VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES - SUMMER/AUTUMN 2022

We engaged with a number of local authorities during Summer/Autumn 2022 on DLUHC PropTech grant funded projects. These involved us working closely with partner councils to help realise the benefits that digital VR technology can bring to public consultation projects and helping participants shape the future of where they live in new and engaging ways.

Our VR experiences focused on working with Surrey County Council to develop an experience exploring ideas for the future Farnham High Street by jet pack and with Cornwall County Council to experience options what the future Newquay town centre could look like, travelling on a bike. We also worked with Wirral County Council to explore Seacombe by pedalo and New Brighton on a virtual open top bus. In our latest project, we are working with Bolsover County Council to explore ideas for the town by hot air balloon.

All of these unique and different experiences share a common focus on participants having fun whilst also making a meaningful contribution to developing ideas that will impact the places where they live, work and play.

Feedback from both visitors and our local authority partners has been overwhelmingly positive. All the experiences have helped to engage with audiences that are traditionally under-represented in more traditional public consultations and are helping to showcase how digital technology can work alongside and benefit other ways of capturing feedback. The events have also attracted significant interest and coverage in local and regional media.

You can read more about what our partners have said about us here.

We are proud to update that we are now an approved supplier for IT services to local authorities and the public sector on G-Cloud. Our services focus on the development of 3D models (digital twins) and virtual reality (VR) experiences.

How can VR help engage new audiences?

“Playful and joyful experiences” that increase “appeal and makes people want to have conversations with each other, as well as responding to the engagement.”

We are thrilled with the feedback from our work with the Design Council and Network Rail as part of ExploreStation – an innovative engagement programme that sought to involve the widest possible audience with new station design ideas.

 Our team of digital experts created two fun experiences to help people explore and move through the station designs and to feel what they would be like at different times of day and in different weather conditions.

Over 11 days in 5 different locations, 630 visitors spent over 105 hours participating in the VR experiences, completing 308 feedback forms and conversation.

 The report highlights that our work played a vital role, alongside other engagement specialists and more traditional forms of engagement. It helped reach out to a younger and more diverse demographic and helped involve people with limited knowledge of the design concepts and technical knowledge to engage with the design and help play their part in shaping better travel experiences.

Using this fun new technology can also help organisations to lead the way and meet their goals to engage the widest possible audience

 “The dedication to designing and hosting an experience that feels different to traditional ways of engaging sends a message about the organisation’s dedication to sharing with, and hearing from, as wide a range of people as possible.”

We are currently working on a wealth of other unique virtual reality experiences that are helping councils across the UK engage with a broader demographic and maximise the other benefits that virtual engagement brings.

Read the full report here

Explore Station Partnership

Our work with Network Rail and the Design Council as part of their Explore Station team has continued. We spent the Spring working alongside our partners and developing unique virtual reality experiences to engage people with the next round of the consultations. This vital project will help to shape the future design of thousands of local stations.

Image credit: National Railway Museum/Jason Hynes.

We held immersive VR experiences in York, Shildon, Manchester, Hereford and Paisley where over 500 people had a chance to experience what new modular train stations of the future could look like. Wearing headsets, visitors had the chance to test out what it feels like to move around a new station with luggage and to pull up in a train alongside the platform. They were able to hear train announcements and experience the new design right down to the detail of how the design concept will respond to local communities and the character of different places.

The VR experiences were supported by more traditional forms of public engagement at the events, including asking people to complete post it notes with their thoughts and views.

We are thrilled with the feedback from the events and how they enabled Explore Station to reach out to a demographic traditionally under-represented in more traditional forms of engagement. The consultations have now closed and we look forward to making more announcements soon about the impact of our work as part of the Explore Station project.

In the meantime, we are busy working alongside a number of councils around the country to develop VR experiences as part of their Summer consultations.

