“Will it or won’t it?” is a question that has followed VR from the very beginning, from its first steps to more recent growth at the hands of companies like Oculus, HTC, Google and the countless artists and designers who putting their creative weight into a burgeoning medium.
In the architecture industry, VR has already taken hold, seeing rapid expansion amongst architects and visualization teams for its ability to present true-scale representations of built and unbuilt designs. In short, it stands to change everything (and in some ways, it already has).
3D Artist, one of the most respected 3D publications in the world, took on this topic in a recent issue, going “Inside the Virtual Revolution” with the help of artists and technicians at REWIND, Kilograph and more. Besides being thrilled to contribute, it was great to see architectural cases studies getting some coverage. We believe that our industry’s environmental design capabilities are going to be a driving force in pushing VR storytelling forward. This was a chance to show that.
To our delight, one of our upcoming projects, Suspension House, was highlighted. If you haven’t seen the trailer, it’s an immersive VR experience we’ve developed for Fougeron Architecture‘s residential project in Napa Valley. This project integrates newly developed techniques in virtual reality like dimensional sound, a dynamic environment that incorporates changing weather and time of day, and a lush animated forest. These features allow a user to enter into this residence and truly feel at home.
One of the things we didn’t get to touch on in the piece is sensory VR, an essential piece of the Suspension House project. In this case, 3D audio was added to the mix, adding another sense to the standard visual equation. We are currently experimenting with touch and smell, as each sensation is biologically geared to create strong, lasting memories. We’ll post updates as they come.
Thanks again to 3D Artist and if you want to see the issue, you can get your copy here.
