VIRTUAL REALITY FOR A BETTER CITY AT EYE LEVEL

Pilot project by STIPO,  BFAS, Geesink Weusten Architecten and TU Delft

VIRTUAL REALITY LAB IN SEARCH OF REALITY

Last year during Placemaking Week in Amsterdam STIPO and BFAS presented the idea to combine virtual reality, urban development and public life study. In the meantime, a collaboration with TU Delft came into being and our first pilot project will start in September. The knowledge of BFAS on the application of virtual reality in the design process and the experience of STIPO with the development of cities on a human scale will come together in the Virtual Reality Lab at TU Delft.

AND THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR A PARTNER WITH A CASE TO WORK ON!

In the context of this pilot Virtual Reality for a better City at Eye Level, we are looking for a case. A case that will undergo a transformation in the near future. This could for example be an area where many new buildings will be added in the coming years and / or will be transformed a lot. We are looking for a plan that is still in the first design phase. Why in this phase of the project? Because with this pilot a unique layer can be added to the design process. The design can already be experienced by both designers and users by being able to walk through it. Based on visual and temporary feedback generated in VR, we want to make various important design parameters perceptible. This makes it possible to carry out behavioral research and thus to understand how people (or users) will respond to different (future) design proposals.

The virtual models are based on 3D models set up in Revit and are integrated into Unreal Engine. The result is an analysis of the emotional experience and emotional behavior of participants in both the existing situation, the existing virtual world and future virtual situation.

PARTICIPATION CONDITIONS

• Active participation in research phase September to December 2018
• Provision of preliminary design in a 3D design, preferably in Revit
• Contribution of around € 20,000, depending on how much modeling work is needed; we are happy to make a customized agreement

END PRODUCTS OF THIS UNIQUE PROJECT

By participating in this research we gain insight into the influence of design elements on the perception of the environment. This insight will be incorporated in the following products:

• Realistic simulation of the preliminary design
• A design variation on the existing design based on the City At Eye Level criteria
• Research report ‘Virtual Reality for a better city at eye level’, including the perception analysis
• Visual data analysis in the form of a film and a virtual model

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND / OR QUESTIONS YOU CAN CONTACT

• Renée Rooijmans – STIPO – renee.rooijmans@stipo.nl
• Stefan Bödecker – BFAS – stefan@bf-as.nl 
• Sven Volkers – Geesink Weusten Architecten – s.volkers@geesinkweusten.nl