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From schools to museums, homes to cities, architects have long been designing the spaces around us. As the world begins to merge seamlessly from the physical world into the meta world, it seems they now need to design spaces in the virtual world as well.
Architects’ understanding of 3D space is a highly sought-after skill among many of today’s XR (extended reality) startups when designing simulated environments. Many of them have a large number of architects on their design teams.
As the industry becomes increasingly saturated and traditional jobs become harder to find, many young architects are also finding openings in the XR space attractive.
3D design
The design team of Bengaluru-based XR startup AutoVRse consists mainly of architects.
“That’s one of the things that helps us ensure good design,” said Ashwin Jaishanker, co-founder of the startup, which currently has about 70 customers, including Bosch, Volvo, Shell, IFB, Tata Motors, Tower Power & Energy, Ultratech, etc.
VR, or virtual reality, is the next wave of technology and raising awareness in recruitment is also important, he said. Multiple reports show that the global VR market is expected to exceed US$200 billion by 2030.
“If you look at previous technologies, mobile apps were the main thing and developers were the most critical skills. But VR is different, it requires more architects,” he points out.
But what makes architects so popular with the VR industry?
Jaishanker said they have “an intuitive understanding of designing 3D spaces.”
“Their training is how to design 3D spaces. However, if you look at traditional designers working in technology companies, they are trained to design within the frame. The guidelines of UI/UX design make them more accustomed to working within the frame of the screen. Think,” he noted, sharing an interesting anecdote.
serendipitous solution
In the early days of AutoVRse, the team was looking for someone with a deep understanding of design and 3D, but didn’t have the budget to hire a leading interaction designer. Eventually, they met an architect who was trying to make it in gaming and invited him to be their first designer.
“It was only later that we realized we had stumbled upon the perfect solution,” Jaishanker recalls.
“Three or four years after hiring him, we were able to hire interaction designers, and we started interviewing people from more established design schools. We would give them the same tests as architects. But their answers lacked a basic Understanding, a sense of spatial design.” Jaishanker is quick to add that there may be exceptions.
He believes an architect’s ability to design spaces in the real world to ensure good flow of people can be easily transferred to virtual reality.
“The approach of interaction designers and UI/UX designers is very much towards an ‘action perspective’ – for example, minimizing the time it takes to have a certain interaction on your phone – rather than making it a happy space to exist in, Meet other people,” he noted.
Possibility of updating
Dayananda Sagar Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, IIHS External Consultant and Studio Vinami Collaborating Architect SN Vinutha believes that the XR industry can open up new possibilities for the architect community, which she believes is capable of doing any creative or design work.
“As students, we are told that architects are jacks of all trades and master of none. We know something about everything. We study art, the environment, climate, topography, landscape, people’s psychology, how space affects your daily life… So, I think we have a broader perspective,” she noted.
But there’s a problem. The industry is saturated.
“There are a lot of graduates, but there are very few jobs. Even in places like Bangalore and metropolitan cities, architecture firms are reducing architectural design and increasing interior design. It’s all high-rise buildings now and you can’t get a piece of land to do real work. architecture in the sense,” said Vinutha, adding that some architects have started working in photography, UI/UX design, coding, etc.
Some people start their own companies and studios, but not everyone has the financial resources to do so. Many people end up doing not enough work to make ends meet and to use their creativity.
“So, if VR offers a new possibility, why not?” she asked.
The larger 3D community benefits
Atish Patel, co-founder of Bangalore-based XR company InfiVR, believes that the XR industry has opened up new possibilities not only for architects, but also for the larger 3D designer community.
“Until now, 3D designers and artists, including architects and 3D modelers, have been working in engineering and gaming. “But now, with XR technology booming, the entire designer community will benefit. Designers of all kinds, from architects to interior designers to 3D modelers, will have access to these opportunities.”
Patel said that about 30% to 40% of his team are 3D designers. He noted that they include architects, interior designers and other 3D modelers.
Evolving ecosystem
AutoVRse’s Jaishanker said virtual reality also offers architects the possibility to work without the constraints of the real world.
“We give them the ability to do whatever they want while also breaking the rules of reality. The construction industry has its own set of problems and is not always very welcoming to new students. When we recruit, we tell They, they’re not bound by the laws of reality, they don’t have to design pipelines to ultimately realize their dream project. I think that’s attractive to some people,” he noted.
While VR has so far recruited architects through direct applications and referrals, Jaishanker noted that the company also hopes to recruit on campus. However, there are challenges.
“We are trying to work with institutions to ask people to go out of their own imagined career paths. We want to recruit on campus, but architecture students have to intern with licensed architects in their final year, and we don’t. So we’ve been recruiting through Recruitment is based on recommendations and applications received,” he said.
InfiVR’s Patel believes that the flow of 3D designers in the VR industry has not yet reached its peak, but he believes that as the ecosystem matures, more people will start to move in this direction. In the recent budget, the Karnataka government proposed an investment of Rs 150 crore in the revised AVGC-XR policy aimed at creating employment opportunities and talent pool, and also included plans for AVGC-XR parks.
“We have seen some good traction recently. In fact, many times, many professors from these institutions do come to us to conduct seminars, courses, etc. But I still see that there is a bit of a lack in terms of exposure and understanding. But as As the entire ecosystem grows, more and more people will start looking at this as their future and career path,” said Patel.
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