On Wednesday, Sept. 11, UFV offered a glimpse into the ongoing renovations of Building K, the old Finnigan’s restaurant, through a virtual reality (VR) tour of the room designs.
The Finnigan’s building and surrounding lot was purchased last year for over $10 million. While there are plans in the distant future for the space, its current function will be relocation of classrooms and offices during ongoing renovations.
Shelley Young, project manager, was present at the event to answer student and faculty questions on the progress of the renovations, and Lisa MacIntosh, Interior Construction Consultant at DIRTT Environmental Solutions, ran the virtual tours.
DIRTT has been brought into the project to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing space for faculty and students in the old restaurant. In the library rotunda, a television and VR headset were set up, allowing students and staff to tour offices, hallways, and several different classrooms in Building K.
“It’s just the most vibrant and beautiful of projects; it has so much life in it,” MacIntosh said.
The company specializes in the design and manufacturing of prefabricated interior spaces, putting together modular rooms with panels that can be adapted to meet future needs of the university. When the needs of a space change, the panels can be moved around or entirely changed out to add in new doors, walls, or integrated smart screens.
In this way, MacIntosh said, DIRTT works to reduce or eliminate the disposable nature of temporary spaces. The company also works with sustainable materials, and MacIntosh emphasized their commitment to finding eco-friendly solutions for their projects.
DIRTT’s projects are designed using 3D modelling technology, allowing for real-time project estimates and the opportunity to tour parts of the project in VR.
