Saturday, June 21, 2008

CG Architects



The use of computer applications in Architectural visualization and presentation has increased substantially in the past few years. The advantages provided by these applications, both in the design phase and in the presentation phase, have also developed over the years as the applications have become more advanced. As a result, the ability and expertise in using Architectural visualization applications has become a fundamental and required skill in the industry. Therefore, all Architects should strive to strengthen themselves in this field.

One of the best resources for information on these applications is CGarchitect.com; which is dedicated to Architectural visualization programs. It contains all the latest news concerning 3D modeling and rendering applications; as well as video tutorials for most visualization programs. In addition, the feature which has proved to be the most valuable has been the site's forums. With a large community already using these forums; the forums include separate pages for almost all visualization applications, including 3Ds Max, SketchUp, Modo, Maya, Maxwell Render, etc, and even some post-production programs such as Photoshop. Solutions to most problems encountered when using 3D CAD programs can be found after a few minutes search through the forums, primarily because of the large community of Architects and students that use them daily.

Also, there is a section dedicated to discussion on hardware and technical issues where Architects can find the optimum hardware for their specific use. Discussion of the best computers, graphic cards, etc, for modeling and rendering can be very useful for people looking to invest in new hardware. Furthermore, there is an extensive gallery of Architectural renderings for most rendering applications so users can compare the output of different programs and choose the best program for them. There is also a student's section to the gallery where Architecture students can upload rendered images of their work. These are just some of the features of this site; and with some exploring, much more constructive information can be found. In the end, this is just one site dedicated to Architectural visualization applications; and I'm sure that much more of these sites exist. Do you know any similar resources?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

thnx for sharing
The site seems to have it all :)

A similar site that I find helpful is:

www.tutorialized.com

Although it's not made for architects in mind, it has lots of tutorials for 3D software programs such as :

3DS Max-Maya-Autocad

as well as other 2D graphic softwares

بومريوم said...

I wrote 2 or three posts in their forum before the blog addiction
Another great site is cgtalk.com, although its not for architect but it’s the hup for the computer graphics professionals.

and this site http://www.arch4all.net/news/ is the arab architects gathering