The Real Unreal A New Frontier
By Dipen Patel
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index. 5
Purpose
7
An Introduction to the VR Platform
11
The Architects Design Work-flow
17
The Complex World of BIM
23
Data Driven Design
29
Objections and Alternatives
33
A New Era of Design
37
Sources
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purpose. As new technologies continue to emerge, the architecture industry struggles to integrate new methods to engage clients at a deeper level. Traditional methods such as renderings and elevations are shown to clients as a way of visualizing space. While these rendering engines are able to produce beautiful static images, traditional design visualization can only convey so much, even if that space is rendered at eye level. For all of history, humans have been entirely confined to a tangible space, but with an entirely new suite of virtual tools at our fingertips, surely we can transcend previous limitations. How can architecture adopt these powerful head-mounted displays in ways we can’t imagine? How can architecture firms take this virtual world beyond just a mere presentation tool and transform it into a design tool? While there is a big emphasis on using VR to wow clients, the true power of the technology will only be realized when the architect takes control, and it becomes an essential, integrated tool for design. Architects should implement powerful head mounted displays early on during the design process. This tool can prove to be an essential, influential, and integrated tool for design.
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INTRODUCTION THE VIRTUAL REALITY PLATFORM
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The goal is clear: It’s to make VR technology that’s as real as real life with none of the limitations.” 1 -Palmer Luckey, Founder of Oculus
irtual reality has already proven itself to be a versatile technology. Consider Facebook’s $2 billion acquisition of the industry poster child known as
Oculus in 2014. That acquisition signaled to tech companies everywhere that virtual reality was finally ready to be given some serious thought. What was once considered a promising technology for decades, has quickly changed in 2017 with the current wave of VR Products. Every major gaming platform is moving quickly to implement this technology as a way to attract a new generation of gamers who have come to expect more out of video games. Motion tracking the user has now been paired with a powerful headset and hand held controllers to create a unique user experience. Alongside this best known and most wow clients (which it does exceedingly well), the
1. Urstadt, Bryant, and Sarah Frier. “Welcome to Zuckerworld: Facebook’s really big plans for virtual reality.” Bloomberg Business week, July 27, 2016.
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obvious application, gaming, these head mounted displays are quickly being adopted by various industries. Mobile giant Samsung is already working on its third generation of the plug and play platform known as Samsung Gear VR. Other companies such as LG, Amazon, Google, HTC, and even Microsoft want some skin in the game with a so-called augmented reality headset called the HoloLens. As this VR trend continues to grow for the gaming industry, virtual reality is quickly being adopted by designers in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction industries as well. While we are still at the tip of the iceberg for what VR can do for design professionals, there is a huge trend towards these powerful head mounted displays. By simply placing a pair of these headsets on, “the wearer is instantly immersed in a true three-dimensional environment that gives an incredible sense of scale, depth and spatial awareness that simply cannot be matched by traditional renders, animations or physical-scale models.” 2 While there is currently a big emphasis on using VR to wow clients (which it does exceedingly well), the true power of this technology will only be realized when the architect takes control and it becomes an essential, integrated tool for design. This impact on the design process can be huge but only if VR can be used at the precise moments where it adds 2. Corke, Greg “Review: From Revit to VR.” AEC Magazine, February 3, 2017
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the most value. The “user of the CAD/BIM software must have full control over when to enter the virtual environment.”3 This gives architects the opportunity to explore alternatives, evaluate the impact of modifications on building design, and detect errors early.
3. Corke, Greg “Virtual Reality for architecture: a beginners guide” AEC Magazine, February 16, 2017
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Schematic Design
15%
Construction Documentation Bidding & Negotiation
45%
5%
Construction Administration 25%
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Design Development
10%
CLAIM 1 THE ARCHITECTS DESIGN WORK FLOW
“ A
Discovering issues weeks after a design has progressed can create delays and really ramp up costs” 4 -Greg Corke, AEC Magazine
lthough every architect has a unique design process when creating a new building, the process can be summarized with a few basic steps.
