The College of Design at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., is looking to include an immersive, 3D environment that students can explore using virtual reality (VR) headsets.

The class, "Landscape Construction, Materials, Methods and Documentation," is a five-week summer course taught by Teaching assistant professor Carla Delcambre, PLA, ASLA. The purpose of the class is to promote student understanding of different landscape architectural concepts, such as the incorporation and utilization of sustainable materials, green infrastructure techniques and bridging commonalities between abstract design and physical processes.

A grant, endowed by the Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA) department within the Office of the Provost, will fund the experimental learning technique of incorporating virtual reality in the class.

Essentially, students will take a "virtual field trip" around the campus to learn about how designs are taken and applied to the real world. Embedded in the 3D environment will be several short videos that demonstrate the building procedure at different sites around the campus, including a video on a project that is currently being installed on the campus.

Postdoctoral research scholar Muntazar Monsur stated, "The field trips are really important for students to go out and see how design is translated into real construction."

Monsur and Delcambre hope that by creating this learning tool, it will help students familiarize themselves with various materials and methods - especially international students who have a hard time adjusting to the imperial measuring system.

The virtual reality project is slated to be fully incorporated into the curriculum in September 2018. For more information, visit: https://tinyurl.com/y7pohrno