As we draw to the close of another project it is always good to reflect.

Consumers of our blog so far will know that we use the Samsung Gear product range as part of our design process. So in this case the S7 Edge phone and the 1st generation of the 360 camera paired with the second generation headset and handset.

All good , but today I will describe why we use it. So let’s be very blunt and pragmatic:

The builder has his tools and so does the architect: 360 camera on a tripod

360 Image that becomes immersive in a VR headset

The Edge phone – Good camera for recording site images on the move, connects to 360 camera, facilitates Whatsapping all images to team members and sharing to dropbox archive.
360 Camera – Takes images that are easily processed by the phone. These immersive 360 degree images are then sent from phone to team to assess and comment. Paired with the standard 2D photos (which hone in on key areas) create a comprehensive site record.
The Headset and Handset – Translate the data and allow the end user to look around the space and slideshow though the 360 degree photo set.

So as a site to tool this process records and fosters team conversation or is used to look back, contractually, at site progress. You really could consider them to be useful, if not essential tools for achieving this end.

This however is just one way that we use it, what we get back is not just quantifiable, but there is an element of qualitative possibility that is too irresistible not to explore:

As you put the headset on it distils a moment in time. You have no movement, if you have taken the photo in still and not video mode, you can look in every conceivable direction and are instantly forced to reflect on place. It is as if you are frozen in time. You have a moment of calm to meditate on where you are.

As you move in slideshow mode from the loft conversion to the bedroom, bathroom to hall, porch to kitchen/living/dining area and internal to external spaces something special happens.

You are not recording a site but are feeling the sense of a home being reinvigorated in one old room or extended and created to make something new.

A home forms before your eyes. And this is the key to domestic architecture. It is the creation through process of a sense of place and of a quality that become the home.

So it fits our studio meditation that:

Our design approach is inside out and functionally driven, you can only ‘feel’ the true essence of the design when you use the space and walk in it.
We will always make the external aesthetic beautiful, balanced and measured.
And our real strength is in the unsung and unspoken part of the building project is the programming of the spaces and the cost management. (something that the occupants/or family can truly appreciate, by living through the process and experiencing great design).

“Anyone can make a building look reasonably pretty, but what make a building a true home comes from the soul of the house and in essence the family that live in it”. We aim to help you realise this.