Virtual tours become reality

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One of the toughest challenges you'll face during the redesign and/or construction of your new home is visualizing architectural and design ideas from paper into the finished space in your mind's eye.

Architects, designers and builders have developed the ability to 'see' a space on paper, an ability which comes from years of experience and having personally taken hundreds of spaces and watched them grow from concept to reality.

An untrained eye cannot be expected to visualize space from a blueprint -- so thank goodness for the invention of the showhome.

The only downfall of the showhome may be it's not the same plan as you are looking to build. But what if there could be a show-home for every set of blueprints, giving you a better sense of what your finished home will look like?

Actually, the opportunity to wander down your new halls and stand in front of the kitchen window and gaze out onto your new community is a reality -- a virtual reality.

Today, builders have access to technology allowing you to 'test drive' your home.

Architectural animation and 3-D renderings help dissolve your buying fears by giving you a virtual tour of your new home.

Imagine being able to sit in your potential new living room and enjoy the romantic glow of the fireplace before construction begins.

Or seeing how different window styles, mouldings, door designs, lighting fixtures and even paint colours look before committing to them.

Joe Grasso, of Pacificom Multimedia Inc., says technology can take you home before your home is actually built.

"We can give you the opportunity to completely visualize your new community and your new home," says Grasso.

"Architectural animation provides a very real representation of what your home could look like prior to the foundation even being poured.

A scaled, 3-D animation is created using the actual blueprints from your home. Everything is drawn accurately to scale.

You can even place your existing furniture into the picture. This is movie industry technology, brought into your home."

Some techno-savvy builders have been employing this technology, helping their customers make more informed and confident buying decisions, for the last four to five years. "New home purchasers and renovators are becoming more aware the technology is available and are starting to demand to 'see their home in motion', not accepting static renderings," says Grasso.

How much does this technology cost? Computer animators charge approximately $100 per hour. For an average 2,500-sq.-ft. home, the cost is $3,000 to $6,000 depending on the required amount of detail.

Is it worth the money? Consider how much one redo will cost you. For example, the fireplace design is out of proportion for the room, or there is not enough room for the new grand piano you just purchased, or after the house is built you notice one of the living-room windows should have been larger to let you enjoy more of the great view, or you dislike the paint colour you choose.

These types of things can be corrected with architectural animation.

If your builder or designer does not offer this technology, you can hire your own animator.

"Quality animators produce very real renderings. The best animators use photo realistic 3-D props -- plants, lamps, furniture and accessories in their renderings," says Grasso.

"You'll also want the animator to include renderings of both interior and exterior views as well as renderings in a variety of lighting situations. It's amazing how different a view looks in the daylight, at dusk and then in the evening."

This isn't the future of construction, it's a reality, giving us the opportunity to walk through our neighbourhoods and through a potential new home on our computers before ever lifting a hammer.