Virtual Reality as a Design Tool
Rowell Brokaw has been using Virtual Reality (VR) to understand their new office space in 1203 Willamette. Project Architect Paul Harman helps explain the benefits of this new medium: “Even though we have robust digital tools and the ability to see things on screen in perspective, we are still limited by our renderings: they are not always convincing and navigation with a mouse can be clumsy. Putting on a headset allows you to be immersed. It’s convincing to the point where you are concerned about bumping into things that don’t exist. VR is the next level in proof of concept. Now you can move from hand sketches to 2D views to perspectives that can be swiveled around on flat screens to immersion in an environment.... There are many buildings that had attractive drawings but are a lackluster experience. VR helps close the gap between what is drawn and what is built.”