While virtual reality (VR) has gained wide popularity in the architectural community in recent years, many design professionals still view it as a niche technology. Its use is often considered limited to large projects near the end of the design process, primarily to showcase how designs will appear once constructed.
With recent technological advances, VR can provide significant value across a much wider range of applications. It can benefit projects of all sizes, and throughout all project stages. In addition to conveying design appearances to clients and other stakeholders, it can greatly aid collaboration among technical professionals. The enhanced collaboration can lead to cost savings, as designers work out design details earlier in project lifecycles and avoid construction issues in the field.
In its early days, VR — the use of digital technology to enable interaction with a simulated 3D environment — was indeed limited primarily to larger endeavors, such as complex manufacturing projects, medical training, and entertainment purposes. The hardware and software requirements often made it cost-prohibitive for architects and engineers working on small to mid-sized projects.
Newer, more affordable technology such as that provided by Yulio is drastically expanding the accessibility of VR, along with related technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). Instead of requiring bulky headsets tethered to high-end computer systems, VR experiences can be created and shared using standard office computers, wireless headsets, and mobile devices.
New VR technology enables users to experience VR using standard computers, wireless headsets, and mobile devices. Image source Yulio.
Yulio’s intuitive interface enables rapid creation of VR experiences directly from design tools such as Revit, Sketchup, and CET. Designs in all stages — preliminary, final, and everything in between — can be quickly transformed into VR experiences and shared via Yulio Jump, a cloud-based rendering engine that enables remote collaboration among teams regardless of physical location.
Diamond Schmitt Architects (DSAI) found this technology invaluable on a large museum project. In partnership with Ingenium, Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation, DSAI designed a large addition to the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. As part of the design, they needed to provide a way to house the Science and Technology collection in one building, with objects ranging in size from hand tools to actual trains.
Andrew Chung, an architect at DSAI, explained the important role VR played. “We needed to see how big these items were for our own understanding. And then when we saw that we could get really detailed images from Yulio, it helped us propose design solutions to the client. It allowed us to talk about things in a perspectival manner that captures scale in a much better way than solely using a 2D drawing.”
Chung said the ease of creating multiple scenes was key to collaborating with the client and other stakeholders. “Yulio let us create multiple scenes and spatial cohesion by stringing together multiple scenes with hotspots. That way, someone not used to looking at our plans could understand and orient themselves much more clearly.”
Exterior view of Canada Science and Technology Museum addition with linked hotspot scenes. Image source: DSAI.
Chung also said the project benefited from the ability to use common mobile devices to experience VR. “Mobile VR worked better for us because it gave us the opportunity to communicate through everyday, accessible objects like smartphones,” he said.
DSAI created renders throughout the space to share what it would be like to be inside. Image source: DSAI.
Going forward, Chung sees VR taking on a bigger role at his firm. “Our design process has changed for the better with VR. It’s generating a lot of excitement within the firm because people get to see their vision sooner.”
By using VR on a regular basis, firms can improve overall project communication and also gain a competitive edge when seeking new projects and clients. It can help firms develop presentations that stand out above others and demonstrate a forward-thinking approach, using the most updated tools.
In addition to improving client communication and providing competitive benefits, VR can be used as a collaboration tool to develop designs. Using Yulio, designers can invite colleagues to participate in a VR experience by simply sending a link or a QR code. Connected colleagues can then walk through design features together, mark-up designs, and capture feedback during presentations. Colleagues may be in the same office or in different locations, perhaps even working for different firms.
“This can help you move forward quickly and make design decisions in real time,” said Regiane Laveli, sales director at Yulio and a civil engineer by training. “Everyone can see the same thing, so you can decide on things like door locations and wall colors.”
VR has proven particularly valuable for interior design projects, according to Ronen Bekerman, co-founder and manager of The Craft, which helps architectural and design professionals tell the story of their designs by crafting high-fidelity images, animation, and virtual experiences. “Being able to explore an interior in VR is very valuable for a designer versus still images just by introducing the sense of scale and freedom of view,” said Bekerman. “It really creates a full project for collaboration and gives everyone better insight into the vision for the project.”
Besides enabling easier collaboration among architectural professionals, VR can aid collaboration across disciplines. Architectural designs can be shared via VR with structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing designers. Construction contractors can use VR to offer input during design, when key decisions are being made.
Approving agencies can also benefit from VR presentations, as they can review designs interactively, rather than paging through voluminous plan sets. With enhanced review capabilities, agencies may be able to accelerate review and approval processes. Similarly, VR can be used in public involvement processes to enable stakeholders to better envision projects and offer feedback.
Regardless of the collaboration relationship, conveying design information efficiently is a crucial part of advancing a project from start to finish. Whether the project is a limited office area or a huge concert auditorium, VR provides a solution to communicate more efficiently with greater clarity.
The communication and collaboration benefits of VR can also translate into cost savings. The time saved during design can free up design professionals to explore more creative solutions and focus on more judgment-oriented tasks, potentially helping complete projects more efficiently.
By identifying potential construction issues earlier in design, less time will be spent on rework. Anyone who has performed rework while a project is under construction can probably relate to the scenario of costs escalating rapidly, as design costs are sometimes dwarfed by construction change orders or delay claims related to design revisions. VR interaction can help minimize these scenarios.
The costs to implement Yulio are quite manageable, with a single annual license priced at $595. Team licenses are available by contacting Yulio directly. Hardware requirements are also minimal, with no special computing power required to develop and share VR presentations. While a headset is required for a fully immersive VR experience, team members can view scenes in browser mode using tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices.
With Yulio’s intuitive interface, virtually anyone on a design team can produce VR presentations with minimal training. Working directly in Revit and other design software, users can create 3D presentations to send via URL or share on a headset in a few clicks. This minimal investment can help drive leads and sales, as well as reduce overall design time, generating positive return on investment (ROI) in short order.
To get started using Yulio, you can try it out with a free trial version or purchase a standard subscription for individual use on a predetermined number of views annually (currently 1,500 views). For additional features and custom view packages, a custom subscription is available.
The workflow can be summarized in three basic steps: create, enhance, and present. The create step includes turning 3D CAD models and photographs into fully immersive experiences or rendering design spaces with the cloud-based Yulio Jump engine. The enhance step allows you to add more detail to a project, such as audio, still images, and product links. The present step provides a simple path to get presentations into a client’s hands, with a URL or on a headset, then curate the content for each client.
While the interface is generally self-explanatory, Yulio offers a wide variety of training and reference materials. A learning portal provides a basic training course, a quick start course, and an advanced course. A knowledge base offers general information on VR, as well as guides for using Yulio Jump with Revit, SketchUp, and CET. A blog is also available to view other VR resources, product update information, guides on growing your business with VR. The website includes pre-rendered spaces for testing and practicing VR experiences.
For architects and other design professionals who thought VR was out of their reach due to cost or complexity, Yulio can be a game changer. Instead of functioning as an occasionally used tool on select projects, it can become an everyday tool that radically improves project workflows and outcomes.
ARTICLE SPONSORED BY Yulio Technologies.
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