Technology integration in the architectural schematic design phase: understanding the factors that affect users' acceptance

Abstract

Tangible user interfaces and augmented reality are just some of the emerging technologies which are blending in our everyday lives. The number of systems and devices which use these technologies is quickly increasing, yet little has been done towards investigating the connection between architectural designers’ preferences, the factors that determine their use of technology, and ways to integrate technology in the design process. This research identified and studied factors which affect users’ acceptance of technology, as well as its integration in the schematic phase of the architectural design process. The schematic, or conceptual phase is where designers use rough sketches to create a design scheme which seeks to define the general scope of the project. I used a practice-based design research method, to gather data from studies to improve technology adoption, which in turn increased productivity in the design process. We found that technology in the design process supports the improvement of design intent communication and designers’ productivity. We found a relationship between the age group of architects and how they perceive a technology’s usefulness, which in turn affects how a new technology is accepted. Our findings show that for future sketching interfaces to increase user’s acceptance, developers should focus on the pragmatic and hedonic qualities of the proposed interface. We found that participants prefer digitizing devices which provide users with the feel of paper and pen while simultaneously offering digital versatility. Our findings provide recommendations and insight for better integration of digitizing technologies in the design process, using the field of architecture as the study context. We suggest that the data from our research can be used to improve the development of the next generation of digitizing devices.