Computer Generated Imagery is the the sum of 3D visuals (Architectural Visualisation) that communicate any aspect of a building’s design, and it is becoming an increasingly important presentation method to showcase a development before it is built.

Computer Generated Imagery not only gives a first-hand look at what a building (or any other construction) could look like, but it also gives an eye to the future in order to see what that specific creation will may look like as it matures.

Nowadays, architects use Computer Generated Imagery to create 3-dimensional models to be used by builders and customers.

Due to the fact that these computer generated models are usually more accurate than drawings, the interpretation of architectural spaces without the use of papers and pencils is now a widely approved practice type within a number of computer-assisted architectural design systems.

Architectural animation (a short architectural movie created on a computer) can be used to see a potential relationship between a building and its surrounding buildings.

 

 

Architectural Modelling Tools, which are now generally internet-based, allow architects to visualise a space and perform walkthroughs in an interactive way, in order to provide interactive environments both at urban and building levels.

However, the quality of internet-based systems is still far behind the more sophisticated in-house modelling systems.

Specific applications not only include the details of building structures (like windows, doors and walls) and walkthroughs but the effects of light and how sunlight affects a specific design at different times of the day.

In some applications, computer-generated images are used to “reverse engineer” (the process of disassembling something, in this case historical buildings, and analyzing its components and its working style in detail) historical buildings: for example, a computer-generated reconstruction of the monastery at Georgenthal (Germany) was derived from its ruins, which makes us able to see how it would have looked like nowadays.

Computer-Generated Images form the bases of the work: they are images where the subject matter and the environment can be completely created on a computer; and it is really useful when there’s no information available on the surrounding area.

Information on the building usually comes in the form of CAD Drawings  (Computer-Aided Design), which can be reduced and imported into the computer modelling software and used as a template to create a 3D architectural model and once the model has been created, materials are added to the specific 3D elements according to what the architect wants, and then the draft images be sent to the architect (or to the customers) for approval.

After high-resolution renders are created from the chosen viewpoints, the final images are worked up adding digital artwork on Photoshop.