Diving deeper into design Topic Number: 123 Diving deeper into design By: Katsu Muramoto, George Otto, and Loukas Kalisperis. Date: 23 October 2002 Web Address: http://www.architectureweek.com/articles/tools_articles.html Presented By: Marwa Hammam El Abd

Diving deeper into design Problem: -Architecture students have difficulty visualizing forms in space & developing sense of scale . Traditional solution: -Construction of physical models. -Drawing 2D orthographic projections. -3D perspectives. The new solution: -Immersive environment lab (IEL).

The immersive environment lab ( IEL) It introduces undergraduate to visual reality (VR) design techniques. Used by researchers to study the further potential of interactive immersive environments to aid in developing 3D thinking in design education. The purpose of the lab is to facilitate the effective use of VR techniques in the design arts and other disciplines. The immersive environment lab Rear view of IEL screens

convenient location for users, from whom we can learn the goal is the deployment of low cost, easy to use and easy to administer VR systems, convenient location for users, from whom we can learn about user needs, abilities and sensibilities, to improve the design for future deployments of similar systems. Architectural design tasks undertaken in VR are often limited to demonstration projects. In Penn State's Immersive Environments Lab (IEL), architecture student Martin Busser combines VR and multimedia in presenting his fifth-year thesis design during the 2002 Kossman Design Award competition. Photo: Jamie R. Heilman

The resources and effort to apply VR techniques to everyday design are too great, so VR environments are used for extensive design exploration. The challenges include: the high cost of purchasing and maintaining VR facilities, the difficulty of programming new VR applications, and the resulting cloistering of such facilities within specialized research groups. A student uses mixed multimedia tools to present his work during a virtual review.

System Configuration It includes two 180 x 245 cm rear-projection screens. The screens are positioned at a 120 degree angle to provide a sense of peripheral surround. When used in VR mode, the perspective projection is programmed to provide a seamless 3D stereoscopic panorama for a few centrally positioned viewers. We wear inexpensive plastic polarized glasses to view the 3D stereo images. When used for studio review sessions, the current IEL configuration can accommodate up to about twenty participants. The farther off-center a viewer is located, the greater the perspective distortion, and the more apparent the central seam becomes.

For each screen, 2 stereo converter & 2 ultralight projector provide polarized passive stereo image. A Windows computer, with dual Xeon processors and a dual-headed 3Dlabs Wildcat III 6210 OpenGL graphics accelerator, serves as the graphics host. A joystick allows intuitive navigation for scenes displayed in VR mode. Interior view displayed in immersive VR mode across both IEL screens.

Application and Results The students begin by buildings models in form-Z from auto-des-sys, which they already apply in their design studios. Then they export the form-Z models as VRML2, a standard 3D data description & exchange format using the form-Z’s existing export options. VRML models are viewed and navigated at human scale using NavLoader. The NavLoader allow students to position themselves within their designs, to view from multiple angles, and to zoom into and out of various spatial connections and details. They can move around and through their designed spaces in real time.

The stereoscopic display provides depth cues that further enhance their immersive experience of the space. Texture rendering makes materials appear real, so students can explore issues of structure, materials, and space simultaneously. Second-year design student presents her work during virtual review session.

Future Developments We are designing and constructing a three-screen framework to improve peripheral surround and to accommodate larger audiences. The new design uses mirrors behind the viewing screens to reduce the space required for rear-screen projection. The third screen requires the development of multiple-CPU approaches to graphics rendering and display . IEL equipped with 3 screens.