![Customers use virtual reality goggles to "see" inside an apartment at Melbourne Quarter.](/content/dam/images/g/v/7/6/6/c/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gth5w8.png/1492041963752.jpg)
One of Melbourne's biggest land developers, Villawood Properties, is set to roll out the ultimate interactive, virtual reality experience for new home buyers.
Wearing a 3D headset and holding a set of controls, prospective buyers at Villawood's Rathdowne housing estate at Wollert in the northern suburbs will soon be able take a virtual drive through the future residential community, walk from their future house to the town centre, and take a tour of the future resident's club and other amenities on offer.
"Users will be able to not just view the virtual world, but engage with what they are viewing in a fully interactive experience," explains Villawood spokeswoman Erica Moloney.
She calls it the "gaming versions" of Villawood's current virtual reality offering, which allows prospective buyers to explore only static 360-degree views of its communities. "The capabilities are very exciting for land development," she says.
While digital disruption changes the way real estate agents sell existing homes and apartments, advances in virtual reality technology are bringing a new level of interaction and sophistication to selling property that does not yet exist.
For Villawood director Rory Costelloe, the ability for prospective residents to walk down the main street or through the wetlands of its new communities is a natural evolution of its interactive technology, which began in 2015 with a master plan allowing buyers to click on individual lots to see the variety of house packages available.
"We're constantly focusing on innovative measures to enhance the community experience at all levels," he says.
Walk in the sky park
At the Collins Street sales office of Lendlease's $1 billion Melbourne Quarter at Docklands, the property giant is using the latest 3D technology to give customers a virtual picture of what their new offices, homes and city precinct will look like.
Here, prospective buyers can don VR goggles to experience what it is like to walk around the sky park, neighbourhood park and resident facilities.
To add to the experience, there's also an interactive 3D digital printed model controlled via iPad showcasing amenities such as transport routes, cafes, restaurants and parklands, and a special iPad "viewline" app to show buyers views from each level of the residential tower.
"Virtual reality goggles give buyers the chance to step inside residential amenities like swimming pools, gyms, spas and our New York-style sky park before they have been built to experience the precinct in real time and scale," explains Lendlease's managing director for urban regeneration, Mark Menhinnitt.
To create its interactive experience, Lendlease turned to the Melbourne office of London design company Squint Opera.
"We wanted to deliver a spatial sales experience as opposed to a traditional 2D approach," Squint Opera's technical director, David Mackenzie, told The Australian Financial Review.
"Large-scale developments like Melbourne Quarter really lend themselves to being seen in VR. No other technology allows a user to be immersed in the location like this," Mr Mackenzie says. "We have just scratched the surface of technology that can be applied to this space."
Tour a Radisson Blu
Virtual reality is also being rolled out in hotel development.
Hotel giant Carlson Rezidor, which operates the Radisson brand in Australia, took The Australian Financial Review on a virtual tour of the new-look interiors of its upmarket Radisson Blu hotels.
Donning a VR headset, we were able to stroll through the lobby of the new hotel and stop for a virtual drink at the hotel bar (with jazz playing in the background) and then, by selecting "hotel room", we could explore one of the new Radisson Blu rooms, heading out to the balcony to hear the sea and seagulls.
The virtual reality interface has come out of a new design program called BluPrint, aimed at giving hotel investors and travellers new ways to view and discover hotel rooms and design.
"We are opening up a new world of experiential engagement, enabling a sensorial appreciation of what we have to offer," said Thorsten Kirschke, president, Asia Pacific, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
"Our focus on technology and innovation underscores our drive to stay ahead of changing guest expectations, captivate new audiences, and ensure even stronger returns for owners and investors," he added.