There was a time when the only tools architects used were pencils and some sheets of paper. Overtime, they have evolved into more convenient tools such as computers and 3D design software. A few months later, 3D architectural rendering software was developed and then continued to innovate until the present. Today, artists all over the world are able to create renderings that are so close to reality, you absolutely cannot believe the images were computer generated and not taken from actual buildings.

The latest techniques in architectural visualization somehow have become too real it leads us astray. As techniques in creating 3D models, renderings post-processed images continually evolve and innovate, the realism that these images depict are not proportionate with how artists today produce them. To put it in another way, these beautiful images seem to not even try to look real. Artists now have become more creative by adding features to these images that make them look like they are from a dream, a painting, or a science fiction movie.

Leaving people out is one of the most traditional practices in architectural photography. Many visualizations today have become more dynamic. Artists have added people, pets, and cars because these add scale that make the scenes alive. In architectural videos, the tradition is to produce documentary-like scenes. Now, they have added a bit of a story to the videos by adding features that dramatize them. Many architects around the web have agreed that “Gamification” is the future of architectural visualization. This allows user interaction and elements of augmented reality. This will also open up a lot of opportunities for users, builders, designers, and manufacturers.

The 3D architectural visualizations today are currently only limited to 2D display such as computer monitors and print. Amazingly, Zebra Imaging has developed another medium for presenting architectural visualizations using holographic imagery which comes in different sizes.

Maybe a few years from now, architects can create models through holograms and print them in true colors and textures.

We are still unsure of how much the technology involving architectural visualization will advance exactly five years from now but, we are definitely going to see more of computer-generated architectural visualizations that perfectly imitates reality you will not even be able to think twice. We are currently in a point in history where available computing power has not only caught up with the design tools but has also surpass them. Who knows, maybe fifteen years from now, the architects of tomorrow could be modeling buildings through software like Tony Stark’s.