Want to Design Your Own House? Virtual Reality Has The Answer to That

If you’re interested in tech and architecture, you’ve probably played The Sims. It was originally designed as a virtual architecture and design simulator, where the characters were people who came to evaluate the property you’d built and furnished. It wound up taking on a life of its own as a fully functional game series, but it was massively innovative for the time – especially since the first installment was created before we have the virtual reality technology we have today.

Now, we’re able to fully actualize what those games initially set out to do. Headsets and design software have allowed us to create and explore entirely customizable scenarios in architecture and design, and while the practice isn’t yet commonplace, it’s changing the way we craft the places we live.

Using VR Design Tools

VR design tools come in the form of both software and apps. With virtual reality integration into smartphones and handheld devices, a full-on gaming PC is no longer required to facilitate the experience. Apps obviously offer more limited VR design capabilities due to space constraints (who has 15 free gigs on their phone’s internal storage?), but computers have cut almost all of the red tape.

While in the past, things like blueprints and even physical miniature models of homes were the closest that designers could come to replicating a vision and bringing it to life, the added layer of VR allows for more than just visualization. When you’re wearing a headset and wandering around and empty room that’s made to be your dream house, you’re actually getting a sense of what it’s like to live in that home.

VR can be used from the very beginning to the very end of the project. It can start as basic as the placement of the windows and the square footage of rooms without incorporating complicated design elements. It can be built in a tailor-made fashion over a series of small adjustments on a blank canvas, providing the optimum amount of control.

This leaves less room for surprises later. You’ll already know if something isn’t going to work out for you, or if it was a better idea in theory than application. You won’t have to wait until your home has been built and designed to make last minute modifications because things didn’t play out the way you had planned. This allows for a more efficient design process with a lesser need for revisions.

Generating Panoramic Views

If you don’t have access to expensive VR devices, 360 degree panoramic models are nearly as good. Using a computer to generate a click and drag model of your home will allow you to explore it with your own two eyes, without the assistance of a tech device.

Since these models are a lot easier to generate than a fully immersive virtual reality experience, they’re the perfect compromise. Clicking and dragging can give you a free range of motion to demonstrate what it will look like standing in the middle of your kitchen or your living room.

Complete Overlap is On The Horizon

Since virtual reality is relatively new, not many established architects and designers have adopted it as their primary mode of showcasing. It’s slowly growing, and it’s so advantageous that others are beginning to get on board. If you want to take things into your own hands, all you need to do is get a headset and some software to make the designs yourself. Just buy the land you want to build on so you understand your size constraints, and start generating your 3D or VR model. It’s really that simple.

Further experimentation and technological advancements will only cement the role that VR can play in all elements of design and construction. Sooner or later, immersive experiences will become the preferred method for collaborative design. If you don’t want to wait for the industry to catch up, nothing is stopping you from doing it on your own. The tools are all out there – start using them.