According to the CSIRO’s quarterly magazine SOLVE, building a house will start and finish on-screen before the first brick is laid.
That is, thanks to some cutting edge virtual-reality software currently being developed that aims to overcome shortfalls of the real world process of building.
Any professional ever involved in the building process will be aware of such impediments to the collaborative process as the inertia caused by committees, a restrictive hierarchy among collaborators, as well as “factors such as accents or reluctance to speak up”, not to mention verbose individuals dominating proceedings “with their prolonged soliloquies”.
In the virtual world of building a house, however, these problems give way to what the CSIRO article suggests is “an open space of creativity”.
Using technology previously the domain of video gaming technology, the aptly named Bricks and Clicks Researchers combine game and CAD (computer-aided design) technology to create three-dimensional environments in which professionals, working in real time, will be able to explore and test ideas for new buildings.
According to SOLVE, the project is being undertaken by the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Construction Innovation, involving CSIRO’s Division of Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology (CMIT). The CRC for Construction Innovation is a national research, development and implementation centre focused on the needs of the Australian property, design, construction and facility management industry. It undertakes applied research on behalf of its partners and the whole industry.
CMIT’s Stephen Egan is quoted in the article as saying that many scenarios would benefit from this novel approach, such as urban planners being able to visualise every aspect of an entire development: “The associated plans could be studied interactively by planners, builders, suppliers, residents, even traffic authorities or environmentalists. Collaboratively, they can use the latest software to optimise the quality and functionality of the development, or the sustainability and its lifecycle performance.”
The Virtual Worlds project is headed by Professor Mary Lou Maher of the University of Sydney, who has studied how people behave in virtual environments.
To read the CSIRO’s article, see CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION: Bricks and Clicks.