The digital age we live in is ample with possibilities - for every problem that needs to be solved, there’s a convenient, fast, and effective solution at hand. But everything being available on-click proposes new challenges too. The biggest of which is, how can we keep up the pace with the growing demands? In architectural terms, how can we innovate the field by using the same old design tricks?

Well, we can’t. The architectural foundation of this brilliant craft will always depend on one man’s ability to envision, design, and build. Though this will never change, everything else will. Our clients’ expectations are already different and our hunger for innovation is even stronger. Such are the tools we now use for sketching and molding, led by the biggest game-changer of them all: 3D visualization.

Here’s why so many architects are making a switch to this novelty artform.

1. 3D Visualisations Are Now the Name of the Game

When asked about whether or not 3D visualization will be the future of architectural design, one LinkedIn-based architect responded that it most certainly won’t be. “It's not the future, it's the present”, he clarified. And that’s very true. As of late, architectural renderings are the industry staple.

One could argue that modern-day architects are gravitating towards this new practice because it’s higher in demand. Though that’s also true, there’s more to it. 3D visualization is not so popular among architects because clients expect to see it, but because it does the service to the design itself.

From the technical standpoint, 3D visualizations are flawless and gorgeous.

Except for the fact that they are rendering all those old, tangible approaches to designing obsolete, there’s nothing about them that a passionate architect wouldn’t love. With its vivid details and lifelike precision, great 3D models flatter architectural designs in ways that were not possible before.

2. Technological Progress Aims to Make Things Easier

And should we mention that this recent technological boom has made the business of innovating so much easier? Intuitive software, comprehensive toolkits, and easy-to-use computers are empowering new generations of architects to dream bigger, as these brilliant solutions make everything possible.

From a more practical side, 3D visualizations help remove a big amount of hassle from everyday processes and operations that all architectural firms must rely on. Business-wise, they bring a certain competitive edge and allow architectural companies to acquire, convert, and retain indecisive clients.

Though 3D rendering software is not your typical business automation tool, given that it still requires the same old dose of creativity and manual skills, it helps to optimize a big part of the design process. It’s certainly more intuitive than paper, we must give it that. It’s the digital tool for the digital age.

3. Gorgeous 3D Renders Help Impress Clients As Well

With the not-so-subtle rise of VR and the numerous advancements in graphics hardware and software, the only logical conclusion is that 3D and a 360-degree view will become the standard in architectural design. Even now, the architects and design artists are able to produce lifelike visuals.

And, when paired with VR and advanced 3D graphics, the client gets a fully immersive experience.

This helps speed up the decision-making process. A much more exciting property of immersive 3D renders is their ability to improve the firm’s success rate. When a client is met with a flawless design, they can envision the project in greater detail and are thus able to make a more confident decision.

And let’s not forget about the infamous WOW factor.

4. Visualizations Render Communication a Breeze

The ability to see the space before it’s been built has until recently been a superpower of architects only. Thanks to 3D visualizations, now everyone has an opportunity to glance into the future and feel the room with no concrete walls and material substance. It’s like offering time travel to your clients.

This, of course, makes communicating with them a breeze.

Much has been said about the artist-client relationship over the last couple of centuries, and this unusual coupling has always suffered from a communication breakdown. As all architects know, it’s almost impossible to convey a message that’s still an idea, as opposed to its material representation.

3D visualizations are exactly that - a way for you to communicate your visions and ideas while they are still raw. This is a great tool for project improvement as well, as visualizations can actually yield very specific feedback. Architectural renderings are the only equivalent of demo versions we’ve got.

5. 3D Rendering Is the Future of Architectural Design

All that said, 3D visualizations are the future of architectural design.

To architectural firms and architects themselves, they guarantee not only better control of the design process, greater accuracy in developing complex projects, and easier communication with clients, but also a freedom to experiment with brave new ideas before they finally become an expensive reality.

To clients, on the other hand, 3D visualizations offer a refreshing amount of transparency. Everything that was once unreadable and impossible to understand, interpret, and visualize has now taken a much more expressive form. So expressive, in fact, that the best 3D models are uncannily true to life.

From the business perspective, 3D visualizations are beneficial to everyone involved.

Looking beyond that, they might just reshape the world of architecture as we know it, and with that, reshape the world that architecture has built for us. Once we realize how unbelievably crucial this craft is for our civilization, it’s not difficult to grasp the immense importance of architectural innovation itself. And, as new tools for the new world, 3D visualizations are nothing if not innovative.