Female Architect turns imagination into Virtual Reality

A UK Architecture firm has become one of the first in the domestic sector to offer Virtual Reality design services to homeowners in the UK.

House Architects is using Virtual Reality (VR) technology to show homeowners in the North of the UK and beyond what their house extensions will look like once built.

The use of virtual reality to experience a 3D preview of home renovations has recently been made popular with the BBC 2 series Your Home Made Perfect. In each episode, two architects compete to design a house extension or refurbishment for homeowners, by using virtual reality technology to show them what their new architect-designed home would look like in real life.

The founder of House Architects, Catherine Traynor, explained how she was inspired to provide the same service to her clients. She said, “It can be really hard for people to visualise what their house extension will look like once it’s finished, from just a hand drawn plan. There is so much technology available now to be able to show people how their design will look in 3D, but I found that there aren’t many Architects firms actually offering this at a realistic price for domestic homeowners. I really wanted to be able to offer an affordable version of this to my clients, so that’s what I’ve done.”

“Virtual reality is changing the way architects design spaces today, and it’s really exciting for homeowners to actually be able to see what their refurbished home is going to look like, even before a spade has gone in the ground. From my point of view as an architect and designer it’s really rewarding to see people’s reactions when they put the VR headset on and experience their new home. The first thing most people say is “Wow!””

House Architects is a North-West based architecture firm set up by award winning Liverpool architect Catherine Traynor, which specialises in house extensions across the North of the UK.

Catherine, from South Liverpool, graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a Masters degree in Architecture in 2013 and counts the Deutsche Bank award for Architecture and Interior Design, and the Creative Conscience Award UK amongst her collection of accolades. Before going solo Catherine worked at a medium sized practice working on healthcare projects, schools and housing developments. Since 2013 she has specialised in residential housing and has worked on over 100 house extensions across the North of the UK, reaching as far as Glasgow.

Home improvements and house extensions look to be on the rise in recent years. According to a YouGov survey, almost 63% of home owners believe that there is more value in home improvement than in moving. Other popular TV programmes such as Love it or List it, presented by Kirsty Allsop, have encouraged people to question whether it is more cost effective to move house or to extend where they currently live.

House Architects provide free online consultations to homeowners looking to extend. Catherine says “At a consultation, homeowners can discover whether or not they might need planning permission, what design solutions might be possible, what’s involved in obtaining building regulations approval, and how long it will take before they’re in a position to be able to start building.”

For more information or to schedule a consultation with House Architects, go to www.house-architects.co.uk or email hello@house-architects.co.uk.