In 2015 Visula Vocal was founded in partnership with global design and architecture company NBBJ. Now the companies have announced a new business collaboration to develop a virtual reality (VR) platform. This platform will enable project stakeholders in designs for unbuilt environments while providing instantaneous feedback.
With traditional 3D designs sharing over email or other communication methods can result in the impressive form factor being lost, and feedback can be inconclusive and time-consuming. Utilising current VR technology NBBJ and Visual Vocal hope to transform workflows within the architecture industry.
“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. This partnership will radically shift the way design feedback is sourced and integrated into projects, and the speed at which it can be done. As a result, we can more broadly and deeply engage project stakeholders than we could have dreamed in the past, Whether for clients or the general public, virtual reality will deepen design discourse and bring together communities in new and exciting ways,” said NBBJ Managing Partner Steve McConnell, FAIA.
Visual Vocal plans to launch the platform in late 2016 as an NBBJ exclusive, with the design firm piloting the software on projects for healthcare, corporate, and urban planning clients. After which it’ll then be rolled out to the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.
“Visual Vocal is building a platform for distributed conversation, collaboration, and decision-making through the power of immersive computing technologies,” said Visual Vocal Co-Founder John SanGiovanni. “For the past year, we have worked closely with NBBJ’s technical, creative, and project leadership to understand the complexities of distribution collaboration. Together, we have forged a new VR framework aimed at making 3D decision-making more accessible, enjoyable, and efficient.”
VRFocus will continue its coverage of the latest VR projects as new announcements are made.
