Live in your home before it's built

In a first for South Australia, new home buyers can now step into a virtual reality world where they will be able to walk through a purpose-built, tech-rich studio showcasing life-size floorplans and housing facades projected onto floors and walls, allowing the full-scale experience of living in their home – before it’s built.

Award-winning South Australian owned and operated builder Rivergum Homes is behind the new technology innovation.

Much like a virtual display home, Plan Lab will give people considering building access to home designs and furniture in-situ, in one location. The projected space can be walked in its entirely, while the façade options can be presented in full scale up to two-storeys in height.

Rivergum Homes Managing Director, Victor Said, said it had taken the major home builder 18 months to develop the technology and construct the purpose-built studio, enabling those looking to build their dream home to walk through different housing designs projected in 1:1 scale.

“There is no limit to what can be projected,” he said, “The studio is large enough to showcase very large home plans, while toggling through floor different floor levels is instantaneous,” Mr Said added.

Plan Lab has been developed with the local design and development sector in mind, with users expected to include clients of architectural firms, landscape designers, and developers of small to large residential projects, including apartments.

“Plan lab offers a customised private studio session for individual customers immersing themselves in the design journey, whether looking to optimise a home layout, its orientation or façade appearance. It has also been designed to support development projects where showcasing completed product or having a permanent project sales environment is not feasible.”

“For developers of apartment projects, Plan Lab offers a virtual space to present to customers every floor plan or every level – even matching the wall projection with the actual views from that height. It is a remarkable and immersive experience.”

Taking the digital theme of Plan Lab to its full extent, bookings are made on-line, as is the submission of plans for the session, so that everything is optimised for the typically one-hour immersion experience.

Rivergum Homes has been a keen innovator in the housing sector, with Plan Lab an exciting milestone to celebrate after the business celebrated its 25th birthday last year.