Exploring object representations: Virtual reality models for environmental planning projects

Using Virtual Reality (VR) models that support planning and design has become increasingly recognized, especially for visualizing future environmental changes. When designing and communicating these changes they are sometimes simplified while at other times photorealistic representations are used. All the parties involved should trust these representations throughout the entire project. This is not the case today. Representations can be mistrusted, misleading or even misused by certain stakeholders, whilst others regard them as supportive. The overall aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of the used representations and the associated risks and benefits that influence communication. While there are several studies in this research area, there are no earlier studies that have investigated the role of representations through long-term, practical projects. Supported by examples from both practical and research studies, the results illustrate how the validity of representations depends on the major project phases. The results illustrate user demands for more supportive object representations, e.g. illustrating possible known object deviations, information on validity and reliability related to objects in context, and for additional clarifications depending on the project phase, especially regarding representations that are too photorealistic.