Coding Architecture II: FS26

Week 11 – XR

Visualize our designs in using extended reality (XR) technologies to explore immersive .

Table of Contents

• Extended Reality
• Why XR for Architecture?
• What is WebXR?
• Why do we need a local server?
• What is a GLB file?
• Workflow Overview
• Slides

Extended Reality

XR (Extended Reality) is an umbrella term for technologies that blend the physical and digital worlds.

It includes:

• VR (Virtual Reality) Fully immersive environments. You are inside a completely virtual world.

• AR (Augmented Reality) Digital objects are placed in your real environment.

• MR (Mixed Reality) Digital and physical elements interact more deeply (e.g. occlusion, physics).

In this course, we focus on AR to place our architectural models in real space at real scale.

Why XR for Architecture?

XR allows us to:

• View models at 1:1 scale
• Understand spatial qualities better than on screen
• Share projects in a very friction-less way
• Move from abstract geometry to an immersive experience

What is WebXR?

WebXR is a web standard that allows XR directly in the browser:

• No app required
• Works from a URL
• Uses your device’s camera and sensors
• Runs on modern mobile browsers

Why do we need a local server?

Browsers have security restrictions:

• You cannot reliably load 3D assets (like .glb) from file://
• XR features often require a secure or local server context

So we:

• Run a simple Python server
• Access the page via http://<local-ip>:8000
• Open it on our phone

What is a GLB file?

GLB (binary glTF) is a compact 3D file format:

• Contains geometry, materials, textures
• Optimized for real-time rendering
• Ideal for web and XR

👉 It’s the format we export from Rhino and load in the browser.

Workflow Overview

1. Model in Rhino / Grasshopper
2. Bake geometry
3. Export as .glb
4. Serve files with Python
5. Open on your phone
6. View in 3D → switch to AR

Slides