The fact that cyberspace, the Internet, and virtual reality are a part of life at present is quite clear. People experience the power that new technologies offer and understand them increasingly. The challenge right now is to make them more accessible and usable. The thesis bases on this thought and focuses on new home purchases, aiming to solve the problems and thus to fulfill the value of new technology. It defines major problems that most homebuyers encounter in current housebuying processes, and proposes corresponding solutions for each stage of home searching, selecting, and buying. The core idea of the thesis is media, and the major problem-solving idea is the standard design, which defines the mass semi-customization and stages a new approach---designing with shape grammars. The web acts as the base to deliver the information and represent the design. It enables homebuyers to easily make evaluations and selections about all options. Meanwhile, the homebuyers can test their choices and take a stroll through virtual houses with walk-throughs enabled by the virtual reality technology. VR attempts to bridge the gap between the homes they desire and the homes they get.*; *This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following system requirements: Microsoft Office; Internet browser.
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