Virtual Reality and Architecture
My name is Charlon Erguiza, I am currently enrolled in Information Technology (IT) majoring in Computer Systems at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and I am on my last semester. Most people that know me knows that I am a very private and distant person. I always found interacting with other people very tedious and pointless, I don’t really share information about myself on any social media and as a result, I struggle to keep up any kind of conversation going. So, I was completely caught off guard when my professor told our class that we have to write a blog to share what our interests are.
When I was a kid I had a fascination with Architecture, the aspect of designing and implementing a design was something I was curious about. This gave me the idea of writing about Virtual Reality in Architecture. Showcasing its history and the changes it has made since its creation.
Overview
“Feeding our senses a stimuli that is so similar to what we see in reality, that we interpret it as reality. In all other mediums your consciousness is interpreting a medium… But in VR there is no gap. You aren’t internalizing it. You are internal in it. It’s a quantum leap in mediums because the medium is disappearing.”
— Chris Milk
In the last couple of years, the emergence of Virtual Reality has been a great success in many design professions. It has become an integral part of the presentation and design process of a project as a whole.
A major problem for many design-led industries is convincing their client that the 3d or 2d representation will look as good or better than the finished product.
Even if the designer is extremely talented, clients will have to take a leap of faith and be excited by the design idea presented to them.
Virtual Reality in Architecture
Imagine walking through an elegant house, looking at the intricate details on walls, admiring the spacious living room and peaking at the scene on the horizon. The sun brightening up the whole area and seeing the reflections on the mirrors, you feel like you have found your home. Then you take off your VR headset and continue on with your meeting.
Virtual Reality has given Architects the potential to expand on their ideas giving them more freedom to express themselves and show their vision to their clients without leaving the room. Showcasing the initial design, adding in more details according to your client, all the way to the finished product.
Being able to add extra details or redesigning a part of their design without the use of complicated applications will save them time and frustration. This gives Architects the incentives to sell their ideas through Virtual Reality as their medium.
As stated earlier, the biggest problem faced by Architects and designers is making the client believe in the vision, design and end product through the use of Virtual Reality. The only thing they can do is give feedback and make changes to what they see through the VR.
Imagine being an Architect on a bigger project with more stakeholders that will be involved. Different opinions, different perspectives and different styles will be given by multiple people. Getting everyone to agree on a single design can be difficult and will be very time-consuming especially for the architect.
This is where Virtual Reality will show its potential. Immersing its users to a whole new world of a 3d environment where anything is possible. This will allow them to explore the architects’ designs and being able to change something really quickly making sure that the customers are getting what they want.
Advantages
Using VR in Architecture comes with its own Advantages. This includes:
Individual Experience
The old way of showcasing a project is through 3d models. Once they sit changing anything will be tricky and will take a lot of time. However, with the introduction of Virtual Reality, each presentation can be tailor-made specifically for the client. This gives the client a more immersive view of the project and helps them see the final product without waiting for months. They will be able to interact with objects, walk around and see them from different perspectives. Virtual reality gives the client an experience specifically made for them and that will make them feel like all of their requests are being met.
Low Start-Up Cost
The typical software for architecture like Autodesk AutoCAD and Revit costs about $10,000 CAD upfront, this does not include the monthly fee that they have to pay for their subscription. All of this software combined can be over 20 grand without the actual desktop itself. On the other hand, Virtual Reality software and hardware can cost around half, for example, the cheapest Oculus headset can be priced as low as $400 Cad all the way to pricier HTC Pro Eye that can cost you up to $2,000 CAD. Designers often use unreal engine 4 which is free to do their designing and implementation of projects. If you compare the software vs the hardware according to price, the VR takes the cake as it has a much lower start-up cost and gives the client a more immersive way to view projects.
Replicate the Real World
Virtual reality can also imitate real-life scenarios like what if the building caught on fire, or the building is being flooded. Architects can then replicate this and see how their design fair against such circumstances. It can show stakeholders that they are supporting something that has thought of everything especially the safety of the people inside.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Virtual Reality has given Architects a new medium that allows them to express their design in a more immersive way. By placing clients inside their own custom environment where their future homes are built and letting them change certain aspects as they wish. This closes the gap between architects and clients as the Architect can show their vision and the client can tweak it as they wish. As the technology evolves, more and more functionality will be added and VR will be the mainstream medium to showcase an architect's design.
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