Spatial Computing
What if clients could walk through buildings before we build them?
Every architect knows this conversation: 'I thought this room would feel bigger.'
It happens after the walls are up. After the money is spent. The client approved floor plans they didn't really understand. Now they're disappointed. Change orders follow. Trust breaks.
The problem isn't the design. It's the communication medium. Floor plans are abstractions. Even 3D renders on a screen don't convey scale. You can't feel a room from a picture.
So we field-test a different workflow. LiDAR scans existing conditions in about 30 minutes. VR lets a client walk through the proposal at 1:1 scale. AR overlays new walls on the existing space. This note reports what we've measured ourselves (scan times, accuracies) and is explicit about what we haven't: a controlled study of how much miscommunication this actually removes.
30 Minutes to a Working Model: A typical scan captures on the order of a million points and replaces a multi-day manual survey at centimeter accuracy.
Theoretical Framework
LiDAR Capture
30-minute scans for 60m² spaces on an iPhone Pro. Replaces multi-day manual surveys at accuracy that's honest about its limits.
VR Review
1:1 scale walkthroughs. Quest 3 for accessibility, Vision Pro for quality. Clients feel the space before it exists.
AR Verification
On-site overlay of the digital model. Contractors see clash zones before they become problems.
Shared Understanding
Clients approve what they've walked through. We haven't run a controlled change-order study; the literature and our field use both point the same direction.
Research Process
Scan with LiDAR
iPhone Pro captures a room in 15-25 minutes at roughly ±2cm accuracy
Build VR Environment
Point cloud to Unity via Rhino.Inside, a few hours for a low-poly spatial model
Walkthrough Session
1:1 review with annotations and furniture testing, 45-60 minutes
AR Site Verification
Overlay model on construction to catch discrepancies early
Research Phases
Technology Benchmarking
Comparing capture options at residential scale (iPhone LiDAR in hand against pro-scanner specs) for accuracy versus speed.
VR Pipeline
Point cloud to Unity workflow with Rhino.Inside. Optimized for spatial accuracy, not photorealism.
Field Trials
Capture-review loops run on our own spaces and concept studies. A controlled A/B with real clients is future work, and we say so.
SpaceCraft App
iOS app integrating capture and review in one tool; in development, rebuilt scan-first for v2.
Key Metrics
Key Thinkers
Jaron Lanier
Lanier coined 'virtual reality' and built the first commercial systems. Our client-facing VR inherits his vision of experiential computing.
Apple Vision Pro Team
Apple made 'spatial computing' a mainstream term. Our RealityKit integration follows the architectural decisions they set.
Greg Lynn
Lynn pioneered computational design in architecture. Our parametric-to-VR pipeline walks a trail he opened.
James Turrell
Turrell's installations explore how humans perceive space. We prioritize perceptual accuracy over photorealism.
Where This Lives in Our Products
SpaceCraft: this research, shipped
In developmentSpaceCraft is the capture side of this workflow made into a product: iPhone LiDAR scanning, rebuilt scan-first for v2. Every number on this page about scan speed and accuracy comes from building and using it.
SpaceCraft →Scanned context for AI visualization
ExplorationA scan gives AI visualization true geometry to hang on. Feeding scanned rooms into Archly's workflows, so renders start from the space as it is, is an integration we're exploring.
Archly →Comparative Analysis
LiDAR Scanning
30 Minutes to ModeliPhone Pro or professional scanner. Centimeter accuracy. Replaces tape measures and laser distance finders.
VR Immersion
Walk Through Before Build1:1 scale walkthrough on Quest 3 or Vision Pro. Clients experience space, not just see it.
AR Verification
On-Site OverlayDigital model projected onto the construction site. Catches discrepancies before finishes go in.
Digital Twin
Living DocumentContinuously updated model from scan + design + feedback. Single source of truth throughout a project.
Optimization Results
How often does 'I thought it would feel different' happen, by review medium?
Scenario model: expectation ranges from literature and our field use, not a controlled study
Key Findings
LiDAR saves days. A tape-and-laser survey takes 1-2 days; our scans of the same kind of space take under an hour, processing included.
Field-measuredScale is the message. People read plans politely and read VR viscerally. The 'I thought it would feel bigger' conversation happens before walls exist, not after.
1:1 changes the talkAccuracy is honest at ±2cm. Good enough for layout decisions, not for millwork. Knowing which decision is which is the actual skill.
±2cmThe literature points to fewer change orders with immersive review. We believe it, and we haven't measured it ourselves yet. That study is on the roadmap.
Plausible, unmeasuredHonest Limitations
Our field runs are our own spaces and concept studies, not a controlled study with real clients.
We haven't measured the change-order effect ourselves. The big reduction figures you read elsewhere are from the literature, not from us.
Low-poly only. We test spatial VR, not photorealistic. Does visual fidelity matter for decisions? We don't know.
Capture quality degrades on glass, mirrors, and dark surfaces: the classic LiDAR blind spots.
Conclusion
A scan takes half an hour where a survey took days. A client who has walked a design at 1:1 knows what they're approving. That much we've seen ourselves, repeatedly. The rest (exactly how much money immersive review saves) is the measurement we still owe, and we'd rather owe it than invent it.
Limitations
- No controlled client study yet
- Spatial VR only, not photoreal
Future Directions
- Controlled review-medium comparison
- Photorealistic VR versus spatial VR