After meeting with a potential client and acquiring a new project, the pressure is on for the architect to quickly finish the design and hand over the blueprints to the contractor so that they can start construction. Most clients will expect a rapid completion date as each day that the project is delayed can cost the client more. The typical fee breakdown is divided as shown on the diagram on page 10 where most of the fee is collected during the construction documentation phase. This typical time line can been translated into how much time and resources a firm will use for each phase. Naturally, the design phase (Schematics & Design Development) is
4. Corke, Greg “Review: From Revit to VR.” AEC Magazine, February 3, 2017
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given a short time frame to come up with a big idea for the project. Architects spend a lot of time sketching, modeling, and drawing out multiple versions of what they expect the building to look like. Yet, its an all too familiar scenario: an architect enters a building for the first time and the space doesn’t quite match the vision of his or her design. However beautiful the renderings may have been or how nice the model looked, traditional design visualization can only convey so much. At Gensler, the design director and principal Hao Ko knows the feeling all to well, “you still have to make a translation in your mind, in terms of how tall this space is going to feel”.5 More often than not, “I’ll go to my own projects and be like, wow, that’s a lot bigger then I expected! You still have those moments.”6 This is where Virtual Reality can make a difference. It has the power to change the way architects design and communicate buildings before they are built. Strap on a pair of goggles and “the wearer is instantly immersed in a true three-dimensional environment that gives an incredible sense of scale, depth, and spatial awareness that simply cannot be matched”6 by traditional methods used by architects.
This is not to say that traditional methods such as
renders, animations, elevations, sketches, and physical-scale 5. Hao, Ko “Virtual Reality for Architecture”, AEC Magazine, February 16, 2017 6. Corke, Greg “Review: From Revit to VR.” AEC Magazine, February 3, 2017
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models will be replaced by VR. These will never be replaced in architecture as it allows architects to see the relationship of the building that VR cannot match. The ability of a physical model to see the building’s form with its surrounding context is not possible with VR since VR’s biggest advantage is experiencing design with correct proportion and scale. A traditional elevation drawing allows architects to see the entire facade in one flat drawing, enabling them to “compare relationships which otherwise can be distorted in a perspective.”7 A section drawing describes complex and hidden volumes allowing architects to look through multiple floors and see relationships that VR can’t provide. These traditional methods are what allow architects to understand relationships and details that cannot be replaced with virtual technology.
As firms worldwide are starting to adopt the
technology, it is far too common for architects to use VR as a presentation tool to wow clients. Clients, in particular, don’t have the ability to understand spatial relationships and scale simply by looking at a 2D plan or 3D model. In the same way that physical architecture can evoke a visceral response, so can virtual reality. Strap a VR headset on a client and let them explore the final design at their own pace. However impressive this may be to the client, chances are that “discovering issues 7. ACAD, “Architectural Elevation Drawings are more...”, The Engineering Design, July 27, 2016.
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weeks after a design has progressed can create delays and ramp up costs.”8 This is where firms need to take notice and use this technology when it matters the most. What if that same client was allowed to enter the design early on during the design process? By using VR early in the game, decisions can be made quicker, encouraging bold new ideas and more design iterations.
Architects must start taking virtual reality seriously
in the same way they use traditional design methods. If this powerful tool is integrated early on in the design process, it can provide a huge opportunity for architects to exist inside the space while designing. It is one thing to model a building in a 3D CAD system, but using VR to experience how it will feel and function can take design to a whole new level.
8. Corke, Greg “Review: From Revit to VR.” AEC Magazine, February 3, 2017
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CLAIM 2 THE COMPLEX WORLD OF BIM
“ F
Architecture at large has become an art of the printed image fixed by the hurried eye of the camera. Instead of experiencing our being in the world, we behold it from outside as spectators.”9 -Juhani Pallasmaa or current students of architecture, it is likely that they are required to learn about BIM. It is a common acronym that is thrown around in the AEC industry,
but what exactly is BIM? Either you know what it means or you don’t. Even if you think you do, there is still a good chance you don’t. According to Autodesk, BIM stands for “building information modeling, an intelligent 3D modeling process that gives architecture, engineering, and construction professionals the insight and tools to more efficiently plan, design, construct, and manage buildings and infrastructure.”10 Essentially, it is a smart 3D modeling technique that virtually every architecture firm is either using or trying to implement. Revit is the most predominant software that is built for BIM, used to help “designers design, simulate, visualize, and collaborate to
9. . Holl, Steven, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Alberto Pérez Gómez. Questions of perception: phenomenology of architecture. San Francisco, CA: William Stout Publishers, 2006 10.2017 Autodesk Website
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capitalize on the advantages of the interconnected data”11 within a BIM model.
We all know that BIM can optimize the delivery of
buildings by providing greater efficiencies at all stages of the building life-cycle. Revit is also one of the fastest ways to produce a full construction drawing set. This is partly why firms advocate its use early on in the design process. While Revit is great at streamlining the design process, helping design professionals to keep up with the fast pace construction time lines today, the bigger issue of BIM is that it does not encourage exploration of form, space, and aesthetics. It is easy to get lost in the modeling world and forget to take a step back to test the design and see whether it really works. “Architecture at large has become an art of the printed image fixed by the hurried eye of the camera.”12 Instead of experiencing the world from within, we behold it from the outside as spectators. This is where VR steps in and takes the reins.
