Milestones in Architectural Visualisation

[stefkeB]

Kent Larson - Louis I. Kahn: Unbuilt Masterworks

http://architecture.mit.edu/~kll/Kahn_book.htm

using Lightscape for photoreal (even in current context) reconstructions of some of Kahn's designs. Still a major milestone for me.

 

The availability of programs such as AutoCAD and 3D Studio on a regular PC, instead of on UNIX workstations.

 

Quake and Unreal, to allow realtime scene navigation (including the tools to create your own scenes) might be regarded as milestones to some.

 

BIM. Although it might not be regarded as being novel from the point-of-view of visualization/rendering/animation, it's methodology allows modeling of a 3D building and at the same time preparing technical construction drawings. Most packages have decent (but limited) rendering capabilities these days.

 

3D Controllers? The Space Navigator is currently having a huge impact.

 

SketchUp: modeling for the rest of us.

 

Radiance for lighting simulation (probably together with Lightscape).

 

Non-photorealistic rendering (e.g. Piranesi)

 

Raytracing and Radiosity and now all GI methods. But they only came after Phong shading and Hidden Line renders, which are still a necessity.

 

Renderman and the Shading Language (which generated the large evolution in realtime shaders currently).

[jkletzien]

I agree with a prior post that there are milestones in different arenas (revelations to the artist, revelations to the audience), and they certainly influence each other, in my 17 years of doing it (15 in business) the significant points to me are:

 

3d studio by the yost group availble for a desktop (1989-90). That was a milestone that a single person could afford a machine and a software to produce a rendering, or an animation - not possible ever before.

 

Software for painting on your computer, Photoshop (Mac) or High res QFX (DOS) let you actually paint in 24 bit color on your computer (c. 1990) - wow.

 

The affordable color printer (c. 1996). For the first time in human history you had the ability to cheaply and quickly print out color images on demand at your desktop.

 

The internet/www (c. 1993-94). At the time we wondered how it could possibly be better at transmitting image information than a fax, and it allowed us to work from anywhere.

 

On the other end of the process, the next thing that I would cite are images that transcend their makeup and actually emotionally move you. Most early computer renderings the author spent all their time wrestling with the technology, but at the end of the day, nothing lasting/moving was expressed about the subject. These images become a historical curiosity, but there are others that transcend that.

 

I think among the first computer images I saw that moved me, and I still think are good are:

 

Michael Sechman's, (1991)

http://ateliercad.com/MICHAEL_SECHMAN.gif

Hayes Davidson's (1995)

http://www.hayesdavidson.com/html/projects/sector/sports/03.html

View by View's (1995) http://viewbyview.com/html/sfmoma720.html

 

Apparently ours we're also appealing to folks as we did manage to capture the Hugh Ferriss Memorial Prize in 1997 becoming the first digital firm to do so.

 

Within moving pictures, KDLabs' work still looms large as a point in time where the technique was subservient the artist's relationship to the subject.

 

However this territory I recognize is highly personal, and an image that may have emotional resonance, and stand the test of time for one person may not for another. But I tell you, that Sechman image in the back of the manual for 3d Studio 2 was a huge milestone and an inspiration.

[EddieLeon]

It is said that crystal CG has many hundred employees, We are in the 55 - 65 ranges these days, It would be interesting to see how firms have grown in the last 10 years.

 

Any or all of these would make for interesting reads, I think that this would also fuel the discussions about the industry's future. There have been times when it's demise was predicted, however it seems that things are going as well as ever these days.

 

I met 2 Reps from CrystalCG in Miami recently. It's a good time to start wondering what they are up to. Anyway, they said they now have 1,500 employees. They must be the biggest 3d company in the world by far. I can't imagine which company would be next on the list relative to size.

 

I agree with Nils. We need to discuss the future of our industry...and start creating some new milestones.

 

By the way, KDLab, StudioAMD, Kent Larson, dBox, and 3D Win were my inspirational milestones. The reason why I list 3D Win is because they helped me realize how outsourcing/offshoring was going to change everything