Collaborative spaces as learning environments: How Schools of Architecture may find their Way into the Virtual World

3D virtual environments provided by current information and communication technologies offer new opportunities for architecture, potentially opening a completely new domain for architectural practice. Within this paper we describe scenarios for the use of 3D virtual environments at schools of architecture based on experiences from an EC-funded research project for the establishment of 3D - virtual campus for VIPA (Virtual campus for virtual space design Provided for European Architects). The campus was conceived as an extension of the existing learning management system used at TU-Vienna, Moodle. Within VIPA three virtual environments were tested as collaborative labs, for teaching architecture, and as digital environmental design tools: Open Croquet, Blender and Second Life.