In many ways, 2016 was a breakout year for virtual reality in the design professions. After years of speculation and buildup, manufacturers such as HTC, Oculus, and Microsoft released powerful head-mounted displays that gave designers and clients a truly immersive and interactive 3D experience. At the same time, new software such as Lumion, Enscape3D and InsiteVR made it relatively simple for architects and engineers to convert building information modeling (BIM) data into a virtual reality experience.
At HOK, we first began experimenting with VR a couple years earlier, testing early prototype headsets and asking ourselves how this evolving technology would one day enhance the design process. Fast forward to today (entering the second quarter of 2017) and architects and designers in our worldwide offices are now using VR technology on a daily basis to discover new insights into their design ideas.