Virtual Reality + Life Size Plans.
Building or renovating your family home is a big investment. It is a project that you want to get right and be comfortable with when the initial plans are submitted for approval to prevent alterations down the track and additional costs. The process can be quite lengthy throughout the approval process and a design that takes into consideration the surrounding environment from the beginning can save many headaches later on.
Engaging a professional to help design your dream home should mean that you end up with exactly what you hoped for. However, it is often difficult for architectural plans in 2d to be read and understood as a 3d home and picture how this will be used by your family.
It is only when the keys are handed over for you to enter your new home that you are able to see the design. However, by this point it is too late to realise that a window is in the wrong spot to catch the morning light coming in your bedroom or the spacious bathroom you thought you were getting is much too small.
Technology is moving at a rapid rate and 3d modelling software allows for architects and building designers to create renders and digital models which help to give an indication of what you will be receiving at the end of the project.
There are other options out there that can provide even more clarity on your future home. A company called ‘Lifesize Plans’ http://www.lifesizeplans.com/ opened in 2016 and based in a warehouse in Auburn, Sydney opened to aid new renovators that have difficulty reading 2d plans. The simple concept is you are able to bring in 2d plans that are projected at a 1:1 scale on the floor of the warehouse, allowing you to walk through your house before the plans are even submitted to council. They even have typical furniture items and walls that can be moved around the space so you can get a good feel for the size of the spaces. This simple method of converting plans into reality can save major building costs further into the project.
Virtual reality is also another area that is taking off rapidly in the construction industry. Many ‘off the plan’ apartments are now sold with the ability for buyers to virtually walk through their future apartment, see the exact views they will be receiving on the level they have selected their apartment on from the drone footage recorded at that height. Whilst this is now a common method for developers to use to sell larger scale developments, it is becoming a more accessible piece of technology as time goes by. Although this option is slightly more costly than a 3d model or ‘lifesize plans’, it could create piece of mind being able to virtually walk through your future house and know exactly what you are buying from the initial stages of the project.