New VR applications are changing the way architects, construction firms and clients work together, reducing costs and timescales, helping to progress more ambitious schemes
The concept of a construction groundbreaking, a traditional ceremonial act where the first shovel of soil is removed from a site to celebrate the start of a new build project, is nothing new. What is new is a groundbreaking conducted entirely in Virtual Reality (VR), providing the assembled audience with the chance to witness the new structure rise out of the ground, then take a virtual tour inside, before a single brick is laid.
Architectural visualisation specialists Theia Interactive recently delivered precisely this for their client, Suffolk Construction, who are expanding their corporate HQ in Boston (USA).
Using the renowned real-time graphics platform Unreal Engine from Epic Games, an immersive visualisation engine that drives many of the top selling titles on Sony and Microsoft consoles, this virtual event imitated the traditional ground-breaking ritual and also provided a virtual model of the building. Instead of wearing hard-hats in an empty field, the event saw Suffolk Chairman and CEO John Fish, Suffolk Northeast President Angus Leary and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh wearing HTC Vive VR headsets to fully immerse themselves in the experience, while event attendees had the opportunity to watch a virtual animation of the new building being erected before their eyes.
For Bill Fishkin, Theia President and Co-Founder, this exciting use of gaming technology demonstrates why virtual reality and real-time visualisation is being adopted in the enterprise space. “Throughout this project, Suffolk had the saying that ‘pixels are cheaper than bricks’ and that makes a lot of sense, because it also meant that they could identify any unforeseen issues before groundbreaking actually takes place. We were able to create an immersive experience where the assembled VIPs could experience what it’s going to be like to work inside the new building, all without a single brick being laid.”
This transfer of technology from the gaming world to the architectural and construction sector is just one of numerous new and exciting business applications. These developments are giving designers, engineers and architects the opportunity to put users, clients and consumers in their concepts even before a physical model is built. The dozens of CAD models of typical projects have scope for being transformed with the VR technologies available today.
To find out more about the recent virtual groundbreaking, watch this video: https://www.unrealengine.com/showcase/how-unreal-engine-is-breaking-new-ground-in-the-construction-industry
Unreal Engine Enterprise has outstanding specialists who can discuss how immersive visualisation is changing the way that designers, engineers and architects work, reducing timescales and costs, adding value and helping to progress exciting concepts with conservative clients.
