One of the most critical issues related to the current application of virtual reality during design appraisal is the inability to have a collaborative virtual environment where a group of geographically remote stakeholders can interact and communicate effectively in real-time. This paper addresses this shortcoming by proposing a collaborative furniture, fixture and equipment virtual environment (COFFEE) that allows concurrent multi-users to interact, communicate and collaborate virtually during the design appraisal of interior furnishings of a facility The testing of the proposed system among various construction stakeholders (n = 26) to demonstrate the usability and functionality showed high degree of acceptance by stakeholders as a result of improved visualisation, multi-user communication, and collaboration in the virtual environment. In practice COFFEE is expected to assist interior design stakeholders to make informed decisions and create shared understanding before commencement of construction activity.

在设计评估过程中，与当前虚拟现实应用相关的最关键问题之一是无法拥有一个协作的虚拟环境，在该环境中，一组地理位置偏远的利益相关者可以实时有效地互动和沟通。本文通过提出一种协作式家具、固定装置和设备虚拟环境 (COFFEE) 来解决这一缺点，该环境允许并发的多用户在对设施的室内装饰进行设计评估期间进行虚拟交互、交流和协作。施工利益相关者（n = 26) 展示了可用性和功能性，这表明利益相关者对虚拟环境中改进的可视化、多用户通信和协作的接受程度很高。在实践中，COFFEE 有望帮助室内设计利益相关者在施工活动开始之前做出明智的决定并建立共同的理解。