Architectural visualisation

Architectural visualisation is an artform used to create realistic illustrations for the interiors and exteriors of buildings, usually before completion of works.

Early methods of architectural visualisation employed traditional drawing, painting and airbrushing techniques to produce illustrations that were as close as possible to the finished item. However, nowadays, the vast majority of architectural visualisation is undertaken using computer generated imaging technologies.

Specialist hardware and software systems enable the CGI artist to deliver an architectural illustration which is extremely accurate and virtually photo-realistic.

Whilst there is still a good deal of artistic input in the final artist’s impression, the methods rely much more heavily on technical abilities.

Used extensively in property marketing, particularly by house builders, architectural visualisations usually start with the architect’s drawing, although they can be created from instructions and material references.

The accuracy of the final image in portraying what the final building will look like relies on taking the architect’s plans, creating a 3D wireframe (or greyscale) model and applying the material finishes specified, most of which are available from commercial image libraries. Once these finishes have been applied to the model, a wide variety of lighting and climatic effects can be applied to arrive at the desired illustration.

Visualisations can be incorporated into real-life photography to show how a property might look in a given location.

Presentations can be enhanced by animation, which can include walk-through and fly-round techniques to show the project from any angle.