Do architects still rely on blueprints and sketches to map out their ideas, or has VR completely changed the game?
Let’s figure it out.
Why Architecture Is an Art, Not Just Construction
Architecture isn’t just about bricks and cement; it’s full of stories, emotions, and passion. Historical architecture, especially from the Renaissance, shows how human it is; a way to express ourselves.
I remember once writing an article about what art is. My idea was that it’s anything we create to express ourselves and connect with each other. Art tells stories; stories about us and the things that matter to us.
Seen this way, architecture is definitely art. And if it’s art, visuals matter. Now imagine experiencing it in VR—almost like being there in real life.
How can VR save money and prevent design mistakes?
One of our relatives just bought a new sofa. At first, she was so excited, but as time went on she realized it was taking up way too much space. One day she had her husband move it to the left, the next day to the right—and as I’m writing this, it’s still going on. Poor guy.
At first I thought, oh my Gosh, didn’t she know her living room was too small for that sofa? But when I thought more about it, it wasn’t really her fault. There was this empty spot in the room, and she just wanted to fill it. The problem is, most of us aren’t that great at imagining how furniture will actually fit. It really needs a bit of math. If she had measured the sofa and the room properly, she would have known exactly how much space it would take up instead of just relying on her imagination. Besides measuring, if she had a way to actually see that sofa in her living room and walk around it to check how it looked, I guess she wouldn’t have bought it.
Now she’s stuck: she spent a lot on that sofa, and if she tries to sell it, it won’t be for the same price. Unfortunately, it’s a little too late.
As a matter of fact, there’s already the option to see furniture and home designs in VR. You can walk through your house and check how things look once they’re arranged a certain way. That way, you avoid problems like this and save money. Take our brown closet at home, I hate nothing more than that thing. Women are super sensitive about home decoration, especially when it comes to color. I didn’t even buy it myself, but I really wish the previous owner had a VR headset back then; if they could’ve seen how ugly it looks in the room, maybe they wouldn’t have bought it in the first place.
VR can also help settle arguments about home design. What one person imagines and what another person sees in their mind is different, and that’s often the source of conflict when it comes to home design. Like I can’t tell you how frustrated we are with our home design. Just last night, my husband and I were arguing over which built-in closet to choose: the measurements, the designs, everything. He doesn’t agree with me because, in his mind, my ideas are terrible. But honestly, if I could just put a VR headset on him and walk him through my imagined design, it would solve a lot of problems.
Why is VR becoming essential in architecture and design today?
Just a couple of weeks ago, my sister-in-law and I were talking about home decoration and how to make it look nicer. Her husband said it’s not important to him since he hardly spends time at home, and only comes home to sleep because he’s working all the time.
Poor guy, right? Well, that seems to be the story for most men. But what about women’s perspective? My sister-in-law and I agreed that, unlike men, we spend most of our lives at home. So, we want it to look nice, warm, and inviting.
So it’s not surprising that in interior decoration, trends come and go quickly. Something that’s fashionable today might be outdated in a few years. This happens in many fields, but in architecture and home design, it’s especially fascinating. Designers who use new tools to boost their creativity definitely have an edge over those who don’t. In today’s global economy, you’re not just competing with local designers—you’re competing with people all over the world.
Can VR make designers more creative?
Sometimes I get new ideas for cooking, but when I try them out they don’t turn out well. Then I end up wishing I had just stuck with my usual recipe. Because of that, I’ve become kind of unadventurous with cooking; I don’t try new recipes much anymore, mostly because I’m afraid the whole family will go hungry if it flops.
Of course, VR can’t really help with cooking; at the end of the day, you need to eat and taste the food, it’s not about appearances. But home design is the opposite. It’s all about how things look. That’s where VR can make a huge difference, both for designers and for customers.
Why do I avoid trying new recipes?
Because I don’t want to waste ingredients. And I think designers feel the same way, they don’t want to waste time, money, or effort on something that might not work. But with VR, they can safely test their ideas first, see how it looks, check if it’s creative or not. And that freedom can really foster creativity. How does VR help
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architects show their ideas more clearly?
Santiago Calatrava, the acclaimed Spanish architect, didn’t start out thinking, “I’m going to build houses.” As a kid, he was fascinated by drawing. He started as an artist, and by chance, he found a booklet in a stationery store –my heaven, by the way– about the work of the great architect Le Corbusier. He was fascinated, and that marked the beginning of his long apprenticeship in architecture.
Santiago Calatrava was one of those architects who always started with sketches on paper. Architects usually use 2D drawings or blueprints; today, with VR and AI, you don’t have to just stick to paper, you can stretch your ideas and bring them to life.
But why? Because getting people to accept your revolutionary and unconventional ideas is never easy. Got bold ideas? Then use every tool at your disposal to make them real and convincing.
Take Calatrava’s movable building, for example. On paper, it sounds crazy. How could a building actually move? But it’s real. Santiago Calatrava built it.
Before you can bring your ideas to life, you have to convince clients and investors, and it’s never been easy for any inventor throughout history. But in 3D or VR, you can actually visualize it. Suddenly, the idea feels real, tangible, and you can spot challenges or possibilities you wouldn’t notice otherwise. You can walk your team or clients through it, test it, and refine it.
Has VR really been beneficial to architects?
The biggest question is whether VR has actually been beneficial to architects. Because if it doesn’t make even the slightest difference, then why spend money on it? I’ll answer this through a study—since studies are my favorite way of making an argument, and they’re reliable.
