// Project Background
Schematic design in the architectural world always consumes a lot of time for communication. Designers dedicate a large amount of time to exploring ideas within the team, and also put in a tremendous effort on expressing the result to clients. Collaborating with the Design Technology Team in Gensler, I initiated the effort on developing, designing & prototyping this interior VR design toolkit, aiming to provide a better method that can help designers to achieve:
1. Real scale design exploration;
2. Real-time design communication on materiality, furniture placement, etc.;
3. Easy post-design deliverables through instant visualization.
Developed using Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK) for Oculus Quest, Interior Toolkit VR App allows architects, interior designers, & clients to visualize and communicate interior design ideas in real-time with hand tracking - immersive design preview of materiality, appliances, and furniture placement results in virtual space.
1. Real scale design exploration;
2. Real-time design communication on materiality, furniture placement, etc.;
3. Easy post-design deliverables through instant visualization.
Developed using Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK) for Oculus Quest, Interior Toolkit VR App allows architects, interior designers, & clients to visualize and communicate interior design ideas in real-time with hand tracking - immersive design preview of materiality, appliances, and furniture placement results in virtual space.
Key Function 1: Virtural Environment
Although architectural & interior design moment occurs in the 3D spatial world, but many designers find themselves working on 2D space such as floor plans, elevations, and sections. It creates a big gap in picking up design ideas and imagining them in 3D space. Therefore, the first thing I did is to import the 3d interior model created in Autodesk Revit & Rhino into the immersive environment. Users can use Oculus Quest and place themselves into the real scale environment.
Foundation - Design in real 3D virtual environment
The original kitchen design was looking good from the floor plan, however it turns out the cabinets are looking bulky? When we are designing, it happens all the time that we want to modify the current design with some other elements. I built this tool to allow users to easily move around/remove an element and replace with another design options from the built-in design library.
Key Function 2: Replacing design elements with ease
Step 1: Open "Trashcan"
Step 2: Remove an element
Step 3: Replace with new elements
Key Function 3: Pick & Apply Materials
Designers always need to rely on a physical material sample/palette to communicate a design idea. But, with these tiny samples, it is always hard to imagine how they actually look in the real environment. With this app, a user can pick a finish from the virtual material library, then drag and drop it onto the desired surface/elements.
Replacing material
Key Function 4: Furniture Layout
Furniture layout is a big portion of interior design. But it is difficult to imagine the spacing between different pieces. I created a system that allows users to pick furniture and move them around to experience the real-time end result in a virtual environment.
Placing Furniture
Adjust Table and Chair layout
