with both VR and AR technologies to increase the level of engagement among citizens both in Norway and abroad.

“Our researchers and developers are now working to create a VR tool to showcase the sustainable choices made for Voldsløkka school. We will also be creating a new version of the AR tool to increase the environmental engagement among residents of the city of Palma, Mallorca,” says Moscoso.

“We strongly believe that these technologies will help people gain a greater understanding and enthusiasm for the field of sustainable architecture and cities,” she says.

Reference:

Moscoso et al. Increasing citizen engagement in sustainable architecture using augmented reality: A pilot study, Computers in Human Behavior Reports, vol. 16, 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100498

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Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no