WRITTEN BY CAROLINE KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY BY AGORA ARCHITECTURE
MAKING VIRTUAL REALITY THE NEW REALITY OF ARCHITECTURE HUMBLE BEGINNINGS WITH AN EXPLOSIVE FUTURE 2 | ArchitectBlueprint.comâ„¢
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A
gora Architecture makes
Architecture
reference to their 1924
clients old and new. With 75% of
building under construction.
beginnings
being
their total clientele being returning
Right: Technology Building
“humble yet explosive.” Since then,
customers, it is evident they are
rendering and building under
they have relied on their legacy of
doing something right.
construction.
as
has
been
serving
Above: Short Cowley College
success to continue moving forward
Intro to Cowley
in the world of architecture. Based
College Project
in Winfield, Kansas, the Agora team
Agora undertook a large-scale
is dedicated to the success of their
project in their home state of
Architect on the project, Cheri
firm and utilizes state of the art
Kansas by designing two new
Hulse, worked with other members
technology, such as virtual reality,
education centers and a courtyard
of the design team to flawlessly
to continue their success into the
gathering space for Cowley College
integrate virtual reality into their
future. For the past 93 years, Agora
in Wellington, Kansas. The Principal
workflow
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and
thus
impressed
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their client and maximized their
and merge it with new technology.
Technology and Innovation Center,
effectiveness as a team. Hulse
This project was Agora’s first client
a 17,163 sq.ft. building, housing
and the design team were able
to desire virtual reality, making it a
instructional spaces for Information
to identify Cowley College as the
challenge that, in the end, profited
Technology, Agriculture, Welding,
perfect candidate to utilize this new
great success.
Machine
technology since they too wanted to push the envelope of education
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The project consisted of designing two
education
centers.
The
Tooling,
Mechatronics,
Non-Destructive Testing, as well as General Classroom and Science
Short General Education Center rendering of the 24,355 sq, ft. three story building that will house Classrooms, Lecture Spaces, Faculty Offices, Conference Rooms, a Student Resource Center, a Kitchen and Dining Area and a large Community Room.
Enscape to enhance the grass, trees, people, and building finishes. After creating this photorealistic visual experience, the rendering program was then uploaded to IrisVR’s Scope App for easy distribution and accessibility. Cowley College’s initial goal behind using virtual reality was to communicate the design of the buildings to potential donors. The college planned to unveil the design at a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new campus
and
expected
around
250 people to attend, including 25 dignitaries from the State of Kansas. This proved to be a large challenge with a successful finish.
The Unveiling Cowley College chose to use cardboard viewers for the event Lab space. The second building,
Dining Area, and a large Community
to make VR accessible to each
the
Room.
individual. Guests to the event
Short
General
Education
Center, is a 24,355 sq.ft., three-level
Virtual Reality
were able to leave with a viewer.
building that will house Classrooms,
Software Use
During the groundbreaking, these
Lecture Spaces, Faculty Offices,
The team utilized Revit, Autodesk
viewers were distributed along with
Student
Software, to create their models and
step-by-step instruction brochures
Resource Center, a Kitchen and
they utilized a Revit plug-in called
that were created to show how to
Conference
Rooms,
a
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Cheri A. Hulse, AIA A Partner and Principal Architect at Agora Architecture. She has over 20 years of Architectural experience on a variety of project types in various industries such as: Industrial, Educational, Healthcare, Restaurants, and Religious Facilities. She is the Lead Architect for the Cowley College project in Wellington, Kansas.
“We knew it would benefit the client in gaining funds and donor support as well as increase project communication and understanding for the client. However, we had no idea how much it would help us internally to refine our design and see what we were designing as we designed it.” Cheri Hulse Partner and Principal Architect - Agora Architecture
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Above: Precision manufacturing rendering. Below: Precision manufacturing under construction.
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download the Scope application,
Agora
donor
reality would exceed their goals
put in the code, and see the model
experience as well as the client
and expectations. Their confidence
in virtual reality. This allowed Agora
experience. They recognized the
in their technology paid off, as Jan
to create a virtual reality that was
importance of impressing both the
Grace with Cowley College raved,
easily accessed by a large amount
client as well as potential donors
“We needed to create excitement
of people in a short amount of
and thus were able to successfully
and allow the attendees to ‘visualize’
time. For those that were not able
show Phase 1 of the campus before
the future. This method created
to use their personal phone for
it was even built. The reaction of the
more excitement than anticipated!”
viewing,
previously
attendees was pure amazement and
Technology and Teamwork
set up devices available with the
awe. Not only were the attendees
Virtual reality is changing the way
assistance of student ambassadors
in awe, but even those that had
the Agora Architecture team works
from the college.
been a part of the design process
together. When one architect did
Redefining the
from the beginning were impressed
not fully understand or was not on
Client Experience
with this new technology. Agora felt
board with another’s idea, it was
Together with Cowley College,
confident that the benefits of virtual
very simple to view the model in
there
were
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redefined
the
virtual reality and get a definitive decision without wasting any time. Virtual reality also allowed Hulse and her team to make more informed decisions, such as changing the
“WE NEEDED TO CREATE
roofline on one of the buildings thanks to the ability to see
EXCITEMENT AND ALLOW THE
the need for modifications in virtual reality. Hulse shared the importance of virtual reality in her team’s decision-making stating, “By introducing virtual reality, we think we saved time both internally and externally with decision-making. We were able to button
ATTENDEES TO ‘VISUALIZE’ THE FUTURE. THIS METHOD CREATED MORE EXCITEMENT THAN ANTICIPATED!”
up schematic design in good time because the client was able to understand the design easily and give their approval.” As the second oldest and most experienced
JAN GRACE
firm in the state of Kansas, Agora continues to make their
COWLEY COLLEGE
mark utilizing traditions from their past while creating legacies for their future.
What's Your Architectural Dream? Convert your thoughts and dreams into reality by taking that first step.
Agora Architecture 800 Main Street, Suite 308 Winfield, Kansas, 67156 p: 620.221.3770 info@agoraarchitecture.com www.agoraarchitecture.com
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