umesh + D+ R08

Rendering & Reality

The importance of rendering is clearly stated in the first paragraph of the reading, how the rendering helped to win the design competition of New York City’s High line. In design competition, what’s important to stand out among the hundreds of design? And be noticed and selected. The presentation should have the wow moment, visually compelling to buy the idea and clearly sated the problem statement.

The purpose of rendering differs from its end users, for designer it is a design process seeking the best design solution, visualizing the project in a whole. It tells its larger audience, glimpse of project idea and what the project should be. This may be used for getting feedback comments, suggestion in participatory design approach from community and making them involve in design process. For developer, these architectural rendering may be used to convince the financial institution for approval of the fund. And for the client, these may be their integrated idea what they want. And more over, these rendering helps service engineers/ various consultants to give their inputs in the project and make fine tuning.

Architects have control over rendering and try to give best possible image of the project, as in the reading Libeskind original design for Ground Zero’s Freedom Tower, he has shown from across the New York Harbor emphasizing the relationship of its tower and liberty’s raised arm. Renderings are used to clarify the idea, but in reality, when the project goes for construction, Architect loses control over the project, there are multiple actors in construction, huge investment and big time frame to accomplish the project.

Rendering helps to sell project but all good renderings are not 100% sure to be good architecture. It is one of the effective tools of visualization for architects to make client understand the project easily and its one brick in a building which has its own important role making the building stronger and beautiful in design process.