Rendering House Architectural Illustrations » Developer

Sometimes, I would like to do some site visits….

Stephen — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:29:03 +0000

Nearly all of our projects do not require site visits. We work with clients around the world simply by email, phone, and Internet. This is great for productivity and keeping cost low for every project. However, sometimes, it would be nice to do some site visits with locations like Belize!

Here is the location of the project: www.sapphirebeachbelize.com

The School of Soccer (Dallas, TX) – Kicking around Ideas

Stephen — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:00:00 +0000

We typically work with clients who have finalized plans and design. But we occasionally get projects from visitors who have the entrepreneurial spirit to start something exciting and need some help in visualizing a concept to help raise some funds. These situations require us to wear a different hat. But it is often fun and we get to learn a lot.

Recently, we had the opportunity to work with Massimo Pauri, the Director of Player Development from Metro Soccer Club, who sent me a site plan and a photo. After a few iterations, here is what we ended up with:

One of the several designs we worked on:

Final version:

Concepts for Waterview at Scottsdale

Stephen — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:41:13 +0000

Although most of our projects are for marketing purpose with designs finalized, we sometimes get to help architects and developers visualize and communicate their designs to investors and city planners. This typically starts with some massing study with wire frames and models, then sketches with entourage, and lastly the inclusion of color, texture, and material.

This project in Scottsdale involved showing the city planners that there would be ample green space for this redevelopment area. Here are some examples of the concept views provided by the Dallas architectural firms Three and Talley Associates and then our final renderings.

Courtside Condos – Raising the Ceiling on Floors

Stephen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:19:47 +0000

Courtside Condos, completed in the summer of 2006, is a 16-story, 104-unit development in Charlotte, NC. As with most large condo developments, the city, lenders, and the developer sought a large pre-sale commitment before starting construction. Our initial rendering helped raise that number substantially. In fact, the rendering received such a positive response from buyers and the city that the developer rushed to add additional floors and even bolder architectural designs. The condo was a win-win for all parties and is now an architectural crown for the “Queen City.”

Before

After

Actual Photo

Site Unseen

John — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:04:18 +0000

One of the biggest obstacles that developers face is getting investors, the government, and buyers to visualize their developments. Poor communication could kill a project at the financing, approval, or sales stages. Architectural renderings can help communicate your ideas. It can provide views that one can’t easily see, show phases of development, and offer a virtual myriad of design options. Not only does it get all parties on the same page, but it can be a great reference tool to engage all stakeholders in design and partnerships.

Our renderings have helped turn a flooded rock quarry in Michigan to an upscale golf and lakeside community aptly named “Waterstone”; it has helped Durham, NC city officials and buyers visualize the restoration of a centuries old tabacco warehouses into upscale downtown lofts; and it has helped pre-sale timeshare condos in Orlando before the units were even built. That’s the ultimate benefit to developers: to sell units, site unseen!

SearStone (Cary, NC) – Growing With Our Clients

Stephen — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:39:49 +0000

SearStone, schedule to be completed in 2009, is going to be a vibrant new senior community in Cary, NC. We started working on this project 6 years ago with the developer on just the site plan but the marketing process has really taken off in the past 6 months. Working with multiple architectural firms, the design process has gone back and forth with the final design reverting back to the founder Bill Sears’ original vision of the green mansard roof with the flared eaves.

Here are some images from concept stage to final design that we worked on over the last 9 months:

Building the Field…

Stephen — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:35:51 +0000

In our field, we routinely witness how building a great design can change a community; creating a safe and functional environment where people will come to work, play, and live. We often get to work on meaningful public projects including memorial parks, churches, schools, historical landmarks, ballfields, restorations, and government buildings. Aside from having worked with some wonderful, civic-minded people, it is also rewarding to see how certain projects can help with fundraisers, revitalize depressed areas, and re-energize communities. In his “prior life”, one of our partners, Stephen, was a social worker. So this convergence of great architectural design with community sensitivity is dear to his heart.

In particular, the Raleigh Housing Authority has done a wonderful job achieving this balance. We have worked with them for several years on a number of HOPE VI (HUD’s federal grant for urban redevelopment) projects, including Capitol Park, Chavis Heights, and Walnut Terrace. The RHA folks run a very successful organization. HUD recognized them for being one of the few organizations nationwide to develop a HOPE VI project on budget and ahead of schedule!

Turning-up the Volume on House Renderings

Stephen — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:16:00 +0000

Over the years, we have worked with many clients, especially national and modular home builders, who wanted to create a new look for all their house plans to help differentiate them from their competitors. These opportunities give us the chance to show our ability to provide many different illustration styles, all completed in-house, with the same quality and quick turnaround time – often with volume discounts. Once complete, it’s nice to see consistent art work throughout the printed brochures and website.

Actus Lend Lease – From “Virtual Sea to Shining Sea”

Stephen — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:42:59 +0000

We have been working with Actus on several military housing projects for a few years now. It is a pleasure to help develop improved military housing for the families of our armed forces. These projects took us to many bases “virtually” around the country including:

Camp Lejeune (North Carolina)
Fort Huachuca (Arizona)
West Point Academy (New York)
Fort Wainwright (Alaska)
Army Hawaii Family Housing (Hawaii)
Fort Knox (Kentucky)
Beaufort (South Carolina)

For these projects, we provided aerials, streetscapes, clubhouses, entrances, interiors, and floor plans. Here are some examples showing the various regions of our beautiful country:

Hawaii

Camp LeJeune

Fort Huachuca

Fort Knox

Fort Wainwright

West Point

The Price is Right

Stephen — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:37:18 +0000

We understand that illustrating your design in both an attractive and cost-effective way is very important. So we created our anonymous real-time online pricing tool to help you compare our products and services. This should give you some comfort in finding the right product for your budget. This tool also shows that no project is too small or too large for us. We reward you for trying us for the first-time, volume jobs, and doing a package of products.

Since establishing our price estimation page, we have received a lot of positive feedback from our visitors. Our price quotes for single family home renderings was such a hit that people were asking for price information for multi-unit townhomes. Soon enough, floor plans price quotes was created as that was the next most requested feature. We are currently developing price quotes for site plans.

Thank you for the feedback and positive response (and ultimately new projects!) We are always looking for new ways to create better value and serve you all better.