VR in Architecture

My name is Mikkel Winberg and I come from the tech company Frise Molke. And first of all I would like to say I'm sorry about my presentation, it will be in Danish. But feel free to ask during the presentation if you want to. I have been responsible for all of our competition and development in Frise Molke for the last 15 years. I am a partner at the studio and I have no technical knowledge in the technology behind virtual reality. But I have the pleasure of using it as a tool in my day to day life. We have taken it to the studio because there are some different things for us that have gone up in a higher unit. What you can say is that most studios in the last 10 years have gone from, what shall I say, 2D drawings to 3D drawings. Almost all studio studios today are making their projects in 3D. We are using Revit both in development and in the future. And that means that we have a really good foundation for starting virtual reality. Because what we lack is hardware and software that can be involved in telling the story and give an experience of going around the world. And that is why we are here today. And it is true that we should have had two men here today. Our 3D-thrower Bob, he should have been here too, but he was fired a couple of days ago. And I think he could have met up with the man he chose to become. So this presentation is more from my perspective, which is about how we can use this in our daily lives. And virtual reality is not something that is out in the open in the future, but it is actually something that we use on the drawing boards on a daily basis. I have taken four projects, we have used this in five different projects so far. And it is somewhere between a year and a half since we started it. And the fifth project is a project that we have just released, which is a bigger competition. And Stine told me that there was a competition here in Aarhus, where there was also a team of some of the leaders in virtual reality. And we have also done that, and fortunately our project was accepted as part of the material. And we have received really good feedback on it. We had a little case, because it has been running for a few years now. It is not more than 160 square meters, but it is a small church out to the new Gødestrup hospital out in Herning. And when you start a project like this, you make the first sketches that we draw. And at this point I had no idea that we were going to use VR as part of our communication, communication and communication with the city center. And the city center in this case is the council, and the council consists of a very many different kinds of people. So therefore it is also important that the communication is simple and clear and understandable, so that you can get some qualified, what shall we say, talk about space, materials, lighting, and in general what is important when we talk architecture. So our architects tools today consist of, at least in my opinion, primarily hand drawings, as a tool for dialogue and understanding of what ideas we would like to bring forward. It also consists of, of course, that we make some sketches and some plan drawings in relation to how a small church like this, how a small church like this could be integrated logistically and functionally. And we also have some drawings. What sometimes can be a challenge for our members and for the members of the Christian community, is that we can understand this kind of drawing very well as architects. Sometimes, or sometimes there are some mistakes. But to consult people who have never had any of this, who have had a process like this, which is about making a house, then this drawing can in principle be a mule. You have no sense of the spatialities, and you cannot really judge how the lighting is, or is the room large or small. And it is clear that it is also about the architect, or the one who transmits the idea and transmits the story in the right way. But we also use models as a tool. They do all the drawing work, both small models, but just in this case, we also made a one-to-one model. And at that time, I had no idea that we were going to use the project here in connection with the VR glasses. The whole purpose of the project, I think we went around 25 people, when the final model of the church room, which was no more than 65 square meters, then we went around and talked about how we got here to look, and what do you see out of the window, and so on. It is extremely low technology, one can say. But on the other hand, it gives a sense of, can things go up, can there be a hospital bed, can you carry the coffin out of the door, and so on. That is of course that. But then we also make the perspectives that you normally make, and you can say that there are many who are impressed when they see the architects' visualizations. But it is as if there is one or two missing, that makes you as a doctor become completely overwhelmed, and you are convinced that this room actually works. And when our 3D man Bob came up to me and said, Nikkel, we have 3D, we have some hardware, the software is relatively easy to access, the download is on App Store, should we take and show them the project here in a VR edition? And Karthus says, let's just do it, and then I was totally surprised that it took him two days to get the church room established, because we already have our 3D model. And then you can say that when we were supposed to have the final decision round, where the pastor and the bishop and the entire council council were present, and we could then show them our church room in a virtual edition, then of course they are suddenly convinced in a different way, because it is more secure in relation to the fact that we actually have a room. Even though it is small, it works, and it has a good space and a good lighting. And something that struck me in relation to that meeting, is that suddenly some questions come up on the field, which I am 100% sure of. if they had not been inside the church room, and felt that space, felt that sense of size and light, and the materials and so on, if we had not had this challenge. So you can say that with all our tools, that we have used over the years, you can say that now a new tool has come for all of us. And that is, from my point of view, it is not a tool that changes some of the other