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Norman Hayden explores the world of virtual reality design
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Virtual Reality (VR) brings the ability to walk through rooms
It’s the current big thing, a must-have piece of kit reflecting the breathless growth of digital technology. We see virtual reality in special effects – from swimming with whales to fighting zombies – allowing you to become completely immersed in an experience. And commentators argue, this will
soon be a fixture in our living rooms as we play ever-complex games and watch more sophisticated movies – witness some scenes in the latest Star Wars. Indeed, the gaming industry has
been leading the way and many see virtual reality (VR) as simply for game playing. But when politicians wear the headsets for every available photo opportunity, then you know that VR has really arrived. The concern in some circles, however,
is that architects will be too slow to take up this transformational technology. VR is the term used to describe a
three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored, and
interacted with, by a person using a headset. That person instantly becomes part of this virtual world and is immersed within this environment. Whilst there, they are able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions by moving their head and using a controller. Whether it’s 3D movies or video
games, VR is increasingly common in our everyday experience. The on-screen action is complemented by the introduc- tion of a ‘special effects’ fictional world, viewed as a fully-immersive involvement through the headset. Media big hitters such as Sony have developing
been the headset
fully-immersive experience for some time while Samsung is releasing consumer versions of their virtual reality (VR) headsets this year. With the BBC also predicting
that 2016 will be the year that VR goes from niche to mainstream, where does architecture stand in relation to this revolution?
Worryingly, some observers feel
there’s a danger that it could lag well behind in exploiting its design potential and may take ages to catch up. Proponents of VR suggest that, unlike other industries, architects have been slow to grasp the nettle of this rapidly- advancing technology. Progressives in the industry point
to those architects who feel that viewing designs in fully-immersive 3D environments
is very much for
‘tomorrow’s world’ and stick to design forms that they know and are comfort- able with. VR is here today and here to stay, they argue. As a result, the way architects relate to space has changed forever and there can be no comfort zones. Given the rate of technological
progress, this has come about relatively recently. For, it wasn’t that long ago when flat hand-drawn plans by architects were all that clients saw and builders had to work on. These were followed by
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