Blanchelande students take a virtual tour of property
STUDENTS at Blanchelande College got the chance to look around a redesigned property in St Peter Port yesterday without having to leave their school when they got their hands on a virtual reality model of the house.
The opportunity came about as part of the school’s efforts in connection with National Science Week.
Head of careers Hugh Tabel called on several experts in their professions to talk to interested students during the lunch break.
Among the speakers were a police officer, a doctor, an environmentalist and a farmer.
One of the most popular talks was by James Barker, of chartered architects Create, who explained how the job has changed in recent years with the addition of new technology.
About 25 students attended his brief talk, during which he showed how plans begin life as flat drawings and were then turned into 3D models which can be explored using a computer or tablet.
But the most recent tool in the architects’ arsenal is virtual reality and Mr Barker had brought with him a VR model of a property that Create has worked on in Town.
Using an Occulus Rift headset connected to a powerful laptop PC, a handful of students were lucky enough to explore the VR house and all said that they had found it a strange but enjoyable experience.
‘It was weird, I felt like I was floating,’ said Charlotte Bertrand, 13, while Elliot Davis, 14, said it was ‘really cool’.
‘I’ve not tried anything like that before,’ he said. ‘It was a bit weird when you are floating up in the sky.’
‘I didn’t picture it being like that,’ said Kya Hunter, 11.
‘It was more realistic than I thought it would be.’
Mr Barker said that future developments should see the ability to manipulate objects being introduced.
One person who might get to experience that first hand is Kya, if her ambition is realised. ‘I want to be an architect anyway,’ she said.
