The architecture and design firm NBBJ announced that it has formed a partnership with a startup, Visual Vocal, to develop a virtual reality (VR) productivity platform.
NBBJ wanted a VR tool of its own to streamline its design process. The firm’s design teams create buildings using 3D modeling software, but have found it difficult to share those plans with clients. Email, for instance, is time consuming and doesn’t allow for comprehensive feedback.
VR, though, will let NBBJ include more people, including the general public, into the design stages.
“NBBJ’s decision to launch Visual Vocal is representative of our ongoing mission to find more informative and inspiring ways to engage clients in the design process,” NBBJ Managing Partner Steve McConnell, FAIA, said in a statement. “This partnership will radically shift the way design feedback is sourced and integrated into projects, and the speed at which it can be done.”
Other firms collaborate with VR companies, but NBBJ said that this is the first time an established designer worked a VR set-up into its own offices.
In addition to architecture, the arrangement could lead to advancements in aerospace, product design, biotech, and other industries that use 3D modeling.
NBBJ has designed the headquarters for several tech giants, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Alibaba. Both NBBJ and Visual Vocal are based in Seattle.
Related Stories
Building Tech | Apr 12, 2016
Should we be worried about a tech slowdown?
Is the U.S. in an innovative funk, or is this just the calm before the storm?
AEC Tech | Apr 12, 2016
Startup introduces PaperLight, an interactive projection screen for AEC pros
The device lets users edit sketches, plans, and images with a stylus or their fingers.
AEC Tech | Mar 31, 2016
Deep Learning + AI: How machines are becoming master problem solvers
Besides revolutionary changes to the world’s workforce, artificial intelligence could have a profound impact on the built environment and the AEC industry.
AEC Tech | Mar 17, 2016
Managing risks with laser scanning gives AEC firms an edge
The more that clients demand the service, the easier it is to justify the cost of laser scanning equipment and software.
AEC Tech | Mar 15, 2016
Two to tango: Project Tango isn’t just for entertainment, it also has a wide range of possibilities relating to the professional world
Making things like augmented reality, precise measurements of indoor spaces, and indoor wayfinding possible, Google’s Project Tango has all the makings to become a useful and ubiquitous tool in the AEC market.
AEC Tech | Mar 10, 2016
Is the Internet of Things the key to smarter buildings and cities?
Experts say yes. But what’s needed is a point person who makes sure that sensing devices can “talk” to each other.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 10, 2016
Access and energy control app clicks with student housing developers and managers
Ease of installation is one of StratIS’s selling features.
AEC Tech | Mar 8, 2016
WiredScore offers developers competitive advantage in marketing
Designates best-in-class Internet connectivity.
Game Changers | Feb 5, 2016
London’s ’shadowless’ towers
Using advanced design computation, a design team demonstrates how to ‘erase’ a building’s shadows.
Game Changers | Feb 5, 2016
Asia’s modular miracle
A prefab construction company in China built a 57-story tower in 19 days. Here’s how they did it.
