Image via VentureBeat

Architects may curse the day Google released Sketch-Up into the world, proliferating the belief that practicing architecture is somewhat synonymous to building a house on the Sims (assuming you turned on the ‘rosebud’ cheat). But Google’s simplification of the profession hints at an overarching trend towards the DIY, and riding on this trend, the custom builders at Blu Homes have created a computer program that makes home design accessible to all.

The Blu 3D Configurator uses graphic technology developed for games to enable non-architects to design their own homes with simple online tools. According to VentureBeat, clients are invited to use the Configurator to generate 3D designs that are sent to Blu Homes to be made into prefabricated parts. The Configurator allows users to choose from seven different templates, customize their models (and eventually see real-time changes in cost for each alteration), and then fly through their ‘homes’ to get a feel of the layout. Blu Homes’ background in eco-friendly, modular design also assures clients that their homes will be energy efficient and prefabricated with precision in a climate-controlled factory in Vallejo, California.

Over 6,000 designs have been realized using the Blu 3-D Configurator, which disguises technology used by aeronautical engineers with a consumer-friendly interface. Shopping for a home suddenly becomes as simple as shopping for a new computer or a new car, an idea underpinning projects like Interface Studio’s prefabricated 100K House. Clearly, today’s conception of prefab focuses not on the uniformity of production but on the possibility for differentiation.

Element, one of Blu Homes’ eco-friendly, precision-built modular homes. Image courtesy Blu Homes.

by Kelly Chan

posted in news Product

tagged 3D Graphics, 3D rendering, Blu Homes, computer graphics, computer imaging, Configurator, design, modular, modular homes, online, rendering, renderings

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