Designing a Future

Virtual reality software is changing the game of architecture design, and a Drury University architecture teacher is sitting in the front row.

For the past three years, assistant professor David Beach has researched applications of virtual reality to the world of 3-D design. About six months ago, he found his avenue when he seized an opportunity to buy a developer’s kit for the latest version of Oculus Rift, a headset used for immersive video game play. Since then, he’s been working with Oculus Rift hardware and a game-development tool called Unity to develop custom 3-D virtual spaces that demonstrate how he believes local architects will design and share their creations with clients and others in the future.

“We are looking at the next generation of tools for architects, and I believe this could completely change not only the way designers communicate their vision for a project with clients, but also the design process,” Beach said.

On April 8, Beach invited area architects, as well as his peers at Drury, to receive demonstrations of his custom 3-D water tower utilizing the virtual reality headgear. Representatives of at least eight architecture firms – and teachers from five departments – came to check out the headset action.

“Gaming has come to architecture,” said Bob Stockdale, a senior designer with Bass Pro Shops, following the demonstration at Drury’s Hammons School of Architecture. “I immediately recognized the potential of it.”

Retailer Bass Pro Shops sent five representatives from its design department, and architecture firms showing an interest included Sapp Design Associates PC, Sam A. Winn & Associates Architects PC and Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc.

Stockdale said Bass Pro designers regularly use 3-D modeling desktop software in its design process.

“This is just a natural extension of that,” Stockdale said, adding the affordability of headsets could do more to change the industry than 3-D software itself.

Given the visual nature of Bass Pro founder John Morris, Stockdale said designing in a 3-D space is something the company could share with potential developers looking to take on a store project or use internally to more clearly communicate designs.

George Mandrik, an architectural designer with Sam A. Winn & Associates, said the company might have to invest in the technology in the future.

“It is a different way to represent architecture to the clients. It definitely gives you more of a sense of being in the space than a 2-D drawing,” he said.

Beach said costs are coming down – about $350 for a single headset – and Oculus is improving editing capabilities to allow architects to more easily make changes. He said full virtual reality systems have been known to cost around $200,000 in the past.

The headsets look similar to closed-end binoculars. With the push of a joystick, those in attendance could “walk” forward with the headset on and turn to see animated surroundings such as hills and landscaping features. In the water tower, participants could view every direction inside the virtual structure as they climbed to the top.

“The process to move into the architectural software with this is very fast. If it is fast, then that means we can use it as a design tool, which is important to me because it is iterative. We can use it to edit,” Beach said. “We can conceptualize something, put it in, experience it, modify it, go back into virtual reality and make those changes. You can push back and forth, and then it really influences the design process.”

With the recent announcement that Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) is investing $2 billion in the technology through its acquisition of Irvine, Calif.-based Oculus VR Inc., Beach is convinced the virtual reality software will soon be available to the masses.

As a teacher and a former digital designer, Beach said he and the school want to be in a position to train and educate those working in the design industry.

“What we do is research on technology that we feel is going to influence the design field,” Beach said, adding he expects Drury would have an Oculus headset at every architecture student’s desk within five years.

Until now, virtual reality has largely occupied the entertainment and gaming space, but the potential for other business applications is gaining traction. From architecture to health care and interior design to driver training, Beach said increasing affordability of hardware will inspire a range of disciplines to take a fresh look at a new digital world.

He expects at some point Drury would offer local design firms workshops on how to get the most out of virtual-reality products.

“When you’re practicing, you are focused on getting the design work done. You don’t often have two to four months to figure out what is the right way to bring this in,” Beach said. “We’ve put together the architectural software that most design firms are using, and we’ve figured out the right work flow to fold this virtual-reality experience into the design process, so that a firm, (such as) Bass Pro’s design department, would come here to figure out the right flow for integrating this into their design process.

“We think this is really relevant.”

Before Oculus RV launches the product publicly, the company is taking preorders for a second-generation development kit, according to OculusRV.com. Beach said he expects to see the headsets available in the market within 18 to 24 months.[[In-content Ad]]