A new viewer from Flux Labs lets project teams see designed environments in virtual reality.
Flux LabsA new viewer from Flux Labs lets project teams see designed environments in virtual reality.

A new virtual reality tool from Flux—a Google X spin-out that provides cloud-based collaboration tools for AEC companies—allows engineers and designers to view their projects’ design and geometry in virtual reality (VR). Showcased on the Flux Labs website, the app is one of a collection of experimental tools and solutions built on the Flux platform. Project teams can import their existing model geometry from Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, or a combination of those programs into Flux and then create a shareable URL for the design that is viewable using a smartphone placed in a cardboard VR player. Users can also navigate inside the VR environment from their laptop. When changes are made to the 3D model, the VR environment updates in real time across devices without the need for a new file import or export. Users can apply custom colors for identifying functions such as energy analysis results or embodied carbon, and the open-source code can be modified and customized. The launch of Flux VR is just the latest in a recent spate of tools ( here, here, and here) released that offer project teams the opportunity to view existing and forthcoming spaces in VR. [ Flux]

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The architectural roots of the Pokémon Go smartphone game that went viral this week. [ Fast Company’s Co.Design] (Don't know what the hubbub is all about? CityLab's Kriston Capps explains.)

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Sludge can be added to cement to make concrete, researchers in Malaysia found, affording a new means of meeting the rising demand for concrete in the country while offsetting the growing volume of sewage waste there. [ Global Construction Review]

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A look at the latest research connecting office lighting and workplace productivity. [ Bloomberg]

Emerge by AIAU, a new series developed by the American Institute of Architect’s Center for Emerging Professionals, allows Associate AIA members to take continuing education courses in order to gain credits in NCARB’s Architectural Experience Program. [ AIA]

This post has been updated.