Virtual reality (VR) is a cutting-edge technology that can change how we view the world. It is computer-generated environment that projects immersive, three-dimensional views, usually achieved by head-mounted goggles. It has been explored over the centuries but has only been recently widely available and affordable. The idea of virtual reality is not new; it was first attempted in the nineteenth century through panoramic views of historical paintings that gave the viewer the impression of being somewhere that they are not. The concept of virtual reality appeals to many communities as its potentials are large, and perhaps the fondness of immersing into fiction was implanted in us since childhood. The architects and professors Borries, Walz, and Bottger (2007, p.146) suggest that the attraction to immersion into fictions came from childhood play, and we didn’t need a lot of stimulations to insert ourselves into another reality. As we grow older, there is more interference from our reality that restricts how we submerge ourselves into entertainments, in which requires ‘voluntary immersion’, thus require stronger sensory stimuli. According to Professor Jim Blascovich, and Professor Jeremy Bailenson (Blascovich and Bailenson, 2012), computer-generated representations are part of our daily life. Virtual experiences in our society have become a ludic indulgence, and with its compelling visuals, some of us can find it difficult to distinguish between the virtual and the physical reality, and some may prefer the “virtual” reality.
One of the industries that have much to benefit from this technology is the architectural industry. According to Borries, Walz, and Bottger (2007), the practice currently faces economical, technological, ecological, and aesthetic issues, and that the industry still has a perfunctory view of the VR technology, although it can be the key to innovate the architectural practice. By carefully manipulating the technology, architects are able to create immersive visualizations through virtual environments to support their projects. By implementing virtual reality into the architectural design process, it be resulted in:
Expanding Creativity:
VR is a type of tool to create visualizations (Portman, Natapov and Fisher-Gewirtzman, 2015). VR relies on the visual sense, as it is the most dominant sensory element to the human body to communicate information. Visualization has been part of every step of the architectural design process. Early virtual environments were comprised of texts, two-dimensional and simple three-dimensional imageries. As the technology improves and becomes more affordable, the expectations of the visualizations become greater (Wake and Levine, 2002). In the virtual environment, the buildings’ structures are made from virtual information that exists only in cyberspace, but serves as a correspondent to the physical buildings in the real world. Structures in the virtual environment are not real, therefore can sustain without the constraints of any structural configurations, like columns. With this notion, architects are free to expand their imaginations while having their designs animated in real-time. VR can also be used as a prototyping tool. According to Professor Jennifer Whyte (Whyte, 2002, p.132), by using VR as a medium to prototype with a balance of abstraction and realism, it can provide easy navigation to multiple viewing perspectives, which can facilitate the design thinking.
Freedom From Errors:
Perhaps one of the reasons why VR is so appealing is the freedom to risk failure (Borries, Walz and Böttger, 2007). The use of VR in design and research laboratories facilitates the possibility to see circumstances that have yet to exist (Portman, Natapov and Fisher-Gewirtzman, 2015). Used as a prototyping tool for architects, it can mitigate risks. According to Whyte (2002), VR is a powerful tool for data exploration. Data gathered from prototyping can be used to show a range of alternative solutions and provide the user with instant, haptic feedback. In the generation where information is regarded as precious as oil, the possibility of implementing ‘Big Data’ in virtual architecture is within reach. Big Data is the computerized analysis of large data sets of trends and patterns that can reveal information about human interaction and behavior. According to Bailenson (Blascovich and Bailenson, 2012), using machine-learning algorithms to test people and statistical models can help predict behaviours and potential accidents.
More human and personalized experiences:
Compared to traditional forms of visualizations, VR allow the user to go further into the visuals by means of “exploration”, by immersion and interactivity (Portman, Natapov and Fisher-Gewirtzman, 2015). Conventional visualization methods does not allow the users to personally feel the space, but with added sensory perceptions in VR, like sound effects, it would allow them to feel and empathize with the space around them. With the development of the technology, architects have also found ways to incorporate collaboration into their practice, which in turn, improves relationship between themselves and the clients. Through collaboration, VR can become a platform for shared experiences, which would make the experiences more intimate, therefore more human. By allowing clients into the virtual, work-in-progress space, it makes the project more personalized their preference, thus would increase customer satisfaction and reduce the risks of errors. With the recent invention of the hand-held controllers (Fig. 3) that permit users to change the design within the virtual environment, it can allow architects and their clients to further and extensively personalize the project.
Fig. 3 Handheld VR Controllers : VR controllers. (Saban, 2016)
Avatar and the Influencing Behaviors:
Avatars may be one of the most important elements in VR as they can influence users’ behavior. Throughout the history of architecture, through examples of the “Vitruvius” and the Corbusier’s “Modulor Man”, the human body has always been a “standardizing” metric device to understanding spatiality (Ralitza, 2011). To grasp the virtual environment, an avatar must be present. The idea of “avatar” first appeared in the myths of Hinduism, in the late 1980s, through dialogues of incarnation, in which Hindu deity descends to Earth to merge into another body form. With increasing references to alternative body experiences, the idea was carried over into film and literature, like the “Avatar” movie in 2009. Instead of just representing the human body as is, the usage of avatar is much more extensive as users can customize their virtual body to their own predilection, like their height, race, and gender, which can influence their behavior onto the physical world (Blascovich and Bailenson, 2012, p.63). By using avatars, architects can persuade their clients into buying the project, for example, an avatar can sell a lifestyle through self-endorsement, if the client sees that the avatar representation of him or her is using the space in a familiar manner, he or she will be more likely to compromise. Avatars can bring many financial benefits to the architects.