tools that we have, it is just an add-on, where you can suddenly get some more qualified talk about lighting and other things. And therefore, even though it has been a year where we have used it, I am still just as excited, and I am completely sure that this will be very important for us. And in the architecture industry, I know that in our design studio, there are some people who say, that it is a phase for the young people, because they just have to get over it, and then it will be enough for them to get over it themselves. But I am absolutely sure that this is a tool that is valuable to us. Also understood in the way that, of course there are some costs to be made as a picture, but the costs are relatively small, in light of the fact that you can get faster to the goal, and that is because you do not have to go back all the time and talk about things that you have already discussed. Here, this gives a more convincing story about the project. The second project we made, and what you can say is that we have used it, not only in the sketch phase, not only in the competition phase, but also in the design phase, when it comes to the support. So it is a tool that also belongs to all phases in the architecture phase. And in this case, it is a housing project, where it is on the one hand in a very natural area, but there are also some houses that are in the support. And then you can say, to have such a VR glasses on, both to the mayor's office and to the technical chief, it is not here in Aarhus, but then show them how the building is placed in the context. Also something that Steven was talking about, that you somehow get it over-evident, or maybe the opposite. You also show the project's mistakes by showing it so clearly and so sparsely, but in this case it is clear, then they will be calm and say, okay, ten tables, that's not really okay, it looks great there. But then this can again be used as a tool for those who have to make decisions about how the final design should be. Again, that with having something, something that I really think it can, is that with showing scale. You really have that relationship of depth, you really have that. And now it is clear, that we have only just started, on the first step, where the technology we use, is in the low end of the quality scale. And we take it step by step. But just to get it used, and to get it used as part of the name day, even though it is on the low end, then I think it is a really, really usable tool. It is a competition project, as we used in SBR, of two supply companies, that were to be put together. And I have to say, that we did not use VR in the entire competition proposal, but in the subsequent phase, when we go into the design and the concretization of the project, there were some conditions around. For one, where you can say, that the house is like four legs, with some different functions, including offices, warehouses and workshops, etc. And then there is such a turning point, which is the entrance at the time. And then we have subsequently, the city council has subsequently ordered three VR pictures from the foyer area, because they were a little unsure about how the embellishment and the back walls would look like, how the experience of the double height, semicircular space and such things is. And then you can say, there we have already suddenly got a new appearance, which we can sell. And in that way, I think it is also important, that we in the architecture industry are out quickly, before we are overtaken again, before maybe someone else. And then it is used as part of our appearance, our appearance shift, so that the city council can get a better, perhaps even better understanding of what we are doing. The fourth project is also a project, which we have done in Esbjerg, which is about to be implemented now. And there I can say, that it is also, because it is new for us, come in the last phase. The project has come to full height, and there is still travel and so on. But there are some conditions around, again the entrance party, where the building manager has said, we have to have this huge, a little modern sculptural light crown up in the foyer. Where should we hang it? And how high should it be hung up? Well, that is in this foyer, which is not so special, and how does that light crown come to work in that room? And then he has also said, okay, well, you know what, now we are just ordering a virtual reality picture, so that we can walk around this floating sculpture, and see exactly where the electrician is going to hang it up. So it's not just in, how should I say, large scale. It's also down in small interior spaces, where you can use it. And that is simply because, that the technology, and the hardware, and our working methods, it all of a sudden goes up to a higher unit, so that it is quite few resources, we should use it for. Yes, it should not be said, when I have to sell something as a souvenir. No, no, no. Well, our third man, he would have liked to have been here, and told some things, but what you can say is, that instead of rendering one picture, then six pictures of such a room are rendered, and even though, and now this is not particularly detailed, there are not very many, what should I say, net conditions in this room, but it does not need to be said. So we work with three levels, a level that is about, there is no, there is a question of, there will not be people on it, and then there is the middle category, and then there is the third category, where we give a full screw, and in most cases, there is simply enough, to show a building, the most paid, space, and, and then we then, properly have it, in the model, then it gives a really good meaning. Yes, it is, I can only say, that I am very excited, for, that we have got it in, on the drawing, I am very excited, that we, as architects, have got a new tool, which can be used to qualify our, our discussion, and, and, yes, I can only say, to those who are a little doubtful, that this can be, the day-to-day, that, it is, for us, it is at least, the day-to-day, on the drawing table, something we are more, I would not say, in the only project, but, I would, I would believe that when, in half a year, or a year, well, then it is, then it is perhaps, the worst project, we, we establish, VR, on the wide, on the, theory.