Virtual and Parallel Exhibitions in Urban Planning Teaching. Conclusions from the use of augmented and virtual reality

Abstract

Presentation and project summary exhibitions in the teaching of architecture and urban planning, are an optional but integral element of the teaching process. By 2019, they constituted frequent events in the calendars of design and art-related studies. The introduction of remote technologies was unpopular and rare due to numerous limitations. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the need to work and present teaching outcomes at a distance. Many of the exhibitions in 2020 and 2021 were performed remotely. The challenge of remote exhibitions in the field of architecture and urban planning is to convey the content related to the projects, and the form of their display is very often illustrative display boards and mockups. Various technologies are used for their remote presentation, such as virtual exhibition galleries, as well as augmented and virtual reality. This paper undertakes a discussion on the methods of implementing virtual exhibitions, their advantages and disadvantages, and the techniques used. There is also a description of 3 original exhibitions organized in the field of architecture, devoted to the structure of cities, two of which were organized in a mixed (parallel, hybrid) formula, during which participants presented elements of the exhibition, including physical models, through live transmission, while simultaneously presenting previously prepared, analogous models in augmented and virtual reality.