Developing a Digital Sustainability Framework for Interior Construction Projects: A Stakeholder-Centred Digital Platform for Sustainable Decision-Making and Biophilic Integration

Interior construction projects increasingly face the challenge of reconciling cost efficiency, sustainability performance, and diverse stakeholder expectations. This thesis develops and empirically evaluates a stakeholder-centred digital sustainability decision-support framework for interior projects by integrating virtual reality (VR), a conversational digital interface, and real-time performance metrics. It pursues two objectives: (1) to test whether a VR-enabled digital collaborative workshop with a conversational interface improves stakeholder engagement and sustainability-related decision readiness; and (2) to identify evidence-based biophilic interior design strategies that measurably improve well-being using a controlled VR evaluation protocol. Study 1 comprised a digital workshop with thirty-two participants using a mixed-methods pre–post evaluation design using pre- and post-session surveys, end-session evaluations, and observational data. Ten key items assessing perceptions of engagement, sustainability, and AI/VR usefulness all showed significant improvement, with the largest gains in understanding engagement methods (Δ = 1.34), knowledge of sustainable practices (Δ = 1.09), and sustainable design principles (Δ = 0.88). Here, Δ denotes the mean pre–post change in item score (post minus pre) on a five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), improving interpretability of the reported effect sizes. Dimension-level evaluation demonstrated consistently high ratings (means 4.0–4.31) and excellent reliability for multi-item scales (Cronbach’s alpha, α = 0.90–0.92, indicating high internal consistency). Post-workshop assessments of the VR component also produced high scores (4.07–4.57), with real-time decision indicators and sustainability analysis ranked highest. These findings indicated that immersive visualisation and platform-supported reasoning enhanced stakeholder engagement and early sustainable decision-making. Study 1 operationalised a practical, scalable workflow that combines a conversational digital interface, immersive VR visualisation, and real-time indicators within collaborative interior decision sessions, and provided empirical acceptance evidence that supports extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to digital construction management contexts. Study 2 employed a controlled VR experiment with 106 university students in a between-subjects design exposed to one of nine waterscapes that varied in water dynamics and visible wildlife following a stress induction task. Physiological measures (heart rate, blood pressure, heart rate variability, skin conductance) and psychological outcomes (affect, perceived restorativeness) were collected pre- and post-exposure. To support interpretability, HRV indices included the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and the low frequency/high frequency ratio (LF/HF), capturing parasympathetic activity and autonomic balance. Waterscapes containing dynamic or biotic elements yielded the most consistent restorative benefits. Water-bird scenes reduced systolic blood pressure by 8.00 mmHg (p < 0.001) and achieved the highest mood (PA = 3.30) and restorativeness scores (PRS = 4.10). PA refers to Positive Affect and PRS refers to the Perceived Restorativeness Scale. Rectangular ponds reduced heart rate by 8.22 bpm (p < 0.01), fish scenes enhanced HRV (RMSSD +10.69 ms, p = 0.008; LF/HF −0.295, p = 0.038), and circular ponds produced the greatest reduction in skin conductance (−0.72 µS). Study 2 established a replicable VR-based biophilic evaluation protocol that integrates physiological and psychological evidence, enabling designers to compare candidate interior nature features using quantifiable restoration outcomes rather than preference alone. Together, the studies demonstrated that stakeholder-centred digital platforms enabled by VR and conversational decision-support tools can support sustainable design decision-making in practice and identify biophilic design strategies that improve well-being. The thesis contributes to knowledge by extending the Technology Acceptance Model to digital construction management and by establishing a replicable VR-based evaluation method that integrates physiological and psychological evidence for biophilic interior environments. Future research should (1) validate the framework in live interior projects with multidisciplinary professional stakeholders, (2) test longer exposure durations and repeated sessions to examine persistence of restorative effects, and (3) integrate explicit cost–carbon–well-being trade-offs (for example life cycle assessment indicators alongside user outcomes) to strengthen implementation at scale.<p></p>

Author dc:creator

• Rongxu Liu (21041744)

• stakeholder engagement
• artificial intelligence
• virtual reality
• sustainable interior construction
• biophilic design
• waterscapes
• digital sustainability framework
• technology acceptance model
• physiological restoration
• perceived restorativeness

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved
• Open Access after 2027-11-11

Identifier

10779/exe.32221773.v1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:figshare.com:article/32221773