Virtual architecture, virtual 3D store design, and the disappearance of the brick store?

It is interesting to study how advances in technology influence the built environment around us. Big parts of our cities and the majority of the buildings where we live, work and play were built a long time ago often by generations before us. Most of the modern designs are influenced by traditions of the past with or without acknowledging it.

History of architecture

The history of architecture and the construction of buildings is a fascinating evolution and progression of physical form and structure. We see layers of a continuous effort to live better and prosper. We can say that we live and experience a moment in an evolution of form and space surrounding us. Buildings are one of the pinnacles of human efforts and they are expensive and complicated to construct and logically they represent wealth and affluence, class, identity, and prestige.

Technology

Technology makes it possible to realize the architecture around us throughout the centuries. As technology and knowledge improve so does the ability to build better and bigger. Architecture is an art of planning and constructing buildings and space in the real world and its shapes and forms are primarily influenced and constrained by natural forces like gravity, weather and its necessary functions must provide security and protection from the elements as well as other people.

Stores

Stores as one of many city typologies are representative of the products they sell. They become a symbol of a brand. A good quality store or brand has a flagship store in an exclusive address. So in reverse, the physical store and its formal aspects as facade its façade, interior, walls, structures become part of a store and brand identity. Hi-end designed store in a good zip code is perceived as a proof of quality. But still, a retail brand image is not just a brick store.

In the age of digital store.

We don’t need the store anymore. The disappearance of the primary store function is an easy concept to grasp as it has happened with internet shopping and mail delivery. We don’t need the store to shop. So the reason for the store? Experience and lifestyle and fun and an assurance that the product is worth it. So what are the new equivalents of the prominent facades, ornaments, prime addresses, unique experiences that attract the shoppers of the digital store? How to present a product in the virtual space? Will eventually digital virtual experience take the lead and be considered the evolution of the physical form or it already happened?

Our need for 3-D space.

There are three spaces that we navigate. Primary our mental space used in the observation and navigation of physical or virtual. I would simplify to say that we can talk about three dimensions x,y,z, and time. We are spatial creatures. We need the spatial organization and to represent the hierarchy in the representation of 3-D space to create our mental map and navigate. We are built around navigating the world in 3-D and we can learn space and navigate it by creating our mental maps effortlessly. We unconsciously gravitate toward space as opposed to working without it. Evolution made it easy and effortless. So regardless of being freed from the need to construct in a hostile environment of the real. We still need and gravitate towards creating experiences that emulate reality. What distinguishes a unique from the ordinary in the digital virtual store experience? What sets one apart from the competition? Better realism! The answer is a new technology, interactivity, experience, entertainment blending new meanings and functions.

What does a virtual store look like?

So what is a store in virtual reality and how does it look like? How much traditional tectonic architectural visual is inherited. The new virtual store is a gallery and a place to relax and have fun. Again shopping is a part of the lifestyle this time digital. So what is a visual and experiential representation of a digital store when we remove the constraints of the physical world. What does a luxury virtual store experience look like? Better realism and fun!

Real building vs. virtual building.

There are dramatic differences between physical and virtual worlds and their constraints and possibilities. In virtual space, there is no gravity no structural considerations, no real estate cost, or space constraints and yet we tend to mimic the old physical world. For now. We tend to attach our virtual space to the physical experiences we have collectively learned. What do we have when we remove the influences of physical constraints of gravity form building or space? Graphic design! Compartmentalization and boredom. A scheme or diagram. Not a fun place. People do not come. How does the special quality conveyed in the product and Does virtual store need exterior? Does the virtual store need to have walls and roofs? It does not rain in 3D space? No, it does not and we don’t need the roof. We do not need the columns because the tectonic is just imaginary. But we still need to define space so it relates to our experiences. And it is going to take some time to shed the old.

Virtual reality.

Virtual or 3D computer space has no limits and constraints of its physical counterpart but it is empty. There is nothing in it and it does not rain there. A blank canvass. Now we have a whole new challenge which is how do we relate and create something special and engaging in a space that we have to create everything. 3D Computer graphics, real-time rendering software, augmented reality are pushing boundaries of the possible and are quickly powering more and more available technologies for the user to experience. Every brand works hard to attract new and retain old customers and stay relevant in the times of virtual lives needs to push the boundaries and entertain with the new that is coming. Which in a way is a repetition of what has driven brands for a long time? Reality is a luxury and that goes for both meanings.

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