Adam Ownsworth

THE HUDDERSFIELD VIRTUAL BLUEPRINT

Virtual and Augmented Reality will change the way we use the spaces in our towns and cities. In 2019, Kirklees Council launched a strategy named ‘The Huddersfield Blueprint’, a ‘ten-year vision’ to rebuild and ‘create a thriving, modern-day town centre’. It was implemented to address the noticeable decline in retail, business and tourism within the town centre, as people are finding alternative methods to shop and do business using digital technologies. However, the plans proposed by the council are unambitious, generic, and not future-proof, making them already outdated before they are complete.

The Huddersfield ‘Virtual’ Blueprint looks at where the Kirklees Council strategy falls short and complements or substitutes it with a re-imagined virtual and augmented reality alternative. The project aims to showcase how the installation of powerful, real-time virtual and augmented reality technologies will offer consumers a range of interactive, adaptive, manipulatable and unique experiences for whatever their visit to the town centre is. The Virtual Blueprint has no limits and will generate an exciting and unique USP for the town. It will also bring Huddersfield into the technological forefront and set a precedent for other towns and cities waiting for the inevitable transition.