1. Introduction

As part of the week-long Holodeck VR workshop in Dessau, I explored immersive spatial design using Blender and Unity. The course focused on storytelling, user experience, and the technical workflow of creating interactive 3D environments.

2. My Project

For my project, I designed a virtual studio space—a lobby of a Hotel that. While the final environment was assembled in Blender and Unity, much of the modeling work was done in SketchUp.

3. Process

For my final project, I presented a VR-adapted version of a hotel lobby I had previously designed in SketchUp. The original model was reworked to be Unity-friendly, which involved optimizing geometry, adjusting scale and proportions, and cleaning up non-manifold elements. I then imported the model into Unity, where I applied a range of materials and textures, set up realistic lighting using baked and real-time techniques, and added environmental elements like skyboxes, reflections, and ambient audio to enrich the atmosphere.

The goal was to create a visually compelling and technically efficient VR space that maintained the original design intent while leveraging the immersive potential of the medium. This process gave me hands-on experience with the full VR workflow—from asset preparation to real-time rendering and user interaction.

4. Results

1. Walking through the space in VR allowed me to experience and evaluate the design from a first-person, user-centered perspective, which offered insights that are difficult to gain through traditional drawings or screen-based 3D models. It significantly deepened my understanding of scale, as I could feel the true height of the ceilings, the width of circulation spaces, and the spatial relationships between different elements. It also gave me a clearer sense of how materials and lighting work together to shape atmosphere—how reflective surfaces respond to light, how natural and artificial lighting affect mood, and how material choices contribute to the overall feel of the space.

2. Furthermore, seeing the arrangement of furniture and objects at a human scale helped me assess their placement, accessibility, and functional impact. I could easily identify elements that needed adjustment, such as furniture that felt too close, lighting that was too harsh, or circulation paths that felt constrained.

3. Beyond personal design development, VR also proves to be a powerful communication tool. Clients can walk through the space and understand the design intuitively, without needing to interpret technical drawings or imagine proportions. This leads to more informed feedback and more aligned expectations. For contractors, the VR experience can serve as a spatial reference, helping them visualize construction sequences, spatial intent, and material transitions. Ultimately, using VR in the design process bridges the gap between concept and reality, making the entire journey—from design to construction—more efficient, collaborative, and precise.