On August 28, creative visualization studio Kilograph was recognized by CGarchitect’s 2018 Architectural 3D Awards Competition for its Suspension House project.
Suspension House is a collaboration with San Francisco-based architectural practice Fougeron Architecture. Kilograph was initially commissioned by the firm for marketing illustrations but made the case that a virtual experience would allow the client to fully comprehend the relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces.
Fougeron Architecture’s Suspension House proposal is located in Napa, California, suspended above a slow-moving creek and between two verdant green hills. The viewer is able to explore the VR-based project rendering and its immediate surroundings, as well as weather and time of day.
The multi-sensory VR experience includes 3D sound simulations of surrounding natural and man-made phenomenon, including rainfall, birds chirping and electronic devices.
According to Keely Colcleugh, founder and CEO of Kilograph, the visualization studio “hoped to incorporate a Leap Motion system that allowed views to touch virtual navigation icons (paintings, radio buttons) in VR as a way to modify their environments.” The aim of this approach was to avoid the inclusion of controllers and a floating HUD, which are commonly used by other VR providers. Kilograph struck an intermediate solution, users can change their environment by gazing at an object within the rendering for a certain period of time.
In this circumstance, Kilograph’s multi-sensory VR experience is confined to a relatively small area. However, Cocleugh hopes to translate the program into one potentially communicating design to the public, making “the process of exploring an architectural project more playful (using elements like a crystal ball), memorable, and engaging.”