Our ExploreStation virtual reality public engagement project with Network Rail

Digital Urban has been working with Network Rail over the last six months as part of their national ExploreStation team. We are delighted with the quality and depth of the public feedback received on the design for local stations so far. The proposals potentially affect more than 2,000 of Britain’s small and medium railway stations and will influence the lives of millions of people now and in generations to come, so it’s extremely encouraging to see such strong support for the innovative kit-of-parts approach. It’s also great to see the community ambitions behind the concept welcomed so roundly.

We are listening hard to what’s being said. Many of the people who engaged in Round 1 conversations said they wanted to respond in more detail to how the modular approach will reflect and adapt to different local contexts. Public stakeholders also said they wanted to better feedback on how the design will address the complexities and realities of station design and passenger experiences on the ground.

In response to this feedback, and to ensure that the next round of activities is as encompassing and inclusive as possible, ExploreStation has amended the timings of its Round 2 events from February to May 2022, giving time to create an engagement programme that responds in detail to public comments. 

To sign up for Design Council updates on ExploreStation activities click here.

Digital to Bronze Cast - The Great Stove

Cast in brass - The Great Stove - Joseph Paxton glass house demolished in 1920 is now back in the garden at Chatsworth house - although a little smaller than the original!
Combining 3D printing technology with traditional foundry processes we were able to cast this structure in bronze. The Bronze cast is now being installed on a pedestal in the location of the original building, aging over the many years to come as a permanent feature for garden visitors.
The enthusiasm of the foundry team was a highlight, we enjoyed working with them.

Outstanding Public and Community Engagement.

In recent times all our interactions have been on-line and although these have gone very well we are missing and looking forward to some more location-based events in 2021!
We want to build on experiences and knowledge of our previous work. A highlight for me was my son Noah who collected a ‘Making a difference award for social responsibility’ from The University of Manchester - I had to lend him a suit for the occasion. Noah ran all the shows in 2019 for us along with Minsung who was the Orchid expert.

Phil Spencer's Stately Homes More4 9pm Thurs 20 Feb

If you enjoyed taking a look at our Virtual Reconstruction of Joseph Paxtons Glasshouse at the RHS Chatsworth Flowershow in 2017 then you will enjoy the first episode of the new Series of Phil Spencer Stately Homes on More 4 Thurs 20th Feb at 9pm. Phil takes a look in our VR headset seeing the Glasshouse from different locations, we also processed some new footage for the viewers. My first TV experience. Maybe I’ll be a little more relaxed next time!

Active Travel - Urmston

Enjoyed meeting lots of residents, all with a real commitments to make change happen. We developed a Virtual Reality experience where you experience the NOW as a vulnerable user i.e. child in a buggy or child on your parents bike. Then how the journey could be, lots more we hope to do, encouraging behavioral change for many more who might not otherwise have the confidence to make more active travel choices.

RHS Tatton 2019

Another show competed, RHS Tatton in partnership with TFGM. This time rigging up 4 tram seats to take visitors on an adventure. Starting on the metro then to our wild flower meadow where they fly around as if an insect. Was great seeing the interaction of families and strangers as they followed each other and explored. A special thanks to my son Noah who helped with the build, running and break down. We ran the installation between us with the help of the TFGM band ambassadors who interacted with the queuing people. Was also pleased to see Jo Whiley who enjoyed her experience between filming for the BBC.

Nottinghamshire Hospice - adding life to days

Our first pop-up installation at the Nottinghamshire hospice. Thanks to all the staff for helping to make this happen. Was a great experience and really pleased with the feedback.

I really feel that lots of patients benefited from this and felt a sense of wellbeing, it was extraordinary to see some patients, especially those with neurological conditions and impaired mobility visibly relax as they wandered through the meadow exploring. It was noted how patients posture improved, their shoulders lifted as they looked round and this improved their lung expansion. Improved posture, breathing and creating interest for people helps improve both physical and mental wellbeing. A great project for those who can’t naturally get the benefit from walking through the countryside.

Liz Morgan - Clinical Nurse Specialist/Clinical Manager

https://www.nottshospice.org/general/patients-get-birds-eye-view-in-virtual-meadow-experience/