What benefits will see from the successful integration of BIM and Virtual Reality?
Architects can be more adventurous
Though using VR to conjure fantastic new technology out of thin air is still the stuff of movies, VR does allow creatives to work in new and exciting ways. Rather than having to dream up designs on paper or in a tool like Revit if they’re working in 3D, architects and designers can create new objects and buildings around themselves, seeing them grow almost in real-time.
By literally immersing themselves in their work, new opportunities for creativity may be unlocked, and ultimately the design team’s ability to deliver – or exceed – a brief is increased. As we’ll see, VR also makes it easier for the client to understand the designs your team has created – and buy into the more adventurous ideas that VR has enabled the team to visualize.
?You can work with as-built conditions much more effectively.
Many construction projects involve adding to, or altering, an existing structure – so the better you can understand that structure, the better your project designs can be. By combining reality capture software with virtual reality, designers and architects can step into the existing space and make their designs based on highly accurate as-built data. This will reduce the chances of surprises when the building work actually starts. ? ?
Owners and Stakeholders can experience designs and understand them.
Even with the advent of computer-aided and 3D designs, clients often find it hard to understand a design – and certain design decisions that they may not like at first.VR enables a client to experience a design first-hand. They can look around the space and observe it as they would a finished building – and importantly, you can demonstrate the rationale for your decisions much more effectively. Not only does the client get that all-important wow factor; they can participate in the design process, asking questions and making suggestions that can be explored in ways they can understand. With this collaborative approach, solving challenges and overcoming roadblocks down the road could be much smoother.
??Real-time experience of construction progress on the project.
As we’ve discussed, VR can be used not only to showcase designs – it can be combined with reality capture tools to generate immersive as-built BIM models. As your building project progresses, you can scan the works and use those to generate VR-compatible models of your progress. This approach will be ideal for clients who are based overseas and who can’t readily visit the site, or for firms trying to manage the flow of people on-site to remain Covid-secure.
As with your designs, showing the client progress in this way helps them become a constructive partner in the project. You can show them where you may have had to deviate from your designs, and explain why, and involve them in the decision-making process. You can even demonstrate fulfillment of contractual obligations through your scans, ensuring that everyone is happy with the project and that it’s signed off on time.
?Project teams work better, providing greater value
In the same way that you and the client can collaborate more effectively in a VR environment, construction project teams can also collaborate more effectively in VR. If the environment of as-built conditions has been created using the right point cloud mapping software, then different parties can see all the elements of the building, from structural members to floor space and windows, and can visualize things like clash detection much more effectively.
The better collaboration will realize a number of benefits for your organization: