London commuters are dreaming of one thing right now; a finished Waterloo station. This central hub of transport is having a bit of a redesign at the moment, and not all of its platforms are in use. It’s going to stay that way until the end of next year.
But, thanks to VR, you can do a bit of time travelling and envision a happier time when the new Waterloo station is up and running. Network Rail and South West Trains have partnered to create a new VR experience, available at the station itself and events throughout the year, that shows you what the multi-million pound re-development is going to look like. The app is running on Samsung and Oculus’ Gear VR.
Virtual station: Get a glimpse of the new #Waterloo station – before it’s even built. Read more – https://t.co/7lSFdpxEK6 pic.twitter.com/iG65Yowbmq
— Network Rail (@networkrail) February 15, 2017
The station is having its old International Terminal repurposed for five new commuter platforms. The VR experience shows what that will look like with a mix of captured images and computer generated content. You’ll warp between different points in the station, though take note that Waterloo is absolutely never as empty as this.
It’s just a small but intriguing look at what VR can do for architecture. People could see their new homes before they’ve even started construction, or plan office spaces and more. Companies like Autodesk are currently looking at how that might work, though there aren’t many examples are big as this one out there right now.
Truthfully, we’d have liked to have seen this as a full room scale experience in which we could walk around the station for ourselves, but it’s still a good showcase of how some major companies are looking at VR as serious means to communicate their message.
