I’ve been working for architecture practices for a couple of years and I wanted to make a proof of concept for the use of VR in Architecture.
So I made “Ty Hedfan” a real house in Wales (www.ty-hedfan.co.uk) which won a Royal Institute of British Architects award in 2011.
I worked for plans and photos I found on internet so this is an accurate 3d model of the house (you can see the comparison between Unreal Engine and photos).
Thanks to the Oculus Rift, you don’t need to go to Wales anymore to visit the property:)
I used the VR template blueprint in order to have a proper body and to have the feeling you are really inside the house.
I made also the programming in order to have all the lights and doors working (see second video).
Real time global illumination is not yet ready in UE4 so I had to make a daylight version and a night version.
That last pic looks fantastic. The others are all great as well. Can’t wait for dynamic GI to be production ready.
How immersive and practical is the Rift for something like this? Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to try one yet. I’m wondering about the resolution for instance. Can you actually make out all the details and textures when you’re wearing one?
I think The Rift is gonna change the way architects or designers work. I’m a designer and I use the rift when I design now.
I asked some Architects, friends of mine, to test the Rift with Ty Hedfan and they couldn’t describe how fantastic was the experience. They didn’t expect that at all! (some reaction here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-_cdwhF3Dg)
For example, with the rift, you can detect some flaws or issues in architecture you couldn’t see on plans.
So I think the future of VR is brilliant for the architecture or industrial design field:)
Thanks for the insight and the video. This is very interesting and something I’ve been thinking about since the Paris demo.
Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of experience with modeling, besides doing some basic things in Blender (I’m a programmer). I assume you still do the majority of the design work in one of the industry standard CAD programs and then import the models into UE, right? How straight forward is this process?
I’m planning to get a Rift and do some experiments as soon as I’m done with an upcoming exam. My brother is studying architecture and I’m curious what he’ll think, when I show him your videos.
Yes, you need 3ds max, Maya or Blender to produce 3d stuff and then you export to EU4 in FBX format. I know some programmers use 3d libraries or you can also buy 3d models on the market place. You can find also very good tutorials about UE4 on the Digital Tutors website. If you are a programmer, it should be quick easy for you to play with the Rift!
