Integrating gaming technologies in MMC

The rise of technology within the past decade has accelerated beyond imagination. Technology has benefited consumers’ lives in so many ways, and these advancements now offer the ability to transform how the construction industry delivers a more integrated and immersive engagement process than ever before.

We spoke to our Visualisation Platform Engineer, Terry Buchan, who transformed his passion for video games into an innovative career in construction.

At Collida we embrace digital solutions to enable us to communicate with customers and achieve their design ambitions. One of the biggest challenges within the industry is laying out design plans to customers, which aren’t easily adaptable or understandable to those who don’t have experience with architectural drawings. It’s our ambition to identify our customer’s requirements and effectively communicate how this will look to enable them to visualise their end buildings.

Having always had a passion for drawing and video games, this led me to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree in 3D Game Arts at the University of Hertfordshire, where I discovered an interest in 3D modelling and environment building. Straight out of university I secured a job in design and architecture as an architectural visualiser, as the two skillsets closely overlapped. During this time, virtual reality (VR) had started to become a sensation and open doors for other industries to utilise the same technology that was seeing the games industry thrive.

In 2020 I moved to Collida, where I am able to draw upon my experience working with multiple visualisation engines in my role as their Visualisation Platform Engineer.

One of my key projects has been to build Collida’s immersive platform using Unreal Engine – a powerful 3D creation tool that is often used for film effects or video games – to present our buildings and products in a way that’s more easily accessible to customers and stakeholders than traditional drawings.

The platform allows us to take our standard building blocks, assembly these into buildings and then configure then with design and specification choices in a matter of minutes. By utilising real-time technology, customers can personalize their spaces – with furniture, fittings and layout options that can be visualized in the context of the overall spaces we create and enable them to interact with it before it’s built. Trailing this platform, we have digitally replicated our Collida Living net zero homes at the BRE Innovation Park to showcase how gaming technology can be used to drive a better customer engagement experience.

The Collida Living homes have been developed to enable local authorities, registered providers, and developers to be able to effectively respond to the climate emergency and meet the UK’s net zero commitments. This software therefore enables them to easily tailor the homes for their tenants and end users needs while also delivering a sustainable, future-proofed properties.

I will be sharing these innovative technologies that are behind our products on 17-20 October at Unreal Fest 2022, located in New Orleans – leading worldwide expo where users of Unreal Engine come together across three days to explore new ways of utilising its benefits.

To find out more about Unreal Fest 2022 visit: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/events/unreal-fest-2022