This is a presentation version of our white paper on Buildingscapes, - Immersive Worlds for the Built Environment. Working form the specifics of our work on the Library of Birmingham it looks at how immersive models can bring benefits to almost any building project - and save costs.

1. Buildingscapes
Immersive Worlds and the Built
Environment
© 2013 www .daden.co.uk

2. Introduction
 “3D” modelling is becoming an increasingly
common technology within the built
environment industry
 We are also seeing more and more interest in
Building Information Modelling (BIM), which is
almost predicated on 3D
 However we believe that these tools only cover
2 perspectives on the built environment – those
of the architect and of the builder.
 There is a need to provide the third key group –
the users of the building or environment – with
the tools to enable them explore, trial and
comment on the build itself.
“Rework costs—including
labor, materials, equipment
and subcontractors—can run
from 2% to 20% of a project's
total contract amount.
That equates to an estimated
total of $15 billion a year in
the US alone, according to
the Construction Industry
Institute.
Some construction industry
executives and consultants
call the CII's annual dollar
estimates low. "The $15-
billion figure is a drop in the
bucket," said one
construction management-
consulting firm.”
- Engineering News Record,
Nov 2012

3. The Cost of Rework
If the design isn't right how much is it going to cost the builder, or the client,
to put things right? Figures appear to be hard to come by but here are a few
that we found:
 “Around 20-25% of the total construction period is wasted due to design deficiencies.”
 “The Construction Task Force in the UK reported that up to 30% of construction is related to rework” -
The Egan Report
 “The costs of rework can range from 4% to 12% of the total budget.“
 “The costs of rework could be as high as 15% of the total budget “
 “The total mean cost of rework as a percentage of the original contract value for new build project and
refurbishment/renovation projects was 4.89% and 6.28% respectively”
 “Causes of rework related to People could be responsible for up to 60% of the rework costs.”
 “Around 78% of quality problems in AEC are design related, and from a cost point of view design-
caused defects form the largest category”
If we can get the design right early, even if necessary after the build has
started, then there are considerable cost savings to be made. We believe
that immersive environments can help you achieve this.

4. The “3 Ring” Model
 We can see the need for 3 models in a built environment project –
ideally sharing data, information and even 3D renders, but each
speaking to a different audience and providing different functionality

5. Immersive Environments
 A real sense of “being there” -
regardless of the technology being
used
 Somewhere that lets users wander
where ever they want, meet with
other people and potentially carry
out real-world tasks and make
changes to environment
 NOT a virtual world (eg Second
Life), or needing special hardware
(eg CAVEs and 3D screens), or
Virtual Reality (with fancy
headsets), or a Game or Serious
Game – but may support any or all
of these
 A subjective experience

6. Virtual Millennium Point
Built by Daden in 2008 for Birmingham City
University (BCU). The virtual Millennium
Point was a copy of its real-life namesake in
Birmingham. The physical building covers
37,000 sq m.
All of the public spaces in the building were
detailed, plus additional classrooms and
workshops within the build. We also detailed
the exterior car-park and the old Curzon St
Station and its surrounding wasteland
(which is where the HS2 terminal is
proposed to be).
The main aim of the model was to support
student media training, but overseas visitors
to events at BCU also found the model
useful to familiarise themselves with the
building prior to visiting, and reported a real
sense of deja vu on arrival.

7. Why an Immersive Build?
 Save cost (and time) by reducing rework.
 Users and stakeholders are more engaged and have
a real say and influence in the process, helping to
design and build the space they will use – resulting in
improved client satisfaction (which may mean higher
revenues or reduced churn costs)
 Dispute risks are reduced due to a greater shared
understanding at all levels on all sides during the
project
 Operating risks are reduced as you've been able to
virtually practice evacuations, health and safety and
emergency management, and even inform the
security planning of the building
 Shared across different parts of the business to
provide further benefits during live use (including
training, security, change management)
 Support refit and new build projects – e.g. creating
virtual “white rooms”
For a nice summary of rework
studies see “Reducing Rework
to Enhance Project
Performance Levels” by
Ekambaram Palaneeswaran of
the University of Hong Kong.
(http://www.civil.hku.hk/cicid/3_
events/48/papers/5.pdf )
Rework can run at anywhere
between 2% and 20% - the
higher ranges for the more
complex builds (which are our
principal concern). So on a
£50m project with 15% rework
that's £7.5m. If we could reduce
rework by a only 10%, from
15% to 13.5% through the use
of an immersive environment
that's a £750k saving, against
an immersive environment
project cost of £50k - £100k.
And that's before we take into
account any other benefits of
the immersive environment.

8. Library of Birmingham
The new central Library for Birmingham
opened on 3rd Sept 2013 but from late 2010
Library staff were able to use an immersive
model built by Daden to explore the building
and plan how they would use it.
Whilst initially conceived as supporting
community engagement (where it was a great
hit with the younger generation) the model
came into its own as a planning tool,
informing the internal fit-out and helping staff
and sub-contractors understand how best to
position fixtures and fittings, from signage to
Wifi.
Brian Gambles, Project Manager, said “This
has proved a powerful tool for the project
team and staff in developing the new library,
enabling us to get a really good feel for how
the spaces in the new building will work that
would not otherwise be possible."
See our website for a fuller case study.

