Virtual Reality has great potential in construction to support and enhance the process of designing, planning, and building. Architectural projects have an interesting combination of challenges; between the complexity, the infinite number of possibilities, the cost involved, and the abstraction level of typical architectural plans, it can be hard for the typical customer to really understand what they are buying.

Virtual Reality has the ability to provide a life-like preproduction of the architectural space that can be presented, explored, and understood before a single piece of earth has to be moved. Architectural applications are also a prime example of how multi-user, immersive environments like a CAVE can enable discussion and meaningful review.

Researchers at the EAC have worked with a local construction company, Nabholz, to provide a virtual version of a building that has not left the planning stages. The project (a Zoo) is a new direction for the clients and having this virtual representation allows them to better address any concerns they may have with the design.