Planning climate-neutral urban districts requires the integrated consideration of complex datasets from Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM), Building Information Modeling (BIM) models, and Internet of Things (IoT) real-time monitoring. Conventional 2D planning tools and spreadsheets often reach their limits in this context, making it difficult to communicate complex interrelationships to decision-makers and other stakeholders. Against this backdrop, the VR4UrbanDev project addressed the research question of how these heterogeneous data streams can be made intuitively accessible by combining digital twins with virtual reality (VR). The goal was to increase efficiency and transparency in planning processes through an interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of computer science, energy engineering, and the social sciences. Technologically, Unreal Engine 5 was coupled with the simulation software IDA ICE and an IoT platform based on FIWARE – the Inframonitor – via specially developed middleware, the Data Translation Layer. A central component of the methodology was the user-centered design process: the prototype was developed in iterative co-creation workshops with planners, facility managers, and energy researchers. 

The main outcome of the project is a fully functional, immersive digital twin of the TU Graz Innovation District Inffeld in VR. The semantic gap between geometric models and abstract energy data was closed by using intelligent objects to visualize invisible phenomena—such as energy demand or CO2e emissions—directly on building models and other objects in virtual space. The evaluation confirmed good usability with a System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 75.3. Feedback from our user surveys and workshops also indicated that immersive visualization can improve the understanding of complex interrelationships in integrated district development. Based on these results, business model approaches and commercialization strategies were derived for the project partners. Finally, the project demonstrates that modern consumer VR hardware (e.g., Meta Quest 3), in combination with automated data pipelines, provides a solid foundation for follow-up research work. The results form the basis for a living lab at TU Graz as well as further research projects within the consortium, and they demonstrate the high potential of the technology for diverse applications such as integrated urban development, science communication, stakeholder engagement processes, quality assurance in construction, and efficient facility management.

Project management

Graz University of Technology, Institute of Thermal Engineering

Project or cooperation partners

• DiLT Analytics
• EQUA Solutions AG
• Ernst RAINER – Büro für resiliente Raum- und Stadtentwicklung
• TU Graz, Institute of Interactive Systems and Data Science

Graz University of Technology
Institute of Thermal Engineering
Inffeldgasse 25b
A-8010 Graz

Hermann Edtmayer
E-mail: hermann.edtmayer@tugraz.at
Web: www.iwt.tugraz.at

Thomas Mach
E-mail: thomas.mach@tugraz.at