The Wild, a start-up from Portland, Oregon has just announced an integration with UK-based Igloo Vision to open up new avenues for collaboration and experiential design review for teams working in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC). Igloo Vision designs and develops immersive 360° projection spaces, along with the enabling software and technology.

The Wild, a start-up from Portland, Oregon has just announced an integration with UK-based Igloo Vision
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Igloo Vision designs and develops immersive 360° projection spaces, along with the enabling software and technology
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The Wild allows architecture and design teams to experience their work together at human scale, in real time, from anywhere in the world, in virtual and augmented reality. Now the experience can take place in Igloo’s Shared VR environments, in addition to desktop, iOS, and VR headsets. Teams will be able to share their experience in The Wild with others while viewing and interacting with their content in a large-scale immersive space.

Teams will be able to share their experience in The Wild with others while viewing and interacting with their content in a large-scale immersive space
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“Stepping into an Igloo is like stepping into a giant VR headset. Because entire teams can get inside, it’s always a shared experience,” says Gabe Paez, founder and CEO of The Wild. “Now you can experience The Wild from Igloo, connecting that room to collaborators in VR, AR, PC, or Mac from anywhere.”

The Wild allows for multi-platform access from anywhere in real time, so a team might be in an Igloo in the UK, while more stakeholders join with their HMDs on the other side of the world
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With the prevalence of BIM, the high cost of business travel, and the time lost due to errors and lack of alignment, it’s more important than ever for businesses in AEC to take advantage of collaboration tools like The Wild and Igloo Shared VR. You can work together with your team in a shared virtual space, and gain the critical context and insights that only come from experiencing your work at human scale.The Wild allows for multi-platform access from anywhere in real time, so a team might be in an Igloo in the UK, while more stakeholders join with their HMDs on the other side of the world.

One of the real strengths of Igloo Shared VR is that it's an open, content-agnostic platform, enabling teams to work with the tools that are already part of their everyday workflows and discover new ones
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“One of the real strengths of Igloo Shared VR is that it’s an open, content-agnostic platform, enabling teams to work with the tools that are already part of their everyday workflows and discover new ones,” says Jake Rowland, Head of Business Development at Igloo Vision. “This integration with The Wild is particularly exciting because the potential for collaboration is heightened by being able to bring entire teams into models, where everyone can see what each other is looking at and can gauge reactions easily.”

Companies using The Wild include adidas, Bora Architects, BNP Paribas, MacDonald Miller, and Arc’teryx
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The Wild, who launched their VR/AR collaboration platform in the fall of 2019, integrates seamlessly with Revit and SketchUp, the most popular 3D design software applications on the market, and supports all major 3D file types. Now it’s easy to use The Wild to collaborate and experience these models together in an Igloo Shared VR environment. Several AEC, property, and utilities clients, including Lanes Group plc, Cushman & Wakefield, Lendlease, and asBUILT Digital, have used or are using Igloo to set their models free. Companies using The Wild include adidas, Bora Architects, BNP Paribas, MacDonald Miller, and Arc’teryx.

The Wild, who launched their VR/AR collaboration platform in the fall of 2019, integrates seamlessly with Revit and SketchUp, the most popular 3D design software applications on the market, and supports all major 3D file types
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Tech Trends offers a broad range of Digital Consultancy services to guide companies, individuals and brands in effectively leveraging existing and emerging technologies in their business strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post #BuildTheFuture Immersive Collaborative Environments appeared first on Tech Trends.

By Gareth Barber, MD of The Stable Company

The demand for more space seems almost insatiable – with housing and education leading the charge
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You might not associate timber with evidence-led, dynamic construction, but as a unique, radical alternative to more common bricks and mortar construction methods, wood is undergoing a 21st century renaissance.

With design possibilities that lend the material to building projects big and small, timber’s ability to provide a practical, energy-efficient – and even mood-boosting – solution have led to a resurgence in its popularity. How, exactly, has timber caught the nation’s eye?

Wood is undergoing a 21st century renaissance
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Radical, flexible building design

Through centuries of experimentation and technical advancement, timber has been a way of proudly expressing culture and heritage. Some of the most iconic structures on Earth are timber constructs. With superior tensile strength, timber can be manipulated and applied to an incredible number of construction blueprints: perhaps most contemporarily and ostentatiously, the Metropol Parasol.

