In recent years, we have reached a point where rendered images have become a prevalent tool in the architectural profession. Like it or not, the renders are seen as a product and rendering tool for future competitions and commissions. The architects have fallen in love with these colorful renderings, as customers understand them more easily than the floor plans. However, the tools used to produce these attractive images are constantly changing. With the evolution of technology, it is likely that we face a new era in visualization techniques. The rendering programs used to produce extremely realistic visual effects in movies and video games for the first time are readily available to us.
The boundaries between different industries and companies are blurring behind the rendering programs Popular game are marketing their software directly to architects. This year, the game developers Gears of War have patented their own free processing software, Unreal Engine 4 for architects. There are also many other rendering software games are available at a cost much lower than the software used by architects. The founder Tim Sweeney believes the world is changing display, told The Verge “We’re realizing now that Unreal Engine 4 is a common language between all these commons.” Create a common language between the currently disparate fields of architecture, film and video games suggests that the industries themselves can begin to hybridize and learn from each other. For example, game developers can use the skills of architects to understand how to build 3D buildings, while architects can learn from virtual gaming environment to discover new means of representation. Moreover, these software tools are capable of producing realistic visualizations of projects, leading to the question, why this is not an industry standard?
Continue reading to understand the pros and cons of being one of the first to adopt these systems, after the jump.
Pros:
1. The game software offers completely new possibilities of presentation
Until recently, it was extremely slow runs produce videos with standard software architecture, the end result was raw and lifeless. Professionals, due to these difficulties, rarely used this method of representation, unless otherwise requested. Static renderings and drawings often fail to capture the experiential and spatial qualities of a building. Imagine, for example, be able to walk through a project and to explain its circulation. Or, if the customer is choosing interior finishes, you can instantly see the different options, even under different lighting conditions. This is where the video game rendering programs demonstrate its advantages.
2. An advantage over your competitors
Compared to our younger counterparts in the technology sector, architects have been shown to be more resistant to change. Many offices were slow to adopt the use of computers in its infancy, and the analogous process to produce models and drawings remains an important in most workplaces and universities tool. Architects are forced to work in the physical world of the structure and materials, as well as the theoretical field of drawings and ideas, bringing the world of 3D modeling as an intermediary of these two. Building Information Modeling (BIM), in particular, has had far-reaching effects, allows us to digitally catalog, analyze and put the price on each project component.
But despite the availability of these amazing tools Many offices have been slow to adopt and continue to rely primarily on 2D drawings. The offices that take advantage of their game programs may have an advantage over its competitors when it comes to produce attractive and convincing renders. It can be seen in 3D visual works produced by artists of Unreal Engine 4 as the renders used in video games are able to reveal very nuanced light and movement to enhance the experience on video architectural details. In addition, these three-dimensional spatial experiences provide opportunities to fully explain the project and understand the experience offered a building before construction.
3. Architects can use for free software game
Perhaps the most compelling reason to give them a chance to game programs renders reason is that the Unreal Engine 4 is completely free for architects. Previously, Unreal Engine 4 had a monthly subscription fee of $ 19.99 USD, a much more affordable price than most software programs used by architects. Also, because architects do not produce a commercial product by definition, this also means that the rate of royalty 5% assessed game makers does not apply. Unreal Engine 4 makes it even easier for architects use their software by adding tutorials and a sample of architectural renderings on your website. As more architects begin to use video game software in their offices, it is likely that additional resources and tools that are uniquely adapted to create convincing virtual spaces are discovered. Unreal Engine 4 has shown that the cost is not prohibitive to produce high quality images factor is how these software programs are integrated into our work real obstacle.
Cons:
1. A steep learning curve
For some professionals has been a great effort even take 3D digital most basic tools. It is easy to see why only some have jumped at the chance to innovate through the implementation of tools outside the discipline. Just do not be judging the offices for its technological illiteracy, since it requires a lot of time and resources to establish a new system work. Some 3D rendering software have a very steep learning curve, especially for those who are used to working in 2D environments. It is not always feasible sacrificing billable hours to conduct extensive training in the use of these new programs.
2. The video game software complicate the workflow
The graphical representation of architecture remains a multistep process that often requires the use of more than one program, and requires export and import various elements. This is also the case with Unreal Engine 4 and other rendering programs that require import a 3D model over another program like 3DS Max. Architects and can produce high quality renderings through plug-ins in 3DS Max and V-Ray, so some may be reluctant to take more complicating the process of rendering a video game program.
3. The video game software were not created for architecture
Others question the intention to use software that was originally intended for the creation of video games, because without the right skills, they could potentially produce differences stylistic very marked in architectural representations. Not surprisingly, some of the examples of architectural videos produced with these programs remind us to play a video game. Determining whether or not a problem is reduced to the broader question of stylistic preferences and motivations of the architect to create a video. These tools are potentially dangerous for architects, allowing us to produce stunning visual effects that lack any real substance in terms of its architectural, spatial and programmatic functions. In this case, the objectives of the architects are inherently different from video game designers whose goal is to create a captivating experience exclusively through the screen.
As most benefit, renders offer us the opportunity to communicate the underlying phenomenological ideas behind a building and presenting the ideal qualities we aspire to evoke. However, as technology allows us to produce extremely realistic scenes, there is also the danger of getting lost in the image of a project rather than its reality. As attractive as some of these views may be, we have to question what attracts us to certain images and narratives evaluate for architectural and design decisions to be transmitted.
In conclusion
The representation is only a small fraction of the effort to design a building, and it is often only a design tool that enables architects to evaluate the spatial qualities and visual impact. The larger offices have the resources to outsource production renders professionals, resulting in higher product quality and leaves more time for architects to design rather than worry about the performance. For this reason, some offices do not want to spend extra time and money on high-quality renderings, and therefore the question of software used becomes irrelevant. However, when the architectural models can be used as a design tool to help clients visualize and make decisions about the interiors, the question of whether or not to use them becomes more difficult.
As these software programs continue to evolve, users expect that the interface is becoming more intuitive, which can reduce rendering time and convert videos into a viable architectural representation medium. However, for architects to take advantage of these advances in display technologies, we must first learn to see the renders as a tool and not as an end in itself. The decision not to explore these tools will depend on individual needs and circumstances. Initially means sacrificing time to learn and navigate these new rendering programs, but the quality of the final images can be substantially better and you can discover new benefits of the program through the design process.
Ultimately, it is likely that future software architecture allow us access to high quality programs offered by video games, specifically adapted to the representation of architectural spaces. The question is, what architects take the first steps?
All videos courtesy of YouTube user koooolalala except for “Architecture Real-time” demonstration, courtesy of EU4 Architecture.
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