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VR Rendering Brings Full Immersion To Architectural Designs

7 July 2020

Judith Anderson

Like any architect, you work hard to provide a real-life experience of your designs. Architectural design software provides amazing, realistic simulation capabilities, but it still falls short of the real world. But you can provide a virtual one. 

More architects are taking clients, design teams, and construction managers on fully immersive virtual reality tours of building designs. Here's how using VR rendering before breaking ground can improve the architectural design experience.

Accurate Model Representation

Architects have traditionally asked clients to use their imaginations to conceptualize a 3D model. Whether it be a new home or landscape design, most clients overlay their own impressions onto a design. Unfortunately, the final result—however faithful to the original design—may not meet the expectations of clients.

With 3D models, the industry has come a long way from blueprints. But these models only provide a prototype of a new building. With VR, the client can get a realistic representation of the exterior and interior living space. In the virtual world, you can more accurately align your architectural designs with the realistic expectations of clients. 

Fewer, Less Costly Design Revisions  

Another challenge is that many people often provide input into the design. That could mean a dozen different conceptions of what the final design will look like. VR renderings do more than provide a realistic representation of the architectural design. All viewers can make design changes directly in the space. 

Once immersed in the space, the visitor can:

• simulate how traffic will flow through hallways
• arrange equipment in the space
• make design changes

Detailed Design Collaboration 

If the lighting is too harsh, for example, the visitor can dim or change the lighting (artificial or natural). The interior designer may have leeway to change paint color, flooring, and so on.  To support more collaboration V-Ray for Sketchup, for example, provides no limit on material or color selection (e.g., hue, saturation). Any material or texture map can be imported into the VR renderer. For outdoor scenes, a VR renderer should provide natural lighting, sky simulation, and atmospheric depth.

Virtual reality provides more than a more accurate representation of a model design. It provides a simulation of how humans move around in a built environment. 

Some VR rendering tools may work only with specific VR gear. Others will work with any VR headset. V-Ray for Sketchup, for example, allows rendering to be performed for different virtual reality headsets. 

To learn more, contact companies that sell products like Sketchup rendering plugins.

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