In response to the Covid 19 pandemic resulting in museums, cultural sites, and tourist destinations shuttered to visitors for the foreseeable future, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy has come up with an innovative solution. The foundation recently launched a social media initiative offering virtual tours of a dozen of the architect's best known sites, including Fallingwater, Taliesin West, and Unity Temple. The project was conceived and mounted in collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, and features weekly online streamed virtual tours conducted by gallery and site directors acting as tour guides. The initiative is indicative of a growing trend toward virtual tours of architectural sites globally.
Currently, the largest repository of virtual tours are found within Google Arts & Culture (a subdivision of the Google Cultural Institute). Available via app or browser access, the platform offers virtual tours of 4500 museums and cultural sites, searchable by hashtag, region, architect or specific architectural school as well as gallery and collections tours inside sites. The site/app also features educational tools with biographies, schools of design overviews and other materials accompanied by virtual tours of associated buildings.
Other virtual initiatives, (such as the Wright tours) are driven by foundations, some by governments (most western countries now offer virtual tours of parliament online), or by digital companies such as Matterport; a user driven version of Google 360 which has been used by sound and video contractors to create anything from virtual real estate tours to event venue interiors.
In terms of architecture, current virtual tours showcasing architectural prowess tend to be focused around historic sites (Stonehenge, Machu Pichu, the Acropolis) rather than modern buildings. Museum, gallery, and other virtual tours often include architectural details and information as part of the overall experience, although architecture is not the main focus.
Virtual reality and associated technologies have been gaining in popularity more broadly within the field of architecture in recent years for their utility in modelling and showcasing the latest building technologies, materials, and design briefs prior to construction to inform budgets and building briefs as well as assisting in conveying the architect's overall vision. Once projects have begun, virtual technologies are also being widely used in recreating or visualizing landscapes or extensions, demonstrating the malleability of interior configurations to adapt marketing strategies toward prospective renters or buyers of spaces in completed or still-in-construction sites.
The Frank Lloyd Wright initiative was conceived directly in response to Covid-19 as a means to combat budget shortfalls caused by closures. The hope is that virtual tours will encourage donations and memberships to the foundation. Executive Director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy Barbara Gordon writes “It is precisely at this time, when so many are shut inside, that we need to experience beauty and inspiration. Wright’s works bring people together in harmony with the natural world, reminding us that we’re all connected, even when we’re apart.”
Even though this initiative was inspired by the pandemic, it is likely a harbinger of the future in terms of how architects and their brands use virtual touring and modelling not only to appeal to their building and engineering partners, but to communicate to the public on projects of public interest and government directives, as well as to showcase their brands to a wider design curious audience.