The VR model can often be confused as being the
same as a rendering, in which one should have a photorealistic experience. One can argue that spatial realism is much more important than photorealism for architects, and while it is possible to have photo-realistic models, they often 11. Young, Norbert Jones, Stephen “The Business Value of BIM” McGraw Hill Construction, 2009 12. Holl, Steven, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Alberto Pérez Gómez. Questions of perception: phenomenology of architecture. San Francisco, CA: William Stout Publishers, 2006
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require a lot of polishing and a third party specialist. This begs an important question of how VR can become an essential tool for architects, especially if you have to hand off your BIM model to a specialist to work on. By the time you get your VRoptimised model back, the design will have evolved. For VR to become pervasive in the AEC sector, and used at the heart of design, it needs to be instant.
This is the approach taken by a New York City
based start-up company known as IrisVR, whose Prospect software is specifically designed to help architects take BIM into VR in minutes. “The idea is that whatever you see on screen inside your BIM software, you then see in VR. Simply press a button and the software takes care of everything: geometry optimization, materials, lighting and all.”13 This enables architects to effortlessly move between BIM and VR, and can truly revolutionize the way buildings are designed. At any stage of the design process, the architect can pop on a headset and instantly get a feeling of being inside the building. This simply cannot be matched by viewing a BIM model on screen. It is safe to assume that with the continued spotlight on BIM software, architects are likely going to continue to move into programs such as Revit early on during the design process. The competition is quickly rising and the 13. Corke, Greg “Review: From Revit to VR.” AEC Magazine, February 3, 2017
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importance of this push button work-flow from Revit to VR was highlighted when I had the opportunity of attending the first architecture technology expo held in New York City in 2017. This expo showcased the most cutting-edge products and software in the AEC industry. 60 percent of the companies that were represented had a VR demo paired with their own software which allowed BIM users to make the flip between the real and virtual worlds even easier. These companies have recognized that the work-flow between BIM software and VR should be further developed for design professionals, revolutionizing the way buildings are designed.
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CLAIM 3 DATA DRIVEN DESIGN
“ D
Kieran Timberlake was able to include data on systems requirements based on how they perform on Earth and transplant that to the virtual world.”14 -Kim A. O’Connell ata is everywhere in today’s world. In almost any industry there seems to be an increase of information collection to improve the end product.
The same can be said with the architecture industry. There is a huge pressure on architects to deliver not just a building, but a building that is smarter, more efficient, and can do more for the users and the environment. The key word in BIM is information; this information is what allows architects, engineers, contractors, and other consultants to all work in the same model efficiently. This collection of information in Revit allows one piece of data to change and automatically get updated in all views. This data can be used to make relationships where an object can be related to other objects, so that any change is reflected onto all related objects,
14. O’Connell Kim. “Kieran Timberlake is Using Virtual Reality to Design a Home for Future Life on Mars” Arch Daily, March 21, 2017.
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etc. Having access to BIM data inside a VR environment is a powerful capability. For example, markups could be fed directly back to the BIM model for easy design resolution. Models could be “displayed thematically, automatically colorcoded by member size, material type, construction status or availability in the supply chain.”15 The possibilities of pairing data with VR are endless, and we are just starting to get into what this technology can do for us.
One of the greatest responsibilities for the architect is
the safety of human life. No matter the building, the safety of its occupants comes before anything else. Once someone is immersed in a virtual environment where everything resembles reality, all normal and abnormal situations can be experimented and tested. In practice, VR “allows operators to test every abnormal situation that can be thought of, and both expected and predictable malfunctions can be tested to their entirety.”16 After all, learning from a virtual disaster can help avoid the real thing. Using this data from virtual scenarios, designers can go back and make any necessary changes to make safety management more effective.
The second way VR is being used is to track
collaboration in buildings before they are built. Ennead Architects based in New York City recently used VR and 15. Bouchlaghem, Dino, Jennifer Whyte, and Huiping Shang. Visualisation in architecture, engineering, and construction. Loughborough, UK: Elsevier, 2005. 16. Rovaglio, Maurizio. “The Role of Virtual Reality in the Process Industry.” Invensys, December 2015.
