Keppel Land adds virtual show suites to marketing arsenal

Keppel Land is the first developer in Singapore to create 360-degree immersive virtual reality (VR) show suites leveraging Oculus Rift technology for its Highline Residences property. Two off-plan* virtual suites have joined the three physical suites at the Highline Residences showroom in Singapore.

Developed jointly by Keppel Land and visualisation firm VMW Group, the new VR platform features both the Highline Residences show suites showcasing newly-released units as well as a virtual exploration of key landmarks in the trendy Tiong Bahru neighbourhood where Highline Residences is located.

Visitors can experience 360-degree virtual immersion where cutting edge displays and optics, high refresh rates and a low-persistence display work hand-in-hand to provide a new level of visual fidelity and a wide field of view.

Foo lists the advantages of creating a virtual reality experience.

Albert Foo, GM of Marketing at Keppel Land, noted that going the VR route is more economical than building a new physical show suite, and has the added advantage of being portable, easily edited, and quicker to create.

He said, “In line with our brand philosophy of Thinking Unboxed, Keppel Land is constantly exploring new ways to provide our customers with an enhanced experience. Harnessing Oculus Rift VR technology, we are now able to showcase different configurations and apartment types without having to create the physical show suite, which is a more efficient solution especially in land-scarce cities such as Singapore. This ‘portable’ technology also enables us to reach out to customers overseas more effectively.”

Lee lists the advantage of the Oculus Rift.

According to Foo, building a physical suite would have required permits to be processed and physically constructing the building, a process which would have taken six months or more. The virtual versions took two months to complete.

Lee Hon Kit, MD, VMW, said, “Each VR show suite was created in great detail, aligning strictly to the actual size of the unbuilt units and integrated with the unit plan overlay for orientation and navigation. Users will be able to experience a comprehensive view of everything including the high-end interior finishes and fittings, with future iterations of the technology allowing users to change materials and fittings they would like to explore for their future homes.”
 
"It is not about being the first in the market to do something," Foo added. "The whole purpose of doing show suites is for our customers have the experience of the development, to give them a very good idea of how the apartment will turn out."

While Keppel Land has supported augmented and virtual reality, the company had not felt that the experience would be immersive enough until seeing work made for the Oculus Rift VR headsets about four months ago. "We couldn't tell if (the content) was real or a computer rendered image," he said. "After testing we are convinced that the experience is indeed immersive and that you really can't tell what is real and what is not real any more."

No detail too small.

Foo added that authenticity had been a focus for the project, with four iterations required just to ensure that the toilet paper looked exactly like the real thing.

"In future we expect to have both physical and virtual show suites," he said, noting that requests to change the decor or the layout of a unit can be accommodated more easily virtually.

Highline Residences comprises a total of 500 homes ranging from one- to four-bedroom units, dual key apartments as well as penthouses, spread across three residential towers and four low-rise blocks. Approximately 88% of the 320 launched units have been sold as at end-September 2016.

Keppel Land has two virtual reality walkthrough stations with swivel chairs for ease of exploration. Prospective customers can wear the Oculus Rift headset and navigate with the help of a handheld one-button cursor control. The images delivered to the left and right eyes can be viewed on dual screens. Lee stands behind a volunteer to explain how the walkthroughs work.

Keppel Land is recognised for its portfolio of residential developments and investment-grade commercial properties with Singapore and China as its core markets, as well as Indonesia and Vietnam as its growth markets. The Asian property developer has a pipeline of about 70,000 homes in Singapore and overseas. It is behind prime office space such as the Marina Bay Financial Centre, Ocean Financial Centre and One Raffles Quay.

The showroom also boasts an interactive video board with a three-panel display that allows visitors to explore landmarks, shopping, dining and transport options in the neighbourhood where Highline Residences is located. Landmarks can be tapped on for deep-dives.

The showroom also boasts an interactive video board with a three-panel display that allows visitors to explore landmarks, shopping, dining and transport options in the neighbourhood where Highline Residences is located.

Interested?

The virtual show suites can be experienced at the Highline Residence Sales Gallery at Kim Tian Road (entrance roughly opposite Block 123) from 15 October between 10am to 6pm daily.

A bedroom in one of the physical show suites. There are a lot of textures to digitise.

Hashtags: #HighlineResidences, #ThinkingUnboxed

*Off-plan properties are those which do not yet have a physical representation, and are only available as plans.