Why I built my apartment in VR
This might sound like the geekiest thing ever, but hang in there, I think it will make sense at the end.
The problem
A few months ago I began the search for my first apartment, and it was not an easy process. Not only is it my first time renting by myself, but it is also during COVID. This meant that there is less opportunities to see places in person. Eventually I finally found a property which I was interested in, and I got to visit it with my realtor, but my parents back home were unable to. I really value the input of my parents, so I sought a way to fix that.
The process
The first hurdle was the fact that no floor-plan existed for the apartment online. However, with a few reference pictures and some memory recall, I was able to draw up a reasonably accurate representation.
With that in hand, it was pretty simple to reconstruct the place in 3D using Blender.
Importing that model into Gravity Sketch on the Quest was the final step.
The result
Importing that model into Gravity Sketch on the Quest was the final step, creating a fully immersive demo. With my parent’s garage being roughly the size of the living room, it was also easy to walk around the virtual space.
Being able to “experience” the apartment, and walk around it, was such a big difference to my parents. We quickly discovered how perception of space is improved, versus a picture or even a video for example, when one is within the space. Walking around it allows the brain to process scale better.
We were also able to try multiple furniture layouts to see what we liked best. In VR, furniture is practically weightless, meaning we could move it with incredible ease. This quickly allowed us to rule out designs that looked good on paper, and discover one that we loved.
Since then, I’ve signed the lease. Having the space built out in VR gave me the confidence to commit, and I can’t wait to move in!
