User-Centered Evaluation of Metaverse Spaces: Spatial Fidelity, Immersion, and Conceptual Continuity

Authors : Tuğçe Gökçen Kütüklü, Belinda Torus

Pages : 84-99

Doi:10.57019/jmv.1800976

View : 280 | Download : 442

Publication Date : 2026-01-08

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :By examining the translation of architectural experience into immersive environments, the study aims to unfold the experience-based spatial outputs of metaverse contexts by deploying physical spaces. While the term metaverse is often approached from technological or social perspectives, its architectural dimension, how space is constituted, perceived, and redefined across realities, remains underexplored. In this respect, the research positions Virtual Reality (VR) as a visualization technology and a proto-metaverse condition in which architectural meaning can be preserved and reconfigured. To evaluate spatial fidelity within such conditions, the study takes the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) foyer as a case study where participants experienced the same space in three folds: on-site, VR real scene, and VR semi-abstracted scene. The study was conducted with 45 participants using in-situ presence and head-mounted 360° VR in both realistic and semi-abstract scene conditions. Collected data were analyzed through concept–affect mapping and a tessellation-based framework correlating perceptual concepts to predefined architectural systems. This methodology blends qualitative spatial descriptors with systematic architectural categorization, enabling a precise understanding of how spatial concepts emerge, stabilize, or diverge across different realities. Results demonstrate that while some architectural concepts remained consistent in all conditions, affective and atmospheric descriptors varied, particularly in the semi-abstracted scene, where participants reported altered immersion. Moreover, through the embodied presence, navigational thinking, and continuity in affection, metaverse environments are generated with the correlation of findings. Therefore, it cannot only be evaluated as an extension of realism but also as part of a more complex design process. The proposed methodological approach reveals a framework that can be adapted to different studies, such as interior design and extended reality (XR) environments, by enabling a system to assess spatial quality in immersive environments. With the discourse on architectural literacy, the study presents opportunities for designing competent multi-reality experiences for metaverse environments.
Keywords : Metaverse, Virtual reality, Spatial fidelity, Architectural experience, Cognitive mapping, Tessellation framework

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