Third Workshop for the Seeing Urban Food Futures Project

The third workshop for the Seeing Urban Food Futures project was held on July 28^th. Attendees from the previous two workshops operated the newest iteration of the VR system developed by Alex Judd and Simon Boseley and the team from the School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering at the University of Brighton. Aim of the project is to discuss scenarios for a Brighton CPUL, a productive urban landscape connecting inner-urban food spaces in Brighton.

Our colleague Jasmine Cook shares her thoughts on taking part:
‘Although I had not been present for the previous two workshops, I had seen images of the initial version of the VR system, and this further developed version has a far more detailed and sophisticated look. New functions included being able to free-draw into the VR world, being able to see shadows created by the position of the sun at different times of the day and an overview map that can be viewed at any point to understand the layout of the site, Brighthelm Gardens in Brighton, from a bird’s eye view. There now is a function allowing the capture of a design to allow for comparison and viewing later. There is a new area within the VR world in which the user’s perspective is at the centre point of a 360° photographic panorama of the site. This offers a greater understanding of the site and, viewed alongside the 3D model of the area, gives more context for the user. As someone who has visited the site, I still found this feature very useful to get my bearings while in the VR world and to remind myself of the current conditions and size of the site. I can imagine it would be extremely valuable for anyone using the system who hasn’t yet had a chance to physically visit the site.
The question still remains of how useful this kind of tool would be if applied in the ‘real world’ and who would be its user. As a pilot project, this system has not been developed for the purpose of replacing the experience of visiting a site to envision potential uses, but as a complimentary design tool which can expedite the participation of several users and the iterations they explore. Additionally, the system opens potential for users from anywhere to begin to understand the context of a space and to be able to begin to envision what it can be transformed into.’

For information on the Seeing Urban Food Futures project see here.

For information on the Brighton CPUL project see here.

Image: The VR system, tested by Jasmine Cook, has quite a few new functions. (source: Andre Viljoen 2022)