Abstract
In an era in which space can be worn on the head, downloaded from the cloud, and reprogrammed in real time, the question “What is space?” gains new intensity. While traditional architecture already engages with a wide array of spatial theories, from absolute to relational, from lived to socially produced, virtual reality destabilises all these conceptual boundaries. This paper examines how virtual reality (VR) can redefine the training of student architects, beginning with a pioneering initiative: The VR Scene, the first architectural design competition entirely conducted in a virtual environment, initiated and juried by the authors at UAUIM in 2022. In a pedagogical climate saturated with graphic representation and outdated methodologies, this initiative proposed something else: a competitive, immersive, interdisciplinary context where eighteen teams of students from different years of study were invited to design and present fully navigable spaces in VR. The VR Scene has generated innovative projects and produced a new kind of educational practice—one in which the boundaries between teacher, student, and expert have blurred into a shared space of exploration and negotiation. In this emerging ecology, architecture is not a finished form, but an ongoing convergence process between thought, technology and humanity. Thus, the study aligns with the theme of the Convergence conference, proposing virtual reality as a pedagogical platform of trust, where collaboration becomes possible and inevitable.