Archinect - News

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Creating a 3D Project With Enscape

2023-03-13T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Enscape

Enscape’s in-house architect and 3D artist, Samir Mujovi, explains that a big part of his job is creating projects for the company's product releases. These projects get used in Enscape's promotional materials, including the videos that have become synonymous with each new release.

In this article, Mujovi walks us through his creative process of creating the Enscape 3.3 project. He includes a sneak peek into how he uses its real-time visualization plugin.

Conceptualizing the project

The first part of the process is to form a concept. The new features of the release influence the content created. They help me and the team decide where and how they will be showcased in the promotional video and renders. Enscape 3.3’s hero feature was the Site Context, and other features developed for this release were education-themed assets and materials and the Material Overwrite.

The video was to start with a maquette model to set the scene, then move on to ho...

Save time and unleash your design creativity with Enscape 3.4

2022-08-24T08:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Enscape.

Visualization from Enscape just keeps getting better. The latest version of the fast, simple real-time visualization plugin, Enscape 3.4, is more powerful and user-friendly than ever. With intuitive new feature updates, the most recent release empowers architects and designers to easily refine their visualizations and streamline their workflow.

As design professionals already know, the tool works seamlessly with modeling software such as Revit, Rhino, Archicad, SketchUp, and Vectorworks. Enscape has gained popularity by allowing architects to quickly test ideas, walk clients through rendered 3D projects, and implement feedback. Aiming to meet the needs of today’s design professionals, Enscape 3.4 helps designers save time, win work, and keep clients happy.

The new release includes essential feature updates for architects and designers. Enscape 3.4 enables users to create their own categories for the Custom Asset Library, save sun positions in ...

Real-time architectural visualization receives a boost with Enscape 3.3

2022-04-13T20:09:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Enscape

Architects and designers can enjoy a more refined design workflow thanks to the creators of the popular real-time visualization plugin, Enscape. New features including Site Context and Alpha Channel Export plus support for SketchUp 2022 have just been released with the latest version, Enscape 3.3.

A recognized leader within the AEC industry, Enscape is renowned for being a fast and simple rendering plugin for modeling software such as Revit and Rhino. The tool supplements the design process, empowering architects to rapidly test ideas, walk through their rendered project, and show clients exactly what is being proposed in a comprehensible format. With Enscape 3.3, the new features and functionality are set to improve both the design and the client experience.

“We’re always looking for new ways to support our customers’ design workflows,” said Petr Mitev, VP of Visualization Product Group at Enscape. “With our latest release, we’ve automated s...

Passionate about BIM and architectural visualization? See who's currently hiring on Archinect Jobs

2020-12-31T09:00:00-05:00

Some of you may have spent some time this holiday season revamping your resume and updating your portfolio. If you're well versed in BIM and architectural visualization, reign in the new year with a new job!

Helping the architecture community stay up to date with employment news and professional development resources, Archinect has selected a list of employment opportunities worth exploring. While you may be ready to say goodbye to 2020, here's a list of employment opportunities relating to BIM and architectural visualization that you may have missed.

*Need a bit of help with your upcoming job interview or looking for ways to expand your skills as a professional? Check out our Archinect Tips section created for students and design professionals looking to improve their skills.

Westminster Urban Treehouse. Image courtesy of Jeff Zbikowski Architecture

Jeff Zbikowski Architecture seeks a Project Manager

Firm Details: JZA is an up and coming Santa Monica-based design firm that is in ...

How do you visualize the effects of climate change? Architect Iwo Borkowicz and artist Alicja Biala use data visualization to inform the public

2019-07-22T13:50:00-04:00

In this hyper-visual world, it's becoming more challenging to keep the general public informed and engaged with pressing issues, specifically issues relating to the environment. The quickly changing landscapes, rising sea levels, and temperature fluctuations should be enough of a warning for others to take notice. However, Alicja Biala and Iwo Borkowicz illustrate these issues using public space, data, and art.

Located beneath MVRDV's Baltyk Tower stands Biala and Borkowicz's 9m-tall installation. At first glance, the colorful structures would capture anyone's attention. The intricate patterns and distinct individualist shapes may satisfy social media thirsty individuals, but the message behind each piece represents something far more important.

(L) Totem showcases how much water is used during food production. (R) Totem illustrates plastic use. Image © Alicja Biala and Iwo Borkowicz/Totemy

Totem Diagram. Image Alicja Biala and Iwo Borkowicz/Totemy

Totemy is a multi-layered set of t...

Render vs Reality: Mecanoo nails it. Take a look.

