Development of a virtual reality application for a historic villa and three construction phases

Abstract

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming increasingly important and popular. This technology is widely used in various fields such as industry, construction, architecture, medicine and scientific research. With the rapid development of VR technology, the cost of the required hardware is decreasing, making this technology available to a wider range of users. VR applications offer many opportunities to present different topics in a novel and informative way. This paper presents the development of a VR application for the "Villa Michaelsen" (hosting the Falkenstein Doll Museum) in Hamburg, Germany for the 100 years anniversary. It offers the possibility to move in and around the architectural historic building, designed and built 1923 by the architect Karl Schneider, a representative of the New Building Movement, and to look at different information, photos as well as construction phases and drafts.