Northern Insight talks to Jez Ramsay, Director at Space VR
Did you always envisage a career within the Built Environment?
I was always the kid in the class that could draw, and thought even at an early age that I’d have a career in some field of visualisation, it was the only thing I ever enjoyed at school and was good at. I was first aware of architectural illustration in my early teens as I lived next to an architectural practice and could see illustrations on the walls through the windows. Back then it was mainly watercolour or Gouache and there was something about the precision of the drawing mixed with the freehand style of the colours.
Tell us about your current role.
I run a Virtual and Augmented reality company primarily servicing architectural sectors called Space VR. We produce digital material of exterior/ interior spaces, commercial products, virtual reality presentations and researching emerging technology such as photogrammetry and augmented reality. That all sounds very complicated but basically, we create computer models of architecture you can view through a headset or on your computer.
What is your (Space VR) proudest business achievement?
I suppose a proudest business achievement wasn’t a single moment, but it was more realising you have the experience to see through every aspect of a project, from meeting the client, discussing the services you can offer, delivering the material and seeing the client very happy with what you’ve provided, still gives me a kick!
How has your industry changed in the last decade?
Ten years ago, 90% of everything that appeared in a 3D image would’ve been created by the illustrator. Now, because of the massive available market in pre-made 3D assets, an extremely impressive image can be created in a fraction of the time that has mostly been constructed from purchased models. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing, depending on how you look at it, but in my opinion, it’s reduced the skill set required to do what I consider is a skilled job. But there are still many highlevel CG companies out there performing perfectly well, offering a high standard of service specific to client requirements so maybe there’s room for everyone.
Also, we can’t avoid talking about A.I. Our material is always custom produced as the interiors are specifically designed so we can’t use it to generate an image as the technology isn’t there yet but A.I. is clearly going to be part of an architectural illustrative future that could lead to a different kind of service provided to clients. This is one of the reasons that Space V.R. offers a much more encompassing service, creating many other aspects of digital material other than simply illustrations.
What are you currently working on?
Augmented Reality is something we’re most interested in currently. We can offer clients the service of seeing their 3D asset superimposed into a real-world space. So, for example, we can design a bar servery and let you see, and walk around it it wearing one of our headsets, in position in your existing physical area as long as there’s space to move around.
Tell us about the team you work with?
There’re two main teams, the interior design service from our sister company Space I.D. & the small permanent team at Space V.R. along with its consultants if needed. The Space I.D. guys design the venues then it seamlessly moves over to Space V.R. for the digital material as we’re all in the same building. This is a tremendous advantage and makes for a much smoother workflow from the initial spatial design to illustration for our clients.
What is the best piece of business advice you have been given?
A much-admired copywriter once told me, and I’m paraphrasing, to consider that everything you send out from your company, every email, every phone call, your website, down to your email signature. It all has a cumulative effect in representing your valuable company persona. And think before sending that email!
What has been your biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge has been to change the perception of what we do in the eyes of our clients. The very image of a headset can conjure thoughts of inaccessibility and out of reach technology so we’re trying to demystify virtual environments. Along with full interactive presentations, V.R and A.R. can also be used as a tool to understand an initial concept which can be produced very quickly at low cost. For example, if you have a new hospitality venue and want an appreciation of any structural changes we can quickly create a plain Virtual Reality application and let you view it through the headset so you get a fully immersive view of the scale and proportions.
What does the future hold over the next five years?
Our initial goal when setting up Space V.R. was always to offer a wider service than simply computer illustrations. With the rapid developments in mixed reality,we’re really keen to be the company that’s at the forefront of introducing new technologies, whilst making them much more user friendly and accessible.
Call Space V.R. & ask for Jez 0191 816 3391 or email: talktous@spacevr.co.uk
www.spacevr.co.uk