2019-02-12T15:38:00-05:00

We've all seen them: photorealistic, high-gloss architectural renderings of new, flashy projects, and then—a few years later—the actual, built reality looks nothing like the too-good-to-be-true visualizations the public was sold on. Natural light, the lack of natural light, dust, humidity, material changes, shoddy construction, and (yikes!) human interaction can drastically widen the gap between the commission-winning, highly publicized, sometimes even iconic renderings and the real building we're left with for eternity.

The team at Mecanoo is all too aware of the phenomenon and has created the Pinterest board "Render vs Reality" where the Dutch firm proudly shows off an array of its completed projects from around the globe side-by-side with the architectural illustrations of these buildings, such as the National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts, Library of Birmingham, Tilburg LocHal Library, and the brand new Shenzhen Longgang Cultural Centre.

↑ Interior Design of LocHal Library in Ti...

Architect David Romero brings Frank Lloyd Wright's unbuilt designs to life in these realistic renderings

2018-10-24T16:19:00-04:00

Out of the 1,171 architectural designs that Frank Lloyd Wright created in his lifetime, around 660 of them remained unbuilt. Using advanced visualization techniques, architect David Romero brings Wright's unbuilt designs one step closer to reality in a series of striking, computer-generated renderings. A longtime Wright enthusiast, Romero has been creating renderings of the legendary architect's designs since he launched the website Hooked on the Past in 2014.

Gordon Strong Automobile Objective rendering. Credit: David Romero.

Most recently, Romero worked with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to create a series of renderings of Wright's unbuilt Gordon Strong Automobile Objective, which was a tourist attraction he envisioned in 1924 to be built at the top of Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland. Romero has also recreated Wright's unbuilt designs for the Roy Wetmore Car Repair and Showroom, the Butterfly Wing Bridge, and the Valley National Bank, to name a few.

Rendering of the Butterfly Wi...

Watch 7 ancient ruins get reconstructed

2018-03-23T18:06:00-04:00

It can be difficult to picture what ancient architecture would have looked back when it was first erected. Reconstructions by NeoMam and Thisisrender help you visualize what these ancient ruins looked like at the height of their glory. Take a look back in time and watch these historical structures get rebuilt.

The Parthenon, Athens, GR

Temple of Jupiter, Rome, IT

Milecastle 39 (part of Hadrian’s Wall), Northumberland, ENG

Luxor Temple, Luxor, EG

The Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacán, MX

Area Sacra di Largo Argentina (Temple B), Rome, IT

All images courtesy of viewfinder.

Architecture and engineering professionals weigh in on technology trends for 2018

2017-12-29T15:56:00-05:00

A new study put out by Chaos Group reveals how recent trends are affecting the architecture industry and offers insight into some of the potential changes we can expect for 2018. Based on feedback from 5,769 industry professionals, the study found, overall, the biggest change in architecture in the past 3 years to be the industry's increased reliance on recently introduced technology like BIM and VR. 70% of those surveyed for the study cited increased reliance on technology as the industry's biggest shift, greatly surpassing the previously cited demand for sustainable design.

The study also reported that we can expect to see this continued growth in 2018. Over two-thirds of architecture and architectural visualization professionals plan to use VR next year; 28% already are, with another 28% currently experimenting. Additionally, of the adopters, 80% are using the technology on multiple projects, suggesting that VR is playing a more significant role in company workflows.

The demand ...

Visualize your new job with our selection of 3D, Modeling, Rendering and Visualization opportunities in Archinect Jobs

2017-10-31T09:44:00-04:00

Pragmatic or fantastical, architectural visualizations illustrate the narrative behind a project. They hint at what may become a reality in people's neighborhoods or what helps a jury decide the winning concept in an ideas competition. Are architectural renderings your specialty? Archinect gathered a list of talented architectural visualization firms who are currently hiring. Scroll down for a look.

Hudson Yards | Credit: Related, KPF. Courtesy of Red Leaf.

NYC-based studio Red Leaf is currently seeking 3D CGI Designers.

We are seeking 3d visualization artists at all levels to join our fast-growing office...You should love telling visual stories about architecture, excel in a team atmosphere, and enjoy continually learning from experience and your peers.

Abu Dhabi International Airport. Credit: Kohn Pedersen Fox London, HOK London, Kohn Pedersen Fox London. Rendering by Visualhouse.

Visualhouse has active listings for a 3D Artist / Architectural Visualizer (New York), and two listings...

Editor's Picks #431

2015-10-09T10:37:00-04:00

Laura Amaya interviewed Giancarlo Mazzanti, founder and principal of El Equipo de Mazzanti. The two discussed "architecture for social inclusion...from a political point of view", play or leisure, and "an architecture made of parts...or open work".

