3D changes the way tenants view commercial property

Finding the right commercial space for your business isn’t easy. It takes a lot of creativity to imagine an empty open-plan office as a functional working space for your business.

Trying to envisage how different spaces will look – partitioned and filled with furniture that suits your business – is perhaps the biggest challenge. You can visit building after building with your agent and after a while, they all start to look the same.

What if there was an easy tool to do all that creative imagining for you?

We’ve heard about 3D walk-through listings for off-the-plan residential property. Now potential tenants for commercial leases can get the virtual experience too.

Three-dimensional modeling company 3D Spaces has recently launched an automated conversion service that turns two-dimensional floor plans into interactive 3D rendered models.

The interactive 3D floor plan models allow potential tenants to become fully immersed as if they’re physically there in the space

3D Spaces Director Marcel Marais says for decades the humble flat 2D floor plan was the only way an agent could show a prospective customer an office space for lease.

You can view a building’s entire layout in 3D

“Most customers can understand a floor plan but it gets very difficult to visualize a space in a three-dimensional way when presented with two-dimensional content, especially offices with large floor areas and complex fit-outs,” Marais says.

“The interactive 3D floor plan models allow potential tenants to become fully immersed as if they’re physically there in the space.”

How does it work?

Viewers can control how they view the space – from above or on an angle – before “stepping in” to virtually walk around and explore.

The technology is completely cloud based and runs on any WebGL enabled browser and any device – tablet, phone or desktop.

3D interactivity for commercial property

Mark McCann, National Director Office Leasing at Colliers International says the 3D technology enables his tenants to analyse how a particular commercial lease option could work for their business.

“It enables a bit more emotional engagement from the tenant,” McCann says.

“When the tenant becomes interactive they get a little bit more committed to the building because they can get an idea of the look and feel of the place.”

Commercial agents have begun embracing 3D renders to show buyers properties

McCann says he hasn’t seen technology used in this way before. “We’re in quite a competitive environment with our clients. The demand for tenants is quite aggressive.

It enables a bit more emotional engagement from the tenant

“And they’re really embracing it. This is a far savvier way of marketing our tenancies than what we were using before.”

This doesn’t mean the end of personal tours for commercial property, McCann is quick to add. “The physical marketing is equally important but this is certainly valuable as an adjunct.

“And everything’s online now, isn’t it?”

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