Visual Representation in Architecture forms a convenient tool for designers to express their ideas and thoughts to the end-user. They help to convey the concept which the designer has visualized to the users, it helps to define the chronology and movement pattern for the users. In today’s time, representation is not only centric to the measurement and drafting aspects but also to the look and feel of a design. They help in making the design more understandable to a layperson by curating it to prioritize and highlight the important aspect that needs visual attention. Many architectural studios have started innovating themselves in design representation over the years, new tools, skills, and innovation are nurturing various ideas to present design on a paper or digital format. Although visual images are mandatory, they do demand a significant amount of time to design and develop.
ArchVizz is an online portal that is helping out students through tutorials for the post-production rendering styles. Here are some of the renders produced by them.
Graphical Illustration is another innovative way to express design ideologies in the form of digital post collage. They help in creating a mental visual narrative to express a certain ideology and highlighting the features. Illustrations help in making the design more interactive, they also allow the user to grasp the mood of the project. Scenography, illustrations, etc can make the user connect with the program of the project.
Contextual drawings are also other visual representational techniques. They help in understanding the context and surroundings in which the design is placed. The surrounding fabric and activities are highlighted within them to guide the user in understanding the relevance of the project with the location and site surroundings it is placed in.
Architectural drawings such as sectional views, axonometric views, details, and measurement drawings all come under this category. These visual representations are more technical than aesthetic. The scaling and accuracy of the drawings are given greater importance than the visually pleasing aspect.
Sectional views act as a powerful tool to show the details of the structure along with the zoning and activities that take place within it.
Sketches and hand-drawn representation form a vital part in explaining a project as they are the initial processes that define the end product. These visuals help in understanding the scale and rough outlook of the project. They guide a user into visualizing the basic framework of the end product by focusing more on its concept and ideologies than its technicalities.
Conceptual drawings and diagrams are a step further from the hand-drawn drawings and sketches. They concretize a structure up to some extents, factors such as materials, spatial planning, segregation, and basic form can be defined through these visual representations.
The architectural profession is more visual than verbal, many designers have now started using an interactive way of design representation through GIF. These animated GIFs can be used to convey various ideas in a short span of time. They can help in conveying the program and zoning structure, the distribution of spaces, the chronology of what comes, after what, all this can be done in an interactive and graspable way.
GIFs have the ability to convey a complex idea in a simple format by breaking it into parts and highlighting the visual as per. They have proven to be an innovative and interactive format to express a design visually. They help in keeping a client engaged and intrigued.
When done right, GIFS can add a subtle bit of action to a layout.
– Guillaume Kurkdjian
Stefani Facchini, the creator of ArchVizz, believes that “getting your ideas across is just as important as having an idea, to begin with”. Thus, having a good set of experiences and ideas to express visual representations can indeed go a long way.
