Local residents, Councillors and town planners
have been won over by the use of Virtual Reality technology as
healthcare and life sciences experts Amersham PLC (now GE Healthcare)
obtained planning permission for the first phase of a major redevelopment
of their Amersham Laboratories, Little Chalfont, Bucks.
With the Laboratories' site surrounded by housing,
green belt land and a busy road, Amersham PLC had to come up with
an appropriate plan for the redevelopment of the site to meet
their research scientists' needs for modern laboratory and office
accommodation. The company was mindful of the need to demonstrate
to local residents and the planning authority that the scale of
the proposed development was in keeping with the area and would
improve the aesthetics of the site and not intrude near neighbours.
With this objective they approached Virtual Reality pioneers Inition
to develop a virtual model of the proposed redevelopment.
"We knew we had a very sensitive scheme
on our hands that would be difficult to convey to its full extent,"
said Hugh Abbott, Amersham's project manager for the redevelopment.
"So it was important that we found a way to show people
how our plans might progress over a ten year horizon and how the
new buildings would compare with those they would replace. The
3D fly through from Inition offered a way of visually communicating
the new designs in an innovative and exciting way that captured
the imagination."
Working closely with the architects Widdup Amer,
who had drawn up the plans, Inition were able to animate a 3D
Virtual Reality video of the site. This showed the new designs
growing out of the old site, progressing through the different
phases of the development and providing views of the new buildings
from the perspective of a visitor, and most importantly, from
that of the local residents. The 3D stereo computer animation
was developed in under a month and for less than £30,000,
a tiny fraction of Amersham's multi million pound redevelopment
budget.
Stuart Cupit, Director of Inition said: "For
a fraction of the total redevelopment budget Inition's 3D model
was able to take the visitor on a virtual tour of the proposed
development. We had provided a realistic and credible vision of
what it would be like taking a stroll through the new development
and looking in from all the key external angles. There is no doubt
that the 3D presentation was crucial in helping the local residents
and Council understand and appreciate the nature of the proposed
development and allaying some fears of its potential impact upon
the surroundings. We were delighted to hear from Amersham that
they had been successful in gaining planning permission for phase
1 of their proposals and we are looking forward to continuing
to work with them as further phases are progressed."
Click here
for images, a video clip and more information about the Nycomed
Amersham Virtual Reality project.
As seen on Construction
News Plus
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Spokespeople are available for interview
2. www.inition.co.uk
3. With over ten years experience, Inition provides innovative
solutions using the most advanced technologies available. Inition
specialise in providing interactive real-time 3D graphics, stereoscopic
visualisation, high quality rendered animations, motion capture,
hardware integration and customisation to clients in a wide range
of industries.
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Town Planners Won Over by Virtual Reality
