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DesignInc is always looking to engage new technologies and programs to streamline design and construction processes so that clients can better appreciate what designers are trying to deliver, and architects can better understand what they have designed. Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive technology that transports users into a fully interactive 3D space, giving them an opportunity to explore a virtual presentation of that space, elements and building.

We spoke to DesignInc BIM Manager Nidhi Sharma and Senior Architect Kuan Lu about VR technology and how DesignInc is using it to streamline and improve design and construction processes for architects and clients.

What is VR technology?

VR is an immersive reality technology used to create a simulated environment. The user shuts off from the outside (real) world and is immersed into the virtual world created by projecting computer-generated imagery or tactile feedback simulating realistic experiences onto a screen. Depending on the device you can set up a room scale VR, seated VR or a walk-through VR.

When inside a virtual building, a user can navigate in all directions and walk, climb or fly to any part of the structure for a close-up view. By altering the sun’s position, a user can closely understand the dynamics of a space and how a building responds to different times of day.

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What role can VR play in design and construction processes?

VR is one of the key components of modern architecture visualisation and the sensation of actually being inside a building makes VR an incredibly powerful tool for communicating design intent. It allows designers to experience the design through the perspective of the end user and is a great tool for communicating design to everybody, whether they understand architectural drawings or not.

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. It allows designers to test their design at a 1:1 scale without large construction setup or ordering a physical prototype, and details, materials, textures, lighting and shadows are much more pronounced at this scale.

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What benefits does VR have for architects and designers?

Our designers are using VR to navigate through spaces for a real human experience, which is particularly useful for design review and collaboration. This helps our team design better, reduce time required for visualisation and for all stakeholders to make well-informed decisions. Even at the conceptual stage VR is effective for exploring relationships between spaces, the impact of light at different times of the year and understanding scale of voids and heights.

It is also being used as a tool to collaborate and coordinate various disciplines in a more real-time environment, so that designers can see multidisciplinary clashes at the very early stages.

What benefits does it have for DesignInc clients?

VR provides clients with a more accurate spatial experience compared to traditional visualisation medium such as rendering and animations. At DesignInc we use VR to create impressive real-time presentations for clients that allow them to interact with the model, visualise spaces, colours, furniture options and wayfinding, and to understand the impact of using different materials and finishes.

This gives clients more confidence in the design options, reduces time spent in meetings and making lateral design revisions,as they are able to get a better feel for what they do and don’t want.

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What VR technology is DesignInc currently using?

We are using two types of VR technology at DesignInc: dynamic VR and static VR.

Dynamic VR uses a headset or head-mounted display (HMD) for real-time walk through of a space. Oculus Rift is a VR system that comes equipped with infrared sensor and controllers to experience design in real time and to communicate buildings before they are built.

Static VR is 360-degree rendered panoramas that can be created using different programs. They work best for presentations in client offices where there is not enough time for VR headset setup. We use Autodesk A360 Rendering and Lumion to create the panoramas that can then be viewed using Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear Headset.

We also use Enscape (a real-time rendering plugin) and Autodesk Revit Live (a cloud-based application) to alter and see real-time changes in Revit models. They provide streamlined VR integration to BIM workflow, taking only a few clicks to transform a documentation model into a fully walkable VR model.

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What are the challenges in using VR?

Good-quality VR still requires cumbersome installation and tedious setup. The experience is restricted to room size, engaging content is missing and some people are prone to nausea in a VR environment. It is also difficult to interact with team members in VR mode.

VR technology has a lot to catch up with in the architecture industry. High-quality VR requires expertise and the architectural industry doesn’t have enough time to experiment with the rapidly changing technology and tight project delivery timeframes. We are waiting to see VR solutions specifically geared toward architecture that can fill the gap between the real and unreal with just few clicks.

How do you see the technology developing in the future?

The benefits of VR are huge and as the technology evolves it will be interesting to see how architects and engineers take buildings into a VR environment at the click of a button. Integrating a flip between real and unreal as a natural part of the design would be great to see in the next developments.

We are particularly looking forward to seeing second-generation VR development when there will be less cables (HTC VIVE PRO) and the PC is removed from the equation entirely. Next-generation augmented reality (AR), for example AR Lenses and HoloLens, will also transform the digital architectural world.