UCLA Deploys Homebrewed Urban Simulator for Campus Planning
A
3D urban simulation tool that the University of
California Los Angeles (UCLA) developed nearly 20 years ago
is still in
operation, helping architects and administrators with construction
challenges
on the crowded campus.
The
UCLA Urban Simulation Team, developed by the
university's department of architecture and urban design, helped city
planners
in the 1990s envision how a rapid transit bus system would work on
Wilshire Boulevard,
one of Los Angeles' busiest streets.
The lab
had created a 3D fly/drive-through of the downtown Los Angeles area,
which was
then enhanced by a new graphics system with highly realistic, textured
3D
models. Its 1GB of texture memory allowed UCLA students and professors
to use
more photo-based, real-world textures for the buildings and surrounding
environments, in addition to higher-quality textures. The chief benefit
was
much higher visual fidelity over larger areas than was achievable
before while
still maintaining real-time interactivity.
While
the Urban Simulation Team was
disbanded in 2013, the simulator itself was moved
to the UCLA Capital Programs design and construction team, which has
used it to
figure how to fit new buildings into available space on what is already
a
crowded campus.
"It
gives us extra breadth as a design and visualization tool," said campus
architect Jeffrey Averill.
One
particularly complex job completed in 2013 involved construction of new
residential halls and recreation facilities in one corner of the campus.
Private
companies have also partnered with UCLA to make use of the simulator.
Several
years ago, an endoscope maker used it to help with construction of
operating
rooms with endoscopic video systems at what would eventually be the
Ronald
Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
"It's
one thing to see a piece of paper that states an institution's
vision," said
Connie Padden, Karl Storz Endoscopy-America director of technology
integration.
"It's another to have an institution show you visually what they plan
to do."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.