Master in Arch_Final Year: February 2011

For my final submission i have chosen to use the skills i have acquired in both 3ds Max and BuildAR to create a prototype for a 3D Augmented Reality Construction Manual. Obviously through my limitations in time and level of skills in both 3ds Max and BuildAR my final product is no where near the quality of a printed construction manual of which u would find in a library or a book store. However, it is the idea that augmented reality has the ability to change the way we interact with books particularly of the educational type that had really excited me. I have always found it to be quite difficult to follow structural and construction manuals and have thus struggled with that area of architecture since first year. So i believe that if something visual and engaging like what i have produced was taken seriously and further explored it could be quite a powerful tool for students.

Building Construction Illustrated by Francis D.K. Ching and Building Your Own Home by George Wilkie are popular choices among architectural students for a guide to building/construction systems. However, as mentioned above they lack in engaging three dimensional qualities and are quite often considered confusing and hard to follow due to their 2d bland nature:

Building Construction Illustrated by Francis D.K. Ching

Building Your Own Home by George Wilkie

However on ly recently Author Andrew Watts has brought out a book titled Modern Construction Handbook which takes a major leap forward in printed construction Manuals. He illustrates construction and structural systems in a 3d Modeled form with materials and colour that makes it that little bit easier for students to understand and engage with the text. With this and the amazing capabilities of 3d modelling today i was inspired to take the idea of 3d modelling and building construction manuals to a new level and create a potential prototype for the future.

Building Construction Manual by Andrew Watts