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avatars in a lab building to track the most common routes taken. This data was then taken and overlayed to produce a heat map that showed the most common paths taken by users. This same exercise could be done with multiple users to figure out the effectiveness of circulation and test if the layout is increasing collaboration or perhaps hindering it. Perhaps the most obvious way VR is being implemented with data is for collaboration with all stakeholders. By navigating the same model, each team can analyze the design from both a general and a more detailed perspective. Because everyone is using the same VR model, it is easier to explain and discuss different design solutions with a large group which otherwise would have led to different interpretations of 2D design drawings. This ability to “collect views from different perspectives gives a better and more productive overall design approach.”17 It also makes it easier to discover and correct collisions and design errors earlier in the design phase. This is being made even simpler with multi-user VR. Multi-user VR allows multiple users to collaborate remotely in real time. While this technology is still new in 2017, it is already allowing users to inhabit models together for design and coordination calls. The structural engineering company LERA of New York City has dedicated a whole branch to 17. Williams, Dennis. “Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality for Architects?.” Augment Magazine, September 8, 2016.
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VR calling it LERA IMMERSE. This branch is responsible for reviewing the integration of building systems with architects and other engineers to detect possible clashes in design. Finding a solution to simple collisions earlier in the design phase can save serious time and make the design approach more productive.18
For more complicated projects, VR is being used to
train the industry sector. Before any facility is built, “the usual approach is to train users to have a deep understanding of both the maintenance tasks and the science involved behind the equipment.”19 This maintenance team can then test out the equipment looking at equipment clearances, escape routes, risky areas, etc. and ask the design team to make any necessary improvements or modifications.
Virtual Reality has also been paired with signage
packages. In the virtual world, anything is possible. Engineering firm Walter P Moore of New York City has also created a dedicated VR department. They recently tested a parking garage design by allowing users to drive a car in the virtual world. They were testing to see how long it would take for users to exit the parking garage using different signage packages.20 After combining all the data, they were able to come up with the most efficient route for future users of this 18. Hao Ko, The Architects Newspaper, Tech Plus Expo. May 23, 2017. 19 .Rovaglio, Maurizio. “The Role of Virtual Reality in the Process Industry.” Invensys, December 2015. 20. Rodriguez, Antonio, The Architects Newspaper, Tech Plus Expo. May 23, 2017.
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parking garage before it was built. Trying to make changes to a parking garage after completion can be costly and difficult.
This virtual testing in the design phase has really been
highlighted by Philadelphia firm Kieran Timberlake in which they are using VR to design a home for future life on Mars. Once Kieran Timberlake got on board, they “upgraded the system to a fully realized BIM model that incorporated light, nature, mechanical systems, living spaces, and more.”21 They also added considerations for building on the harsh living conditions of another planet. Using VR, users then responded to different maintenance scenarios, and tested out different solutions.
All of these different VR applications are changing the
way architects are designing the future. Yet, in all of these applications, the crux of implementation for VR is the timing. Most of this experimentation has occurred at the precise time where it is most impactful: early on in the design phase. These insights will make our future buildings safer and more user friendly.
21. O’Connell Kim. “Kieran Timberlake is Using Virtual Reality to Design a Home for Future Life on Mars” Arch Daily, March 21, 2017.
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CLAIM 4 OBJECTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES
“ V
There is still a (long) way to go, and things can’t progress too quickly as graphics processing also needs to keep up”22 -David Luebke, VP of Nvidia Graphics
irtual reality headsets have been around since the 1900s, but these early models were both ridiculously expensive and offered a poor user experience.
However the recent boom in the gaming and entertainment industry is driving the VR market forward at a fast pace. As the competition increases, we can only expect these headsets to become cheaper. Even now in 2017 the top ranked HTC Vive comes in at $800, which is well within reach of any midsize and smaller architecture and engineering firm. For most firms, if that VR set can win them a single extra client, it has already paid for itself.
While it is true that these headsets require a powerful
high-end graphics card to run the processing, chances are that most firms already are set to run a VR system. This is
22. Corke, Greg “Virtual Reality for architecture: a beginner’s guide” AEC Magazine, February 16, 2017.
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because firms usually have at least a few computers that are powerful enough to produce renderings. These powerful systems along with a few minor upgrades can lead to a successful setup of a virtual reality room. The applied computing department at Ennead Architects has dedicated a permanent VR setup as well as a mobile VR Setup that is shared within the office.23 These setups are easy to use and have received great praise when working with clients.
