VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) ONCE SEEMED LIKE MAGIC. Initially
esoteric and novel, VR, or immersive multimedia, has worked
its way out of research facilities and has become integrated into
everyday life. Have a smartphone? Scores of free games use this
once-seemingly magical technology. But VR isn’t just for games
and special effects. It’s also a perfect tool for interior designers—
one that is seeing increasing traction.
Not only are designers able to visualize spaces and test real-time changes, they also can actually immerse themselves in a
space. They are able to “move around” in virtual space using a
handheld controller—much the same way one plays a video game,
but with a headset that virtually puts a user in the middle of an
environment that reacts to his or her gestures and commands.
Along with other firms, Autodesk, the company that put
computer-aided design (CAD) on the map in 1982 when it released
AutoCAD, continues to develop powerful new VR tools. Such
technologies can enhance not only the practice, quality, and speed
of the design process, but also the relationship between designer
and client. This prospect for better relationships between designers and clients excites Rick Davis, Autodesk’s design visualization
industry manager, as much as the VR technology that his company is constantly developing.
“With the virtual- and blended-reality products that we’re cur-
rently using, designers have design-accurate models,” says Davis,
noting that these models are similar to the tabletop models that
architects are used to working with. “Only with these models,
they’re scalable,” he explains. “You can examine something as vast
as a city plan, where you have the perspective of a giant, and within
a few steps, be inside the kitchen in a condo. It’s really amazing,
and all of the data is design-accurate.”
Davis adds that at 2015’s Autodesk University, a users’ event
held each year, attendees were “blown away” after experiencing
hands-on experimentation with Autodesk’s VR tools, which are
powered by the company’s Revit, 3ds Max, and Stingray technol-
ogies. “With these sorts of visualization methods, designers can
virtually inhabit their spaces, giving them actual feedback on
potential problems, as well as what works or could work bet-
ter,” notes Davis.
Another key advantage of VR tools is the speed of staging. It’s
easy for a designer to make real-time changes or to offer multiple
options to present to a client. “The designer can present options—
a lot of options—to a client, and this gives the client a greater sense
of ownership, although most of the control of the design remains
with the designer,” says Davis. The client has more choices and
more opportunity for input. “And, the ability to actually put your
client in the space is priceless.”
Newton Holt is a freelance journalist and communication strategist from
Washington, D.C. He is a founding senior editor of ASAE: The Center for
Association Leadership’s magazine Associations Now and, most recently, was a
web content specialist with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).
Virtual Reality, Actual Results
VISUALIZING
THE FUTURE
1. With virtual reality
(VR) tools, a user can
move around in a virtual
environment through
gestures and commands.
2. & 3. Tabletop views of a
San Francisco apartment
interior and the city
skyline, using Autodesk
Stingray animation
software, show the
macro-to-micro
functionality of VR tools.
1. 3.
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