Towards a framework for evaluation of computer visual simulations in environmental design

Research has been conducted into the assessment of visual simulation as a credible method for predicting future environments, especially in building and landscape evaluation. Despite this work a conceptual framework to guide research and practice in this field has not been developed. The recent and increasingly widespread use of computer simulation in design has created an urgent need to develop a conceptual framework which can test prevailing assumptions and provide the basis for the development of an accepted theory in the field. This paper proposes such a framework, and identifies and relates the significant variables, which impact upon the application of visual simulation in an environmental design, task-orientated context