Exploring Alternative Urban and Architectural Virtual Realities Through Multidomain Digital Twins

The paper explores the use of multidomain Digital Twins (DTs) integrated with Virtual Reality (VR), GIS data, photogrammetry, configurational analysis, and AI-related approaches to support urban and architectural design exploration in historical contexts. The research develops a low-cost workflow combining spherical photogrammetry, point clouds, GIS integration, Space Syntax analysis, VR visualization in Unity, and immersive interaction to test alternative architectural hypotheses within their urban environment. The study investigates how VR-enabled DTs can function not only as visualization tools but also as cognitive and analytical devices for historical interpretation, urban analysis, configurational assessment, and design decision-making. The paper also discusses the future integration of AI methods such as NeRFs, semantic enrichment, and generative architectural sampling to automate reconstruction and support culturally sustainable urban design workflows.