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When an architect designs a building, or the interior of an existing building is being redesigned (for example, during a major renovation), it is necessary to translate the notions in the architect's or designer's head into something that a client and see and understand. Architectural rendering, which can take many forms, is that translation.
Traditionally, architectural rendering means a 2-dimensional drawing or painting that depicts what the project in question will look like when finished. Architectural illustrators are highly trained, generally with backgrounds in both art and architecture. Historically, the most polished architectural renderings were very detailed works drawn by hand.
In recent years, hand-produced architectural renderings have fallen somewhat by the wayside and been supplanted by computer-generated architectural renderings. Where architectural illustrators once spent time painstakingly drawing with pen and ink, or painting with watercolors, or sketching with charcoal, we now see illustrators working with specialized computer programs. The computer programs used today, in the hands of skilled architectural illustrators, create astounding renderings with realistic qualities that could never have been achieved with work done by hand.
Architectural renderings achieved through use of computers also have led to the development of three-dimensional architectural renderings. These have quickly proven extraordinarily useful for real estate professionals. 3-D architectural renderings give the viewer a heightened sense of the reality of a space being designed, and increase one's ability to market the space.
A real estate developer, for example, has chosen an architect to design a new building. The developer has the best sense of what the architect has in mind if the architect's designs are presented in a 3-D architectural rendering. A two-dimensional blueprint could suffice, but with the 3-D rendering, so much more information is conveyed; the sense of placement, of space, of how light will flow through rooms, is increased. Then, too, the marketer who works with realtors to sell the designed spaces - say, apartments in a condominium complex - has a much better tool to illustrate what is possible with the new space. Architectural renderings give clients images that they can absorb. A conversation in which a designer or architect verbally describes a building to a client (saying, for example, "A modern building, with some Art Deco elements, a stone patio, and ample light from the south and east") is fine, but the client is not likely to really understand what the architect is talking about unless he can see it. With an architectural rendering, the client sees the rendering and says, "Aha! A three-story house, with stucco walls and very plain but elegant lines, a stone patio, and sunny rooms on most sides of the house except where the garage is." Basically, it's a matter of a picture being worth a thousand words. Architectural renderings maximize everyone's understanding of the planned project. It takes blueprints and expands upon them, taking flat images and fleshing them out. 3-D architectural rendering increases viewing comprehension even further, because 3-D renderings can easily include details such as plants, furniture, and countless other details that enhance the image's realism. The closer to reality the architectural rendering is, the more effective it is.
Architectural renderings, particularly 3-D renderings, are very useful in marketing real estate today. With so many people researching real estate and property online, a computer-generated 3-D architectural rendering is almost a necessity. There is no better way to convey the meaning of a space not yet built.
Architectural renderings, at their finest, give the viewer an opportunity to see clearly a building that doesn't exist. The architect has his vision; the interior designer has his vision; the marketers and realtors have their visions. Architectural renderings, particularly those generated using 3-D computer graphics programs, allow teams of professionals to bring their visions and dreams into their clients' realities.
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