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Project Parallel.

AI-assisted
  • unity
  • vr
  • htc-vive
  • vrtk
  • architecture
Project Parallel

Project Parallel was a series of architectural modeling tools designed specifically for VR. At the time, firms were using VR mostly for static visualizations. We saw an opportunity to go further — to enhance interactivity and make the design process itself more engaging and immersive.

The result was a single-user application for the HTC Vive, built on the VRTK framework to handle VR-based interactions. Users could step into a virtual space to draw, model, and lay out designs using familiar tools reimagined for the digital world.

Capture from the app
Capture from the app

Smart blocks

Program-area blocks could be placed in the scene and would report their location back to a dashboard, bridging spatial sketching and quantitative planning.

Smart blocks for designing program area
Smart blocks for designing program area
The blocks reporting their location to a dashboard
The blocks reporting their location to a dashboard

The toolset

A set of modeling tools — surface, wall, slab and stair, and column — reworked for direct manipulation in VR.

Surface tool
Surface tool
Wall tool
Wall tool
Column tool
Column tool

Deliverables

  • A Unity app for the HTC Vive
  • UX research for 3D modeling in VR
  • A demo for Boston's ABX 2017

Role

Developer, designer, graphics, presenter · Oct 2017 — Dec 2018