Design decisions made in the early phases of the design process have a significant impact on the eventual performance of the completed building. Currently, computer-assisted methods offer limited support during the crucial stages of creating, assessing and refining design variants. This paper presents an integrated framework combining computer-aided design processes and performance-based evaluation methods to support a non-linear, iterative design process. The framework integrates spatial metrics (e.g., layout and design similarity), structural metrics (e.g., feasible systems and material quantities) and environmental–energy metrics (e.g., heating demand) to provide transparent, quantitative and qualitative feedback for early-stage decision-making. Applying the framework allowed for the incorporation of structural, environmental and spatial assessments early in the process. The design assistance framework is graphically represented using business process model and notation (BPMN), which facilitates communication between process design and implementation. A real-world, mixed-use building scenario illustrates how the individual methods interact to streamline the decision-making process for architects. The framework guides the entire process, from design decisions to structural and performance-specific features, offering inspirational support for architects and practical assistance for structural engineers, sustainability experts and other professionals involved in early-stage building design.

In recent years, with the increasing digitization of the construction industry, the potential benefits provided by the adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) have been shown especially in interdisciplinary networking among different stakeholders for which effective communication and information exchange methods are crucial. This is particularly significant during early design phases and associated decision-making processes where, despite its positive impact in terms of project’s time and cost savings, VR adoption still has to reach its full potential. For this reason, this paper investigates to what extent the acceptance and application of VR has developed and identifies possible integrations in the early planning phases. By conducting a multi-year study with representatives from the construction industry, including qualitative and quantitative survey methods, the current use of VR and the requirements for future applications are determined. The study reveals that VR's importance for design visualization has increased, identifies architects' current requirements and integration barriers. Additionally, these requirements are compared with existing VR possibilities and an approach for exchanging different variants in a building information model will be examined. Based on these findings, VR can be integrated in application-specific contexts and software can be adapted to architects' needs for optimizing the digitization process

In recent years, with the increasing digitization of the construction industry, the potential benefits provided by the adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) have been shown especially in interdisciplinary networking among different stakeholders for which effective communication and information exchange methods are crucial. This is particularly significant during early design phases and associated decision-making processes where, despite its positive impact in terms of project’s time and cost savings, VR adoption still has to reach its full potential. For this reason, this paper investigates to what extent the acceptance and application of VR has developed and identifies possible integrations in the early planning phases. By conducting a multi-year study with representatives from the construction industry, including qualitative and quantitative survey methods, the current use of VR and the requirements for future applications are determined. The study reveals that VR's importance for design visualization has increased, identifies architects' current requirements and integration barriers. Additionally, these requirements are compared with existing VR possibilities and an approach for exchanging different variants in a building information model will be examined. Based on these findings, VR can be integrated in application-specific contexts and software can be adapted to architects' needs for optimizing the digitization process