Visualization technologies in construction education: A comprehensive review of recent advances

Abstract

Over the past few decades, visualization technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) have advanced rapidly, presenting unprecedented opportunities and solutions for the construction industry. Considerable research efforts have focused on innovatively applying advanced visualization techniques to address various challenges in construction education. In this regard, this paper comprehensively synthesizes research efforts on visualization technologies in construction education with a systematic review of studies from 2005 to 2016. Through a systematic search strategy, 108 papers are found and considered relevant to the research based on defined selection criteria. In order to summarize past research works, identify issues, gaps, and areas of concentration a four layer architecture which classifies studies based on the concept and theory, development, evaluation and adoption layers is applied. This paper analyses past research efforts on the application of advanced visualization technologies in construction education, and then identifies trends, deficiencies and opportunities. The comprehensive review and analyses presented in this paper would be beneficial to researchers and practitioners, serving as a foundation to pave the way for future research on advanced visualization technologies in construction education. © 2019 River Publishers. All rights reserved.