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5 reasons to give virtual reality a try on your next building design project

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Virtual Reality has become the ultimate tool to help architects interact with their designs and make better-informed decisions. The combination of full immersion, spatial awareness, and depth of interactivity enables a far more creative, efficient, and connected process for designing.

As VR becomes more widely adopted, architects are seeing greater potential in this technology to enable better, more effective decision making and increased productivity. So much so that some industry specialists called 2016 the “Year of VR.” With over 1.5M premium VR devices – like the HTC VIVETM and Oculus RiftTM – and an additional 15M mobile VR devices – including Google CardboardTM, Google DaydreamTM, and Gear VRTM – sold worldwide, it certainly seems like VR is here to stay.

But like many architects, you’re probably still unsure if VR is worth the hype. The good news is that VR is easy enough to use and provides enough value that it’s worth it to incorporate into your design process. With the addition of a headset, you’re able to take your 3D Building Information Model (BIM) into a VR environment, moving seamlessly from the confines of a 2D desktop to a fully immersive experience.

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When you want to step inside your designHave you ever wondered if the placement of windows will obstruct natural

light from streaming into the room? Or if the placement of an air vent might

clash with another aspect of your design? With VR, you can step inside your

design within seconds.

Problems not visible on a desktop screen become more apparent as you

experience and interact with your design. Using VR, you have an improved

sense of scale and the ability to analyze spatial relationships in real time.

If the placement of the air vent obstructs a doorway, you can fix the

problem directly in your 3D model, moving back again to VR to validate the

adjustment.

This workflow is simple enough to implement on a daily basis, and will

help you to reduce errors and omissions, improving your efficiency and

productivity.

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When no one seems to understand3D models are difficult to follow, and 2D renderings can’t

provide a full 360 degree view into the final product. If your

client or project stakeholders are struggling to understand the

full design or specific elements of your design, you can use VR

to eliminate confusion.

With a fully immersive experience, clients can move through

your design on their own navigation path and at their own

pace. They can look at the design from various angles, and get

a true sense of how future occupants will move and interact

with the space.

In addition, you can help your engineers and contractors

to understand the placement of mechanical, electrical, and

plumbing systems to ensure that everyone is in agreement

before construction begins, leading to less confusion on the

jobsite, and ultimately helping to speed delivery.

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When the stakes are highVR helps you to test and simulate within the safety of a virtual world

before moving into construction, giving you the opportunity to

collaborate with your client and ensure that the design is optimized to

fit their needs. With this information, you’ll be able to create the best

product, with the highest level of confidence.

You can use VR to aid in the design process when layout is critical. If

you’re designing a hospital and you need to ensure that medical staff

can easily move through patient rooms, use VR for testing. Staff can

simulate what it’s like to move through the space, verifying design

elements like the placement of a patient’s bed or the immediate

accessibility to medical equipment.

You can understand if a doorway needs to be widened to fit a

wheelchair or patient bed, or if you need to add windows to a patient

room to improve the sightline between the room and nurses’ station.

Ensure that the patient room or surgical room are large enough for

a group of medical staff to easily move with the addition of multiple

VR headsets. Encourage staff to move together within the room,

simulating a real medical situation. This will help you to get a true

sense of scale and space.

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When you need to get to “yes” fasterIf your client or the extended project stakeholders are stuck on a design element and can’t seem to come to an answer, VR can be your best

friend. VR has the potential to accelerate design decisions by allowing more stakeholders to validate design concepts at full scale.

Once your client is in a VR environment, they’ll get a better understanding of how the design will look, feel, and function, and will be able

to make an educated decision. It’s hard to imagine what a building will look like before it’s built, so help to paint that picture for your client

with the most visual and interactive way possible.

This will save you time, and allow you to speed design reviews by not getting bogged down by indecisiveness. You’ll boost your

productivity, without compromising quality or client satisfaction.

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When you want to wow your clients

As VR grows in accessibility and popularity, clients are beginning to

expect a full scale immersive experience during design reviews. It’s

no longer enough to show a 3D model or rendering.

Include VR experiences during your stakeholder meetings to meet

your clients’ expectations and impress them with your firm’s ability

to stay up-to-date on the latest technology. You’ll be thankful you

did when your clients are amazed by the realistic experience, and

feel like they’ve been transported inside their design before it’s ever

built.

Using Autodesk® Revit® Live, you can move from your BIM model

to virtual reality in two mouse-clicks. If you don’t have access to

a headset, you can still obtain an immersive experience on your

desktop.

If you want to enhance the VR experience with additional content

and improved interactivity, you can connect your data to rendering

and animation software, Autodesk® 3ds Max®, with a seamless

workflow. Animate window curtains so they sway in the breeze when

the door is open, or even add steam to a cup of coffee in the kitchen.

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Autodesk® Revit® Live makes it possible

Revit Live is an immersive visualization cloud service that

enables architects to turn their Autodesk® Revit® into

interactive experiences on both their desktop and in VR.

The workflow between Revit and Revit Live is remarkably

simple. The Revit Live service is accessible right from within

Revit—no training or assistance from a visualization specialist

required. In a single click, models are sent to the cloud for

rapid processing.

Valuable data from your Revit model is automatically

transferred and optimized in Revit Live. As you explore the

model, you can interact with BIM data as doors open, dynamic

objects move, and lights automatically turn on.

Using editing tools, you can customize the visualization

for client review by defining navigation points, adjusting

daylighting, and applying a render style for presentations.

Navigate through your model on either desktop or mobile

devices and share your designs with stakeholders. You can

receive instant feedback from clients and make changes in your

Revit model in real time to reflect your client’s vision.

You can also take your Revit Live visualization into virtual

reality with the help of a VR headset for an even more realistic

experience. Easily connect your data to Autodesk® 3ds Max®

Interactive, a feature of the popular rendering and animation

software 3ds Max, to enhance your VR experience with additional

content and interactivity.

Get access to Revit, Revit Live, and 3ds Max in the Autodesk®

Architecture, Engineering & Construction Collection. With a

comprehensive set of integrated tools, you can easily extend the

power of BIM from design to visualization with virtual reality.

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Make virtual reality a reality for your businessIf you’re ready to try VR on your next design project, put Revit

Live to the test. Move from 3D models to VR in less time, and

maintain all of your critical BIM data. You’ll be surprised by how

you can increase efficiency, improve your design decisions, and

arrive at the best possible design in collaboration with your

client.

Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, Revit and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2017 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

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