Visualising residential development using desktop virtual reality

Desktop virtual reality (VR) can be used to explore new housing developments before construction, but for advanced visualisation techniques to become widely used, the concerns of the housing industry must be heard. At Loughborough University, a prototype visualisation of a residential development was produced, and then shown to different types of housing developer to obtain feedback regarding the relevance of the approach as well as suggestions for future developments. After giving an overview of current CAD and visualisation use in the industry, this paper presents the practical VR work done and the conclusions drawn from interviews with housing developers following presentation of this work.