There are still health concerns with VR that have
yet to be addressed. Part of this is because only the head motion is tracked in current VR devices and they eyes are not. Naturally humans can shift their vision by rolling the eyes in any direction. This eye movement is not tracked in the current wave of HMDs (head mounted displays). The other issue according to VP of graphics research at Nvidia is the resolution. Even though there is an impressive 1,080 by 1,200 resolution for each eye, there is still some pixelization that is picked when the screen is that close to our eye. In order to solve this issue, “we would need a retinal resolution that is 78 million pixels per eye - roughly 60 times that of current HMDs.”24 Developers are already working on solving these issues, producing a new generation of HMDs that will both be smarter and cause less vertigo to the user. 23. Hopkins, Bryan. “The real unreal”. The Architect’s Newspaper, October 26, 2017. 24. Corke, Greg “Virtual Reality for architecture: a beginner’s guide” AEC Magazine, February 16, 2017.
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The last issue that consumers are concerned about is
time. This has been solved with new push button work-flows as described earlier. It is now easier then ever to take a model in almost any software and export it to VR in minutes. Even architecture programming giant Autodesk has also released a push button Revit to VR application called Autodesk Live. Combining these easy work-flows with the ability of a multiuser experience should indicate to firms that now is the time to purchase and try out a VR system.
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CONCLUSION A NEW ERA OF DESIGN
“ V
The process of design and visualization should be iterative, with changes made as a result of insights gained through visualization propagated into the next version of the design.25 -Dino Bouchlaghem irtual reality is about to change architecture forever. This may seem like a bold statement, but 3D imaging and the benefits that computers brought to
the field are nothing when compared to what VR brings to the table. If we really think about it, computer-generated graphics are just a faster way of producing hand drawn documents in the past. Virtual Reality however, takes viewing models to a whole new level. Even though it is still the very early days for VR, we are already starting to see the extensive benefits that it can bring to the AEC industry.
Architecture firms are tempted to use VR as a mere
way to impress clients, but the true power of VR lies in its ability to transform the design process. As this technology becomes streamlined and makes the transition between 3D
25. Bouchlaghem, Dino, Jennifer Whyte, and Huiping Shang. Visualisation in architecture, engineering, and construction. Loughborough, UK: Elsevier, 2005.
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modeling to the virtual world easier, more firms need to start taking advantage of these powerful HMDs. These work-flows allow architects to continue developing their designs in BIM software, but also offers them a way to take a step back and get a feel for what they want and don’t want. This means that firms will spend less time reworking models and see every aspect of design quickly. When pairing these headsets with different data, we can quickly simulate and test our future buildings in a safer and more user friendly manner. From functional and aesthetic evaluation of projects to daylighting studies, markups, and client communication, the capabilities of VR will only continue to grow, saving architecture firms everywhere a lot of time and money.
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sources. ACAD, “Architectural Elevation Drawings are more...”, The Engineering Design, July 27, 2016. Bouchlaghem, Dino, Jennifer Whyte, and Huiping Shang. Visualisation in architecture, engineering, and construction. Loughborough, UK: Elsevier, 2005. Corke, Greg “Review: From Revit to VR.” AEC Magazine, February 3, 2017 Corke, Greg “Virtual Reality for architecture: a beginner’s guide” AEC Magazine, February 16, 2017. Greenwalk, Will. The Best VR Headsets of 2017. PCMag, May 18, 2017. Hao Ko, The Architects Newspaper, Tech Plus Expo. May 23, 2017. Holl, Steven, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Alberto Pérez Gómez. Questions of perception: phenomenology of architecture. San Francisco, CA: William Stout Publishers, 2006. Hopkins, Bryan. “The real unreal”. The Architect’s Newspaper, October 26, 2017. O’Connell Kim. “Kieran Timberlake is Using Virtual Reality to Design a Home for Future Life on Mars” Arch Daily, March 21, 2017. Reynolds, Emily. “Virtual Reality Makes Avatars More Important Than Ever.” Motherboard, December 11, 2016. Rovaglio, Maurizio. “The Role of Virtual Reality in the Process Industry.” Invensys, December 2015. Urstadt, Bryant, and Sarah Frier. “Welcome to Zuckerworld: Facebook’s really big plans for virtual reality.” Bloomberg Businessweek, July 27, 2016. Williams, Dennis. “Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality for Architects?.” Augment Magazine, September 8, 2016. Young, Norbert Jones, Stephen “The Business Value of BIM” McGraw Hill Construction, 2009
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Ennead Architects based in New York, NY is dedicated to the advancement of technologies such as Virtual Reality. The roughly 200 person architecture firm has its own applied computing wing in which specialists are constantly developing new computational tools for the firm. These leaders teach a custom curriculum in a dedicated computing laboratory. Key objectives of this program are to make computation accessible to all staff, to ensure that best practices are followed, and to devote firm resources to experimentation to ensure advances in the field of technology.
Dipen Patel Aaron Schump Arch 506C - Summer 2017 Research Paper 7/23/2017