We use VR technology to allow our clients to immerse themselves in their space before even one brick is laid. Potentially saving £££ later in the process.
It's good fun too.
Virtual Reality and Architecture
VR offers obvious architectural advantages. Full contextual immersion, spatial navigation, tactile interaction and full integration with CAD software models such as Revit and other 3D and BIM platforms all reveal its obvious power as a communication tool. The wearer is instantly immersed in a true three dimensional environment that gives an incredible sense of scale, depth and spatial awareness that simply cannot be matched by traditional renders, animations or physical-scale models.
Designs come to life
As architects, we’re accustomed to looking at a design—be it a rendering, a sketch or a physical model—and interpreting how a building or landscape would look and feel spatially as a finished project. The same isn’t necessarily true of our clients, who aren’t creating and interpreting designs on a daily basis. Virtual reality tools give our designers a powerful aid for explaining ideas and concepts to clients and other stakeholders. It’s this use—as a presentation or communication tool—that is for now VR’s greatest benefit. At the conceptual design phase, VR can be an effective means of exploring the relationships between spaces – the impact of light on a room at different times of the day or year, or views from mezzanine floors.
With a physical scale model or BIM model on screen, you still have to imagine what it would be like to exist inside the space. With VR, you actually experience the proportion and scale. VR can play an important role at all stages of the design-to-construction process, from evaluating design options and showcasing proposals, to designing out errors and ironing out construction and serviceability issues before breaking ground on site.