Meanwhile the latest editions of Deans List: featured Kenneth Schwartz of Tulane School of Architecture and Amale Andraos of Columbia University's GSAPP. vado retro agreed that Tulane is a "great school in a great city. enjoy it while it is still above water."

News
In a collaboration with the Architecture Biennial, Archinect offered up an Chicago installment of Next Up, the live-podcasting event.

Patrik Schumacher shared some criticism of the event and participants "one still wonders whether these laudable concerns should usurp the space that was presumably meant to be allocated to contemporary architecture."

Herzog & de Meuron released the first look at their design for the new Vancouver Art Gallery, a significant update on the Gallery's ol...

built: LA maps the age of every building in Los Angeles

2015-05-29T15:41:00-04:00

Construction in Los Angeles may have exploded during the postwar era, but as a new interactive map shows, the wide age range of its buildings might surprise you. Using open data from local governments, built: LA visualizes the age of roughly 3 million buildings across L.A. County constructed between 1890 and 2008. Drag your mouse to explore the vast web of communities and neighborhoods, hover over individual properties to discover birth years, and double click to zoom in further.

Open data's potential & challenges to boost tenants’ rights activism

2015-05-11T17:54:00-04:00

Open data, and the interactive mapping and data visualization that can come of it, has become a de facto engagement and storytelling tool among contemporary journalists, social justice activists, and civic-minded technologists. But despite its allure, open data’s potential for fostering civic engagement and creating transparency and dialogue is plagued by issues of usability, access, and quality control.

I Quant NY: Visualizing NYC's Open Data

2014-07-31T14:54:00-04:00

Quantitative Analysis of NYC Open Data: Every data set that the city releases tells a story. This blog is all about telling those stories, one data set at a time.

Ben Wellington's "I Quant NY" blog is a gem in data-driven journalism's crown. Featuring visualizations of data sets from New York City's remarkable Open Data Portal, the blog covers a wide-variety of civic topics, everything from mapping fire hydrant usage to rate of taxi complaints by borough.

Wellington began using the Open Data Portal as coursework for his statistics class, teaching urban planning students at the Pratt Institute.

h/t to City Lab, who spoke with Wellington about his blog and teaching stats to city planners.

Editor's Picks #365

2014-04-30T15:24:00-04:00

News

Dave Heller spoke with Inga Saffron about not just architecture but "city life criticism". Evan Chakroff asked for tips "Has anyone compiled a good 'top ten' of her articles?"

Quondam replied "Links to Saffron's articles appear almost weekly within ArchNewsNow's daily collection of worldwide architecture news. The articles themselves, however, may not have a broad audience appeal because they are, for the most part, very Philadelphia centric. What is significant though, is that a local newspaper still publishes the work of a critic that is so in tune"...

Referring to the Catalog #1 of the Los Angeles Biennale of Architecture/Urbanism Orhan Ayyüce warned interested buyers "for now, the aim is first limited and numbered edition of 100".

The NYT published an editorial by John Freeman Gill, which points out similarities between the fate of the Laing Stores (sometimes called the Bogardus Building) and the current FolkMoMA discourse/proposals. Steven Ward proposed a future PS1 competi...

Progressive Designers Need a Learning Experience to Match

2013-11-20T17:18:00-05:00

This sponsored post is brought to you by Digital-Tutors:

You are a Progressive Designer. Seeking out new ways to grow your skills and push your creative limits is what you do. When you need to learn a new design software or subject, watching random YouTube videos or paying hundreds of dollars to learn what you could have read in a book, if you even had time to read it, is not what you do. You need training for The Real World.

At Digital-Tutors, delivering relevant and reliable project-based training to you every week is exactly what we do. Watch introductory tutorials to quickly get up to speed. Or, enhance your design skills with advanced training on integrating applications like Revit, 3ds Max and Photoshop into your workflow, from drafting to visualization. With complete access to every tutorial in the Digital-Tutors library, you can customize your learning experience to fit your exact needs.

Progressive designers need progressive tools. Save your notes and tag a...

RSI-studio wins Best Commissioned Image in 2013 CGArchitect Architectural 3D Awards

2013-07-29T21:09:00-04:00

RSI-studio has won the category of Best Commissioned Architectural Image in the 2013 CGArchitect Architectural 3D Awards. The prize, which is part of the annual competition hosted by CGArchitect, recognized the best in 3D architectural images for 2012-2013.

dbox Wins Emmy for “Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero”

2012-10-09T15:40:00-04:00

Who said architecture couldn't win you one of the world's most esteemed entertainment awards? This year's Emmy for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Graphic Design & Art Direction" went to dbox for its CGI and Branding work on the Discovery Channel's six part mini-series Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero.