creating an idea of place:

the reality of virtual architecture

Completed Spring Semester 2011-12 (2nd Year Grad School - ARCH 602 & 603)

Skills utilized:

• Research
• Virtual reality (Vizard)
• Programming/scripting (Python)
• Film production
• Video editing
• 3D design (Rhino, Sketchup)

I started working with the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA) Lab during my second year of grad school as a graduate assistant. During that time, and by being in that position, I had the great fortune of being the first student in the College of Architecture & Planning to get some hands-on experience with a brand new virtual reality system. I had been struggling to narrow down a direction for my impending thesis, but after some time with the VR system, I knew I wanted to incorporate it somehow.

My final project ended up being an exploration into how (or even if) architecture can be created and experienced without any physical construction. I designed a virtual cityscape that was then experienced by participants across 3 different platforms:

• 2D Film (director-driven)
• 2D desktop computer game (user-driven)
• 3D Virtual Reality (user-driven)