9. Benefits beyond BIM/CAD #1
 The user is often embodied in the world as an avatar, rather than having
just a “camera” view – so gaining a more subjective, first-person, view of
the environment
 The user can go where they like, and interact with the build, it's not just a
fixed fly-through
 The environment is multi-user, so up to around 100 users can interact
with each other in a single instance of the build – supporting collaborative
working and consultation, and team training
 The visual impact can be closer to that of the high-end architects fly-
through – yet rendered in real time – than the flat imagery of most CAD
3D visualisations
 Controlled changes (eg to fittings and partitions not concrete and steel)
can be made in-world and are instantly visible to other users, and can be
fed back to BIM
 Objects can be made interactive, from doors and lifts to even linking
computers to real computer applications, and signs to real signage
systems, letting users practice real use

10. Benefits beyond BIM/CAD #2
 Building environmental and performance data can be imported (eg from
BIM), and visualised in new and effective ways
 Users can annotate the space, feeding back comments which can be
automatically collated
 Users can be tracked through the building, and their interactions with its
systems logged – helping to understand future traffic flows
 Users can choose between configurations and vote on them
 The virtual building can actually be put to “live use”, e.g. for entertainment
or training
 The building can be cloned to create multiple copies to explore what-ifs
or to cater for different user groups

11. Going Mobile
Immersive environments are built on game
engines, and since much gaming now happens on
mobile devices it should come as no surprise that
we can also deliver immersive environments, both
single and multi-user, onto mobile devices.
Given the likely need for visual detail tablet
computers (iPad or Android) are probably best
suited to mobile use, although we have also
deployed applications onto smartphone sized
devices.
Depending on the build we may need to constrain
some of the model detail and texturing, but this
tends to be consistent with the smaller display.
One big advantage of the mobile device is to use
the immersive model whilst actually in the physical
building. This can help stakeholders envisage
changes to an even higher degree, and lets you
stand inside the building whilst viewing it from
outside at the same time.
A logical next step in this direction is a move into
augmented reality – see a later sidebar.

12. Different Uses #1
One of the biggest advantages of getting a 3D model into an
immersive environment is that there is a wide range of ways in which
that model can then be used, each talking to a different community of
interest, or to a different phase in the project.
In the following slides we identify 14 different uses, and there are no
doubt others.

13. Different Uses #2
Planning – working out how the build will
rework in the context of the local built
environment
Consultation – taking the model on the road
and allowing public access to gather views
from across the community, virtual “planning
for real”
Project Management – holding virtual meetings
actually in the build. Working with sub-
contractors.
Social – what is it like to actually use the
space. Are escalators and signage OK.
Where are the toilets?

14. Different Uses #3
Security – overlay CCTV, access control and
other feeds, giving security staff a better
planning tool & greater situational awareness
Environment – overlay environmental data
feeds and models, giving users and managers
a visceral sense of the environmental data
Disabilities – let users (and project staff) try
accessing the build in wheelchairs, reduced
mobility and other challenges
Services – visualise E&M systems from BIM
and other data and link into back-end systems
to support maintenance engineers

15. Different Uses #4
Navigation – use the model to support touch-
screen, kiosk and mobile navigation aids and
systems
Training – from business-as-usual training for
staff, through health & safety and fire
evacuation, to major incident training
Live Services Delivery – use the model to
deliver real services pre and post build – such
as virtual performance and conferences
Simulation – visualise the output from
business process simulation systems, crowd
models and other simulations

16. Different Uses #5
Whole Life – from initial ideas to demolition,
the immersive model can support planners,
owners, maintainers, managers and users
through the whole life of the building
Retrofit – support the planning of through-life
redesign and retrofit, creating “white room”
models and then building back up

17. Training in Virtual Worlds
Whilst this white paper is primarily about immersive
environments for building visualisation, they can
also provide the ideal environment for certain kinds
of training. This enables the building model to be
cost-justified not only on the original build project
but also on the ongoing training needs of the
resident organisation. This training may range from
Health & Safety and evacuation emergency
management, to customer services and operations
and operational modelling.
The images at right show a training exercise
created by Daden for New York City's Office of
Emergency Management for hurricane training
which takes place in a model of a US public school
building.
For more information on the use of virtual worlds for
training please download our white paper on
“Training and Education in Immersive
Environments” from our website.

