Renderings — Contignum

The most important skill that a designer, architect, or engineer can possess is how to communicate their ideas. If one cannot communicate their concepts or ideas, then those ideas will fail because no one can understand them. As humans, we communicate in many different ways and styles but the three basic forms are: oral, visual, and written. When designing a building, whether it be a residential home or a commercial skyscraper, we are using all three forms to describe the proposed design. Modern technologies have taken us away from the pencils and drafting boards of the past to sophisticated software programs such as AutoCAD and REVIT. But even with these modern visual programs, it is still essential to communicate our ideas and concepts verbally and with written commentary so that everyone clearly understands the design.

Designers, architects, and engineers used to rely on 2D drawings. These drawings are essential to obtaining building permits and working with others in the industry, but we have found that some clients have a hard time understanding how these 2D drawings represent what will be the finished project. They can’t “see” the design when it’s 2D.

As they say in construction, it's important to “use the right tool to do the right job.” For us, this doesn’t just apply in the building phase—we have to use the right tools to convey designs.

The above 2D floor plan shows the ground floor and rear elevation. The 2D drawings have all the pertinent information we need to get a permit and do construction. However, they don’t leap off the page for most people. This is where rendering and animated visualization become critical. Take a look at the renderings below.

They transform how we see the project. Clients can quickly tell us what they like and do not like about the design concepts. Whether it be the paint colours, trim selections, widths of hallways, etc., this gives clients a complete understanding of what the future holds for their projects. See the final pictures of the finished house below to see how accurate renderings can be.

Using renderings is not only useful in helping clients understand their projects in more detail, it also helps with explaining concepts to our tradespeople who will be working on the construction of the project. This saves time and money for everyone involved, and helps ensure clients know from the start that they will be satisfied with the finished product.

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