Is Future Design a Virtual Reality?

Design professionals have been trained to visualize three-dimensional space from two-dimensional drawings, so the challenge has always been how best to help clients see what they see – to imagine the spatial and sensory outcome of the design drawings of their project. The design world now uses computer rendered videos, as well as tried and true physical models in order to better communicate and collaborate during the design and building process.

These virtual walk-throughs are becoming more and more sophisticated, life-like, and costly – $100,000, for a 4-minute luxury condo rendering. Many in the digital design business are hoping this becomes the must-have for house hunters, especially those who don’t wish to travel long distances or are looking to buy an apartment in a building that doesn’t yet exist. Virtual reality videos can show a buyer the water views that will be available from the balcony of a luxury residence in Florida, but to really have an immersive experience you’re going to have to wear an Oculus Rift or Sony's Project Morpheus headset to “walk” around the house. Dramamine suggested.

According to London based visualizer Olivier Demangel interviewed in DeZeen Magazine, someday architects will be working with digital companies not only to create a virtual rendering based on the architectural plans – but to assist architects in creating the design itself.

The brave new world for designers is the opportunity to use his or her hands more like a sculptor, using new software, platforms, and sensors to create augmented and virtual reality that is dynamic and fluid. An ArchDaily article on gestural modeling suggests that architects will be able to employ hand and finger gestures to manipulate the geometry of their designs in real time, and in a more intuitive and interactive manner than the traditional keyboard/mouse input.

Through the application of haptic technology (from the Greek: pertaining to the sense of touch), kinesthetic sensations can be communicated to the user by the use of force feedback resistance, like the bumps from a virtual race track that cause vibrations in a game controller. And soon we will be able to see and feel our hand reach out and open a door to check out the closet space. Undoubtedly, virtual fresh baked chocolate chip cookie scent from the kitchen will not be far behind.

photo credit: wareable.com