UX tools for Architecture

Some how we need to apply UX principals to architecture. Chiat Day's no-location/virtual office of the 90's was critically well received but in the end it was a disaster for the users. The delta between positive critical reviews and user dissatisfaction is so large that it looks like just the sort of thing UX practitioners should be investigating.

But would the application of UX tools designed to test interfaces on the web helped describe this failure before it happened?

Critical reviews were positive.
Architectural Review's critique is a good example

But once the actual users got into the space it became clear that it did not work.
Wired Magazine does a great job of detailing out how it all went wrong.

So how could the actual scenario been revealed before the office was built? What UX tools would have helped the architect?

The user scenario is the first thing that comes to my mind. But can this tool successfully draft multiple intertwining scenarios? The image of a super computer plotting out the details of global warming seems similar to what would be needed.

This is the issue - it is akin to testing a website that several users are trying to use while sitting at the same machine at the same time.

Another route would have been to do user testing from a multi-user gaming approach. This would be a test against a 3D model of the space by several participants where elements of the the environment had their own attributes, e.g. an equipment room that can only distribute computers at one per 3 minutes etc.

Well in the meantime.....what UX does have to offer architects is the mandate for architects to see their buildings through the needs of the user. And to investigate using tools such a user scenarios and user personas to help anticipate these needs.

Additionally architects need to conduct actual research of people using their buildings. As data base driven software such as Revit becomes more refined, I have to think that we are not far from being able to conduct these user tests before the final set of construction drawings is stamped.