Combining Virtual Environments and Direct Manipulation for Architectural Modeling

In this paper we present an environment for conceptual design which mimics the interaction of designers with physical mockups. We present novel three dimensional on-and-above-the-surface interactive techniques which combine asymmetric bimanual operations with multi-touch direct manipulation on a flat surface and depth cameras. These take advantage of a continuous interaction space to create and edit 3D models in a stereoscopic environment. To allow modeling architectural shapes directly, we combine hand and finger tracking in the space above the table with multi-touch on its surface without the need to change modes. This provides an alternative design environment where users can seamlessly switch between interacting on the surface or in the space above it depending on the task, which makes it easier to model complex shapes using simple operations.