Render Bender

By Vincenzo Burdi

Rendering interior and exterior views is becoming very popular among students in the architecture program. Who can blame us? With new programs spawning every year like 3ds Max, VIZ, SketchUp, Podium, Kerkythea, Rhino, Mudbox, Maya, form-Z, SolidWorks, VRay, etc it is hard to avoid. These programs are generating realistic renderings that give viewers a real sense of what the space will feel and ultimately look like. However, there is something that troubles me about rendering in the work place; the fact that students are becoming too concerned with creating an image. They may forget to focus on what really gets buildings constructed. Rendering time depends on the complexity of the model but some models can take up to 30+ hours to generate. This does not seem like something that would carry on to the work place.

My main concern with rendering is that it takes too much time to create an image. I'm not suggesting that renderings are useless, but I think we need to consider how they can be utilized in the work place. If a rendering can be done in a short amount of time and still look good, it may have a place in the work environment. We should acknowledge though that it is still a pretty picture and a future client of yours will want a building. Architects in training need to remember this and continue to learn everything ArChiTeCtUrE has to offer.