Digital literacy is not a topic architects usually consider. For Aliza Leventhal, Head of the Technical Services Section, Prints & Photographs Division at the Library of Congress, the processes of literacy and design go hand-in-hand. Previously the corporate librarian and archivist for Sasaki, Aliza is leading national conversations on everything from born-digital design files and archiving to institutional memory and knowledge sharing. Today, she's working with architects and designers to reimagine digital workflows for future access and ideation.
Collage by Matthew Maganga. Image Courtesy of Forbes Massie-Heatherwick Studio
Fifty-one years ago, in 1970, a Japanese roboticist named Masahiro Mori came up with the concept of the “Uncanny Valley”. Around the same time, architectural renderings done using analog methods were still in vogue – collages and photomontages used to get ideas across to clients. A decade later, personal computers came along, and that saw the emergence of CAD and the wider adoption of digital rendering. Today’s architectural renderings are almost imperceptible from reality, with the increase in sophistication of rendering sofware. We struggle to tell the difference between what is a rendering and what is not – or rather we are able to tell a slight difference and it leaves us slightly uncomfortable, which brings us to Mori’s uncanny valley.
Twinmotion 2021.1 offers powerful new possibilities to create, develop and present visualizations as a fully connected member of the Epic ecosystem, cementing its place as an essential component of the entire archviz process from concept to advanced photorealistic experience. Additionally, with this release, Unreal Engine continues its efforts to improve existing features and workflows in response to customer feedback.
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Mariapia di Lecce (commended, Hybrid category): Reconstruct with drawing. Hand drawing for graphic analysis.. Image Courtesy of Sir John Soane's Museum
If there is any word that describes what architectural renders look like nowadays, it would be: impressive. The immense world of rendering has allowed people to engage in virtually-built environments, exploring each space and experiencing what they might hear or feel as they walk by one room to another without being physically present in the project.
The main purpose of a render is to help viewers visualize what the final result of the project will look like. Whether it is for presentation or construction purposes, architects need to translate their visions in a way that helps people who were not involved in the ideation process understand the space and the experiences that come with it. However, not all architects have the proper skills or the time to create such hyper-realistic environments, but with the exceptional quality of visuals being produced nowadays and the rising demand, it has become somewhat mandatory for every project to be presented as a realistic 3D render. So if you are one of those architects who don't have the skills nor time, here are ways you can present your project as an immersive visual experience that translates its identity without resorting to 3D software.
Real-time rendering is the fastest and easiest way to turn building models into immersive 3D experiences. It empowers the creative process by enabling designers to generate, document, and visualize simultaneously from one model.
Tucked beneath the dense trees of Al-Ozer Forest in Mount Lebanon, Byblos-based architects and visual artists of JPAG Atelier created a secluded retreat away from humans and the chaos of the urban life. The Earth Chapel is a unique sanctuary that lets its visitors experience both the simplicity of the architecture and the richness of the surrounding landscapes, all at once.
Lost in Melbourne. Conceptual Category Jury Winner.
After 3 weeks of voting, the results are finally in. The ArchDaily Architectural Visualization Awards has just selected the winners of its first edition. Out of 750 visualizations submitted from all over the world, 6 winning images were chosen, two for each of the following categories: Exterior, Interior, and Conceptual.
Gathering more than 10 000 votes, This awards has come to an end. Presented by IPEVO, Cove.tool, and Concepts, the contest aimed to find the most talented individuals, who inspire us and help us visualize the future of our cities and buildings.
The 1st stage of the Architectural Visualization Awards has come to an end. 30 finalists, 10 from each category: Exterior, Interior, and Conceptual were selected by the official ArchDaily jury. Launched thanks to IPEVO, Cove.tool, and Concepts, this 1st edition of the award gathered a whopping number of proposals, with 750 visualizations submitted from all over the world.
As architecture is increasingly reliant on renderings to convey its message and depict the unbuilt, many practices turn to seasoned 3D artists to help them portray their designs in the most favourable light; thus they externalize visualizations to a handful of firms.
We are heading for a scenario in which BIM technology will greatly help us to maximize the roles and skills of civil construction professionals, making room for us to plan, design, build and manage buildings and infrastructures much more efficiently, integrating all systems, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing in a responsible, economical and sustainable way.
While opting for still images seems to be the most utilized means of presenting a project, some architects choose to invite viewers into the architecture itself, allowing them to experience the building and its surroundings immersively. Since 2006, architecture filmography studio Spirit of Space has engaged viewers with over 200 short films of projects built by world-renowned architects such as Peter Zumthor, Steven Holl, Daniel Libeskind, and Jeanne Gang. The studio’s multidisciplinary team has combined visuals with customized soundtracks, elevating the journey and turning it into a multi-sensory experience.
Visualisation and poster by MARTA. Architecture by LABVA.
It is a challenging time for the industry. Lots of architectural projects are being frozen or delayed indefinitely due to the global circumstances.
In MARTA we don’t want to stand back! Within mutually beneficial we would like to push the situation and help both: ▪️architects — to push projects with inspiring images ▪️us — to create great artwork for the portfolio
We are offering to create up to 3 high-end visualizations of an architectural project for free.
To take part, please, follow the steps below:
1. Send us a small presentation of your project. Be simple and clear. You can send it to our mail hello@marta.pictures Or
The AI & Architecture at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal in Paris, France was scheduled to be open for the past couple of months, showcasing work by Stanislas Chaillou on generative design and machine learning. However, due to the global pandemic, people were able to virtually explore the ideas through a series of interviews and a virtual tours. The work explored current scales of experimentation: plans, elevations, structures and perspectives in which AI could already make a contribution, whether real or speculative.
By now, you’ve likely heard about real-time rendering for architectural visualization and how it’s changing the way designs are presented. With real-time rendering, you can edit your design and see the changes updated instantly, at full quality, and you can produce animations and panoramas in minutes instead of days. Real-time rendering also opens the door to immersive experiences like 360° videos and virtual reality.
American video game and software development company Epic Games today welcomes Twinmotion as the latest offering to help visualization professionals in the architecture, construction, urban planning, and landscaping industries better communicate their designs. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, Twinmotion delivers real-time, final-quality rendering through a simple and intuitive interface, with the ability to quickly produce a variety of presentation options including images, panoramas, videos, and virtual reality content.
In 2017, the Portland Society for Architecture (PSA) asked citizens and visitors to provide their vision of Portland on blank maps of the city. PSA distributed these maps as a tool to encourage civic engagement in defining Portland. The completed maps offer unique perspectives and insight into how the city might grow and flourish.
As more and more visualization professionals adopt real-time rendering for presentation and collaboration, we’re seeing yet another trend in this emerging field: the integration of various technologies to serve a wide variety of workflows.
Every firm has different needs for compatibility with their chosen CAD programs. No one wants to learn a new process from scratch when they've already spent countless months setting up a design-to-presentation process that works for them.
https://www.archdaily.com/913407/integration-the-latest-architectural-visualization-trend-of-2019Sponsored Post
Engineer Matt Daniels has created a new interactive map to visualize the world's populations. Called 'Human Terrain', the project includes extruded block-by-block population data for cities across the world to give viewers fine-grain insight into population distribution. Daniels used data from the Global Human Settlement Layer and processed it using Google Earth Engine to create a mountainous digital landscape.
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.jpg?1618071843 "Courtesy of Alexis Christodoulou")
