2018 Design Communication Conference 138 Chapter 2 | Session 2B Social Media Design: Using VR to Empower Homebuyers to Design their Living Space Collaboratively Abstract A key but overlooked factor in user-oriented design system is participation. Many researchers have looked into system usability, design simplifcation or realistic visualization to provide an immersive experience for users to engage the design. This paper explores how digital interventions operate within the process of collaborative design for urban high-density mass housing. A digital tool for collaboration was developed and the research study is implemented with the public to obtain additional feedback regarding the adoption of a design tool for housing design. This experiment was conducted in an open environment where the general public had a chance to have a go with the design system. The aim of this research is to explore how a computational tool within a virtual environment can facilitate and support design collaboration and interactions – not only between architects and homebuyers, but among individual and collective homebuyers too. Keywords Collaborative Design, Mass-housing, Virtual Reality, User Participation, Digital Workbench. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Tian Tian LO a , Marc Aurel SCHNABEL b , Tane J MOLETA b a School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), China b School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand 1. Introduction In many urban centers, population growth has transformed the ‘norm’ of housing into a high-rise mass housing typology. Many individual families live in apartment units even though they aspire to have infuence in how these apartments can be arranged or planned. To accommodate increasing demand, apartment blocks have been simplifed. Design or customization has been exchanged for mass-produced ‘containers’ for shelter and living. Such models, however, lack individuality, a crucial quality for successful housing developments. With globalization, variations in culture, lifestyle and household structure are seen most clearly in developed cities. This results in mass housing designs that could be viewed as inefective for multi-faceted social needs; ‘forcing’ individuals to live in identical units designed and built on concepts of mass production for efciency and afordability. Today homebuyers are becoming more selective in their demand for changes. The “one model fts all” approach seems to have run its course (Kieran and Timberlake, 2004). In response, this project identifes that a new strategy providing resilience for high-rise housing is necessary. This paper represents an attempt to redefne housing design with the help of digital tools and participatory strategies. We propose a computer-based participatory design model as a key solution for homebuyers’ needs. 2. Participatory Design in Housing Enhancing user participation in design is not new, but has historically achieved limited penetration in industry. The notion of ofering choices to homebuyers dates back to the 1960s when mass-produced dwellings during the post-World War II era incited architects to refect on the traditional delivery methods of their designs. Seeking to include buyers in shaping their dwellings, architects