With superior tensile strength, timber can be manipulated and applied to an incredible number of construction blueprints
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Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) is a game-changing technological innovation for timber construction. It sounds simple, but CLT is made by layering softwood, gluing and then pressing it together. This creates small timber sections that can be put together to make larger structural panels, with a thickness of around 50 cm. As strong as steel, leading designer and architect Alex de Rijke has called CLT ‘the new concrete’.

Further developments in CLT mean it is able to pass rigorous seismic, fire and sound requirement tests – and is even suitable for high rise blueprints. Indeed, the world’s largest and tallest timber office began construction in 2018. “25 King”, with over nine storeys and topping 48 metres in height, is to be constructed from over 3,000 individual timber elements, with over 21,175m² of CLT used; this includes beams, columns (33 on each floor) and floor panels.

Cross-Laminated Timber is a game-changing tech innovation
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The ultimate sustainable building material

Timber is a 100% renewable material. As well as acting as a carbon store, the manufacture of timber is less energy-intensive, cutting down non-renewable energy use. So too is its transport, as it typically weighs less than concrete or steel.

A thoughtfully-designed timber building contains additional features that supplement these eco-friendly natural properties. Air-source heat pumps are able to keep building interiors at a consistent temperature, with day/night light sensors also cutting down on unnecessary energy – and financial – expenditure. Carefully considered window placement can also maximise the use of natural light.

Designer and architect Alex de Rijke has called CLT ‘the new concrete’
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Maintaining optimal temperature

Part of timber’s radical offering is its natural ability to maintain an optimised interior environment. This is of particular value to those involved in the sector of education, where timber has become an evidence-led choice for school specifiers.

Inside timber is a cellular structure which contains air pockets. These help to limit the material’s ability to conduct heat – meaning users don’t bake in the summer heat as they might in a brick or concrete alternative. And with smaller-scale projects, timber modular buildings are often standalone, able to be fitted with bi-fold, sliding doors which opens the space up to the outdoors – a favourable setup for staying cool whilst having opportunity to fulfil outdoor learning objectives.

As well as users staying cool in summer, they also won’t feel the chill in winter – because timber is a natural thermal insulator. Timber’s structural air pockets prevent heat inside from dissipating; the result, a more stable temperature and comfortable environment for users. This has financial and environmental benefits – reducing reliance on central heating and fans.

As a building material, timber is also hygroscopic – meaning it improves indoor air quality by moderating humidity levels. This makes it a popular building material for car garages, for example, that mustn’t get too moist, but also ideal for avoiding mugginess on hot, rainy afternoons.

Timber is hygroscopic - meaning it improves indoor air quality by moderating humidity levels
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Physiological benefits

A study by Planet Ark makes abundantly clear the benefits of ‘biophilic design’ – where nature is incorporated into buildings and man-made surroundings. The use of materials such as timber has been shown to boost cognitive performance by connecting humans to their outdoor surroundings.

Interestingly, studies show that people talk more with timber around. In a 2012 study, 44 elderly residents were studied in wooded surroundings – tables, chairs and tableware – and then analysed in similar plastic surroundings. The results show a marked increase in social interactions when in the presence of wooden products – that is, they were more talkative, open and willing to engage.

The use of materials such as timber has been shown to boost cognitive performance by connecting humans to their outdoor surroundings
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Innovative and accessible spaces

As architects retain a large degree of design freedom when building with timber, the finest of details can be considered. Timber, therefore, is a popular choice for those wishing to provide accessible environments for those who may have additional needs or require supervision. Standalone timber buildings can feature accessibility ramps, sliding doors, acoustic insulation and wide, open spaces for supervision.

Further developments in CLT mean it is able to pass rigorous seismic, fire and sound requirement tests – and is even suitable for high rise blueprints
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Affordability

Building projects completed with timber often come in at a lower cost than if completed with other construction materials such as brick or concrete. That’s also not factoring in that public sector projects that use timber modular construction have been, historically, more likely to attract grant funding or other financial support – thanks to their environmental sustainability. Because of the off-site element common to timber modular construction, on-site disruption is minimised, too.

As well as acting as a carbon store, the manufacture of timber is less energy-intensive, cutting down non-renewable energy use
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Beyond its aesthetically-pleasing natural “look”, recent technological developments mean that timber is a smart material suitable for projects big or small. The proven environmental, financial, practical and even physiological advantages of timber construction are making it a firm favourite for those looking to provide a unique, radical alternative to traditional construction methods.