A recent study explored how VR can help students in architecture design studios. Two groups of students worked on projects of similar complexity: one designed a Business Center, and the other a District Museum. To sum up, at the end of the study students reported an average or above-average effect of using VR in their design process. Interestingly, no one reported a low effect.
It showed that using VR in architecture increased students’ awareness of the structure and how its parts fit together. Students said in their presentations and discussions that using VR increased their awareness of the structural system and its elements during design activities.
VR helped these students add more details and make more modifications in their designs.
VR has recently been used extensively in architecture because it’s much easier and cheaper to design and modify a building in a virtual environment before constructing it physically. Walking inside and around the building in VR helps architects in many ways, from spotting design flaws to testing spatial flow and functionality.
One cool thing VR did for architecture is make it way easier for architects and clients to work together. Clients can step right into the design, make choices faster, and give feedback on the spot.
Can VR and AI together change how architects design buildings?
For most fields, AI can feel scary; not because it’s going to eat people alive, but because it’s new and unfamiliar, and humans are always wary of the unknown. We don’t fully understand it yet, which makes it intimidating. It’s kind of like electricity when it first came out—back then, 80 percent of people thought it was evil. AI has huge potential to help solve many of today’s problems. Sure, it’s already taking some jobs, and recent studies show it’s affecting younger workers in particular, but we can’t ignore the benefits it brings. For example, AI-driven self-driving cars have lower accident rates than human drivers, which means fewer people die on the roads. Surgical AI machines also make far fewer mistakes during operations, again saving lives. Architecture is no different, AI can help us in many ways. But exactly how can it do that?
Earlier, I talked about how VR helps architects by letting them step inside and test their designs. Now, throw AI into the mix, and it really changes everything. AI can handle all the boring, repetitive stuff. You just feed it things like space, materials, or budget, and it comes up with a bunch of design options that fit perfectly. It basically gives architects more freedom to get creative and work smarter.
Virtual reality (VR) is transforming how we interact with and understand our world. It can help in a lot of ways, like calculating energy efficiency, figuring out how daylight spreads through a space, and more. This ability to simulate complex environments and data is key to the Future of virtual reality, where it won’t just be for gaming and entertainment, but for practical applications in architecture, engineering, and scientific research
Cost and Time Efficiency
Shopping is such a joyful thing for me, whenever I feel down, going out to the bazaar and buying something just lifts my mood. Honestly, it works better for me than a lot of self-help stuff like ‘love yourself’ or ‘love others.’ But shopping has its own stresses too. Just recently, someone told me that buying things is hard for her, and she often regrets purchases afterward. When I asked why, she said she doesn’t think carefully before buying. My husband and I are the opposite, we pay a lot of attention when we shop. We don’t want to waste our hard-earned money on stuff that isn’t worth it, so we always make sure what we’re buying is actually valuable. Which brings me to the question: Is VR Reality really worth it for architects?
At the start, VR requires an investment in hardware and software, but later it can really save a lot, preventing miscommunication, design flaws, and other costly mistakes. The answer? Definitely yes.
How can VR help architects design more sustainable and eco-friendly buildings?
A decade ago, we lived in a house that wasn’t sustainable at all. Winters felt like Siberia—we had to crank up the heater, and the bills were really high. When the house was built, no thought went into making it energy-efficient, and it made our lives miserable. The cold winters brought a lot of illnesses, and we had to wear extra layers all the time, which was really uncomfortable.
Nowadays, sustainable design is super important. But how exactly can VR help? With VR, architects can test all sorts of energy-saving ideas—like how sunlight moves through a room or how air flows for ventilation—before the house is even built. That stuff really affects how comfortable we feel inside. Take our current house, for example. Unlike our old place, it gets insanely hot in the summer. They tried to add ventilation and other solutions, but it’s still way too warm. VR would let architects experiment with different setups, try tons of ideas, and come up with smarter, more creative ways to keep a house comfortable.
Saving energy is more important now than at any point in history. As humans, we’re seriously damaging the planet. Most of the energy we use in houses comes from non-renewable sources, and eventually it will run out. On top of that, there’s all the greenhouse gas being released. That’s why it’s crucial to use every technology we can to tackle this problem. It’s probably hard to measure exactly how much energy is wasted—not just in homes, but in factories and plants too—but reducing that waste would do a huge favor for humanity. Just look at the weather this year: even normally cold places are unbearably warm compared to previous years.
Hope this article helped! If you’re an architect or a designer just hit me up on WhatsApp and we can chat.
How does VR change the way architects visualize and present their designs?
VR lets architects step inside their designs and show clients exactly what it’ll feel like, making it way easier to understand and get excited about.
Can VR help clients make better decisions about interior design before any construction begins?
Yes. It’s not uncommon for designers to get frustrated with clients who keep changing things. With VR, clients can see every possible design upfront and give their feedback once and for all, so after it’s built, there won’t be any annoying extra revisions.
Can VR help detect design flaws that might be missed in traditional plans?
Yeah, VR can help spot design flaws that might get missed on paper, because you can actually walk through the space.
How does VR impact creativity for architects and interior designers?
VR gives architects more possibilities, kind of like what AI does for writers. AI helps writers come up with ideas they couldn’t think of on their own, and VR does the same for architects, letting them explore designs they might never imagine otherwise.
Can VR help architects and designers experiment with bold, unconventional ideas safely?
Architects won’t have to shy away from bold or controversial ideas anymore because they know VR gives them a way to show that their ideas can actually work.
How might VR influence the future of sustainable or efficient design?
VR can let architects test things like energy use, natural light, and airflow before building, so they can make smarter, more sustainable designs from the start.
