Interplay of domains: New dimensions of design learning in mixed realities

There is a distance between the idea of a design in the imagination and its representation, communication and realisation. Architects use a variety of tools to bridge this gap. Each tool places different demands on the designer and each, through inherent characteristics and affordances, introduces reinterpretations of the design idea, thus imposing a divergence between the idea and the expression of the idea. Design is an activity that is greatly complex, and influenced by numerous factors. Most researchers of Mixed Realities (MRs) have focused on their use as presentation or simulation environments. It has been suggested that MR can empower designers to express, explore and convey their imagination more easily. For these reasons the very different nature of MR with its unique properties may allow architects and learners to create designs that other instruments do not offer. There has been inadequate exploration in the use of these realms for the acts of designing, as well as in educational contexts of design-learning.