Architectural 3D rendering: future of architectural design

Architectural 3D rendering: future of architectural design

In the early 80s of the last century, French philosopher and sociologist Jean Baudrillard came up with the simulacra theory, which was somewhat controversial at the time. He spoke about simulations gradually replacing the real-world process or even the whole system. Well, now, living in 2022, we can see that he was right.

With the work and achievements of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Paul Allen, Steve Wozniak, and many other technological geniuses, we have as society entered a new digital era as a society. In an age where computers and technology completely change business and even personal life. Of course, the architectural and urban planning industry is not an exception. A modern approach like architectural 3d visualization brings architecture to the new digital age. Such immersive software allows architects and design artists to create better and more efficient buildings visually and functionally.

What are the architectural visualization and 3D rendering process?

3D visualization is a known special technique that is used to translate the message through animation or images. It’s not a secret that visual arts have been used by humankind since ancient Egypt to communicate memories, reality, or ideas. However, the latest developments in the digital world bring a new kick to visual arts. The world of 3D rendering changes non-stop, affecting the architecture industry and the quality of the buildings we all live in.

When it comes to definition, architectural visualization, also known as architectural rendering, is an artistic way to create two-dimensional or three-dimensional images and animations to communicate the designs and architectural vision in little detail. Before digital progress, architects were building real-life mini-models of their ideas. Now, the 3D rendering software allows artists to create a fully immersive experience to represent their vision.

3D visualization software keeps improving each year, bringing new features and expanding the digital abilities of architects. The intuitive 3D modeling allows designers to simulate reality in the best way possible, from effects of lightning and ventilation to even acoustic. Such functionality gives a chance for architectural artists to evaluate the proportions and scales of the feature building.

Nevertheless, 3D artists today are able to immerse clients into a completely different reality. Present-day 3D visualization art gives the clients accurate architectural design, translating scales, textures, interior furnishing, outside gardens, and more. With professional 3D rendering, you can recreate so-called “architectural scenes” to show everyday life and actions being performed.

Taking a closer look at art history, we can see that architectural scenes were a popular subject for many visual artists worldwide. Even in ancient Rome, you can find technical and precise showings of casual and regular-life activities in the architectural spaces. Such representation of the architectural scene is a remarkable milestone for the architectural world. Now thanks to the new developments, modern architects and designers can elevate their work by putting you in the 3D visualization of their idea, giving you detailed designs, texture, sounds, and moving of the characters. Architectural 3D animation gives you a perspective of what day-to-day life would look like in such space.

Why do we need 3D rendering?

It might come as a surprise, but there are many parties involved in architecture, urban planning, and design. The project has to be understood and approved by architects, plans, engineers, and many other non-specialists. It seems hard to get experts with different perspectives and objectives on the same page. That’s where 3D visualization and 3D rendering help all the stakeholders to come to a shared understanding of the final project.

By using 3D rendering software, designers and architects can make changes and adjustments in real-time, quickly switch the concepts, manipulate the design and create several design versions. Some of the most popular and usable software among designers are Autocad, Maxwell, Sketchup, and Rhino. Those significant architectural  3D rendering software get the clients amazed by the power of modern-day technology. The immersive experience you get with 3D visualization helps not only clients and non-specialists but architects themselves. Being fully immersed in their own idea gives an understanding of the qualities and quantitative nature of the design.

While 3D rendering plays a significant role in improving the collaborative work of all the project team members, it’s also a really powerful marketing tool. We all have seen architectural visualization commercials for new upcoming buildings, neighborhoods, or recreation centers.

That way, we see that 3D rendering is widely used in marketing to promote new real estate and for consultations, planners and clients, and helps improve the building process in the developing stage.

What the future holds for 3D rendering and architectural visualization?

The truth is that visualization is the messenger between creator and audience. It gives us a glance at the idea and a deeper understanding of the message. Architectural visualization is not the final product, but it’s a very powerful tool that benefits the project itself. The modern approach to architectural visualization is interactive, innovative, and immersive. It helps the artists to catch the insights about their ideas to make alterations and present a better version of the product.

However, 3D rendering and architectural visualization software keep improving and updating. We came from a small descriptive video to a fully virtual reality experience. Virtual reality and meta-verse have been a complete game-changer for architects and digital artists. VR is gaining popularity, meaning we need more and more virtual architects. In that sense, the job of an architect found a new meaning and aspect no one could possibly predict 20 years ago. Architectural visualization will develop to a new level of digital urban planning.

That has been said, 3D rendering is a beautiful, new-era art. There is no denying that digital progress brought unspeakable change to visual arts, bringing us from a cave painting to virtual city planning and design. With the trajectory of architectural visualization development, we cannot even imagine what great things we might witness in 15 years’ time!