Development of a virtual reality (VR) pedagogical training model for construction economics students

First-year students, especially those entering university from school, tend to struggle to visualise and interpret construction drawings and details from paper-based two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) drawings for the purpose of describing and quantifying construction elements.

These descriptions and the quantification of the elements must be conducted as per the Standard System of Measuring Building Work 2013 (SSMBW), published by the ASAQS (Association of South African Quantity Surveyors), with the aim of compiling bills of quantities (BOQs) that form part of construction project documentation in the South African construction industry. By developing a VR application based on a conventional 63m² house plan, 56 students were able to experience the construction process virtually at their own pace.