For architectural firms not yet embracing real-time rendering and immersive visualization, the design process can be lengthy, costly, and challenging.
This is because traditional visualization techniques and technology do not have direct access to the most up-to-date information in your modeling software, resulting in a disconnected design workflow. This can inhibit all aspects of architectural design.
In this article, I will explain why there are significant disadvantages to this traditional approach to design and why integrating real-time rendering and visualization into your workflow leads to a much more efficient, collaborative, and enjoyable way to design our future structures and spaces.
When visualization is disconnected from design
Visual representation is an essential part of architectural practice. However, even today, when we’ve come so far in technology development, it is often still happening in isolation to design.
Whether it’s waiting for a separate team to create visualizations at certain milestones, or exporting and importing models and waiting for them to render, this fragmented workflow results in many disadvantages, including outdated information and delayed decision making.
Fewer images are rendered throughout a project, and renders are typically saved for later in the design process due to the time, costs, and resources involved, which provide clients with fewer opportunities to review design proposals and provide their feedback.
But there is an incredibly simple solution to this - real-time rendering software that plugs directly into modeling software. This provides architectural firms with the opportunity to bring realistic 3D visualization experiences directly into the design process, allowing designers and even clients to instantly review the impact of every design decision.
Solving fragmented design with real-time visualization
Real-time visualization provides you with an incredibly accurate and realistic 3D representation of your design. As the name suggests, these visualizations can be viewed in real time, without having to wait a long time for each render to process.
Key benefits include the ability to review and walk around and through your model and explore how your design would appear and work in reality. It also allows you to create and export still images and other visual formats such as 360-degree panoramas, that can be shared with colleagues and clients to get faster feedback.
Real-time visualization solves the problem of fragmented design, turning design and visualization into one unified process. You can quickly review changes and communicate these changes, improving collaboration and communication with clients. This all leads to better designs, quicker decisions, faster delivery times, and happier customers.
Real-time visualization and VR with Enscape
Enscape is a real-time visualization and virtual reality plugin for Revit, SketchUp, Archicad, Rhino, and Vectorworks. As it plugs directly into your modeling software, it provides you with an integrated architectural visualization and design workflow. What does that actually mean?
It means that you can produce high-quality renderings and access virtual reality with incredible ease and speed. It means that you can see a rendering alongside your CAD or BIM model and visualize as you design. With Enscape, there is no need to wait until you reach certain project milestones before you create renderings. Now, you can visualize at any point in time.
We have been waiting long enough for the technology to provide us nice visualizations directly out of our virtual models, without complicated workflows and special technical skills. Now this is what we have with Enscape.
Optimizing every phase of your workflow
Being able to create high-quality renders straight from your CAD or BIM software allows you to visualize throughout every phase of your workflow. This is transforming how AEC professionals design, view, and communicate their projects.
From pre-design through to documentation and construction, Enscape is with you every step of the way. It provides you with the ability to quickly iterate and test ideas and create the imagery you need for marketing materials and client presentations. It also helps you to detect clashes before construction starts and explore every corner of a space in virtual reality.
No matter where you are in your workflow, Enscape is there to help you achieve and see more.
Visualizing tomorrow
To work more efficiently, collaborate more effectively, and better envision tomorrow’s buildings and spaces, we firmly believe that the future of architectural design includes real-time visualization and immersive experiences.
As hardware becomes more affordable, we can expect that 3D and VR explorations will become a part of the everyday design process for design firms. 95% of our survey respondents already state that real-time rendering is an essential part of their design workflow (Enscape user survey, 900 respondents, Dec 2020).
When everyone understands design, informed feedback can be provided and taken into consideration, empowering you to create better designs and better projects. It really is rewarding to see how Enscape is helping industry practitioners to visualize tomorrow and enhance communities all over the globe.