18. Different Scales
We don't have to build single buildings or at 1:1 scale...
1:1 high detail airport terminal model 1:1 model of 100 sq km of Lake District
Floor model of Birmingham City Centre
(Planning-for-Real style)
Table top model of a London cityscape

19. Consultation Systems
A 3D model is very pretty, but that's all it is if we can't
use it to gather information as part of a formal or
informal consultation process. Within a immersive
environment we can deploy a variety of consultation
support systems, including:
 A room by room guide to help users explore the build
 Surveys at specific locations, or prompted through
the whole build
 Voting systems that allow users to vote for/against
features, or log likes and dislikes
 Annotated Spaces – a 3D Post-It note system to
collect user comments, and show them in 3D and 2D
space
 A configurator, allowing users to view and vote on
different configuration options for each space
Taken together these tools can add real value to your
community engagement projects and provide
actionable insight into what clients, users and other
stakeholders think of the build.

20. Standards, BIM and Models
If we are to have a “three-ring” model, then it's important that we can share
data and models between the different user communities, and the different
3D environments. There are a number of initiatives and de facto standards
that are helping towards this:
But key to the success of any of these is trust within the supply chain,
trusting in the data that you are provided with, and not recreating your own.
 Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a major initiative in the AEC
community to establish standards and repositories for the interchange of
digital (including 3D) data.
 CityGML is a markup language that has been designed for the built
environment. As such it represents a link between the detailed 3D
models of buildings generated by a system like 3D Studio Max, and the
2D large area layouts created within a Geographic Information System
(GIS).
 FBX and Collada are two 3D modelling standards supported by both
existing AEC tools and many immersive worlds and game engines

21. Virtual and Augmented Reality
Whilst our main interest in immersive environments
is in delivering them to ordinary PCs and tablets we
are always interested in novel display technologies.
There are three that we are currently exploring and
have interfaced to our projects ready for when
clients need them:
Virtual Reality headsets (such as the Oculus Rift
above) are now becoming highly affordable (sub
£400) and of usable quality, and have head-tracking
built in. This means that you can get a real “being
there” sense of what a new build will look like.
CAVEs are rooms whose walls are large projection
screens – typically 3 or 6 sides of life-size video. Our
Buildingscapes can drive these environments letting
you walk through a truly life-size version of your
build.
Augmented Reality is where we use a tablet or
smartphone to overlay the virtual model on the real
build (or there space where that build will be). Again
immersive environments can provide the ideal basis
for an augmented reality exploration of your build.

22. Virtual People
Virtual environments need virtual people if they are going to feel lived in,
and give an accurate reflection of the final environment. We find that
there are three levels of “virtual people” we might need in a build. We
can use the same technology for each, or if budget or performance is
limited use different approaches at each level:
 Background colour – people in the distance, seen out
the corner of the eye, going about their daily business
to make the place seem lived-in
 Non-player characters (NPCs) – characters that the
user may briefly interact with – perhaps asking the way
somewhere, a character in a training exercise, or just a
friendly “hello” as they pass
 Feature NPCs – characters with whom the user can
have a lengthy conversation with and who can have
free movement around the build – such as a virtual
tour guide or receptionist.

23. TheatreBase
TheatreBase was a Birmingham Science City
funded project to look at how the Birmingham
Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Hippodrome
Theatre could use immersive environments,
primarily to assist in backstage management,
but also in areas such as training, education,
marketing and even performance.
As well as the front-of-house auditorium Daden
created the whole of the stage and backstage
space – right through to the loading lift for the
articulated lorries. We also built control systems
that enabled the backstage crew to simulate
moving sets and scenery from the lorry to the
stage, and then to layout the stage for each
scene and automatically switch from scene to
scene – watching the flats descend from the fly-
bars, and ensuring that fly-bar layouts matched
real-life spacings.
By the end of the project the staff were ready to
move from 2D to 3D, and could see the benefits
that such a move could bring.

24. A Typical Project
 Creating a whole-life immersive model is a project in itself
 When placed against the cost of the physical project, and the potential
savings it can offer, it need not be an expensive undertaking.
 Ideally start before the architectural design is complete (or even let) since
the virtual space provides an ideal prototyping environment.
 Absolutely key is embedding the model in the
day-to-day work of the build and transition
teams, and in the future working, planning and
management practices of the client.
 Done right the virtual build should be
constantly changing and evolving as the real
life use of the space changes.
 And cost? We find that our projects typically
range from £20k - £80k, a small cost as part of
a multi-million pound build project, particularly
when the potential savings in rework are
factored in.

25. Buildingscapes
Developed from our experience of working on the virtual Library and
other projects, Daden's Buildingscapes can provide you, your staff and
your stakeholders with an immersive, interactive 3D model of a new or
retrofit build, enabling all the social and user-experience issues of a
project to be planned and managed in this powerful new way. Key
features include:
For more information, please contact us.
 Import of architect and CAD 3D models
 Web, download or tablet PC/iPad
deployment
 Multi-user environment
 Place/build/change functionality for specific
groups and features
 Consultation tools with web integration
 Selected BIM data integration

26. Web: www.daden.co.uk
Email: info@daden.co.uk
Vimeo: www.daden.co.uk/vimeo
YouTube: www.youtube.com/dadenmedia
Twitter: @dadenlimited