Recent technological developments mean that timber is a smart material suitable for projects big or small
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The post #BuildTheFuture > Smart Timber appeared first on Tech Trends.

This HTC Vive interior design app lets you create, change and decorate virtual spaces with real-world items.

TrueScale is a new interior design tool that simultaneously creates 2D floor plans, 3D mockups, and full room-scale environments in VR. Developed in partnership between Vive Studios (the content development and publishing initiative from HTC VIVE) and developers Immersion.

The idea behind TrueScale is to let anyone design their own virtual space – whether it’s an individual room, office space, or an entire house – in mere minutes, and then experience them first-hand in real scale in VR.

The idea behind TrueScale is to let anyone design their own virtual space
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The application uses Wayfair’s 3D model API, which means that you can use an extensive catalog of actual furniture and décor items to populate your virtual spaces realistically.

As the user creates a floor plan, the app automatically generates a replicated 3D environment as a dollhouse-type model
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As the user creates a floor plan, the app automatically generates a replicated 3D environment as a dollhouse-type model. Users can then put themselves inside their newly created space to gain a true sense of scale.

Users can then put themselves inside their newly created space to gain a true sense of scale
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The interface lets users build rooms, customize floor patterns and paint colours, configure windows and doors, and even furnish their designs from an extensive library of over 40,000 3D models supplied by Wayfair – the largest online furniture retailer in the US.

The interface lets users build rooms, customize floor patterns and paint colours
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HTC VIVE’s room-scale technology enables the freedom to continue making changes in real-time while walking around and exploring the design space.

“We’ve created an app that enables designers, their clients, and even the average homeowner to conceptualize the perfect room setup for living and work spaces,” says Chris Chin, Executive Director of Content for Vive Studios. “Using VR in this stage of the design process allows the user to gain a full picture of the final design as opposed to relying on imagination and blueprints. It gives you a sense of depth that cannot be achieved through traditional paper or graphics renders.”

With global revenue from VR content forecast to be worth up to $14 billion by 2020, it is clear that more and more brands are now looking at VR as a way to bring their offering to life, and this is is transforming how they can engage their customers with new immersive experiences,” adds Piotr Baczyński, CEO of Immersion.

This is an ideal tool for optimizing the layout of large spaces such as open-plan offices, but as more people begin to use VR applications more confidently it is easy to see how it could be used by consumers to help them make home improvement decisions and even to shop directly for items that they tried out in those virtual spaces.

According to Immersion, the tool has so far proved most popular with construction clients
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According to Immersion, the tool has so far proved most popular with construction clients, as they are able to better communicate their plans at every stage of the design process with colleagues and clients around the world, drastically reducing the need for changes and redesigns. They are now working to bring enhanced communication and virtual meeting capabilities to the platform.

HTC VIVE’s room-scale technology enables the freedom to continue making changes in real-time while walking around and exploring the design space
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The next step is now to take this concept outside and adapt the tool for landscaping and garden design. Immersion is currently working with a German company to enable similar capabilities in allowing users to picture how their garden will look – particularly useful as you would be able to envisage seasonal variations and how different elements would look together as different plants grew, flowered and matured.

The next step is now to take this concept outside and adapt the tool for landscaping and garden design
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Immersion is also interested in incorporating scanning capabilities – which are inbuilt in most modern smartphones – into the application so that users would be able to accurately recreate their real-world environments in VR, before proceeding to populate and manipulate them at scale, which opens up even more interesting creative possibilities.

The TrueScale app is available for download on Viveport and Steam for $19.99
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As more 3D model libraries get incorporated into VR tools it will open up possibilities for people planning to renovate or refresh their living spaces
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Although the technology is still at a relatively early stage, as more 3D model libraries and catalogs get incorporated into VR tools it will surely open up a whole world of possibilities for people planning to renovate or even just refresh their living and working spaces – both virtual and real.

Immersion is currently working with a German company to enable similar capabilities in allowing users to picture how their garden will look
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This article was originally published on VRScout

This VR interior design app lets you create, change and decorate virtual spaces via @alicebonasio https://t.co/RXEDdu2rSY pic.twitter.com/szzw7psdpR

— VRScout (@VRScout) December 20, 2017

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Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post #BuildTheFuture > Designing Spaces in Virtual Reality  appeared first on Tech Trends.