5 Reasons Why Real-Time Rendering is Essential for AEC

As the world evolves and moves toward being technologically reliant, architects, artists, engineers, developers, and designers have to move along with it. No one is exempt from needing tools to help them meet their business bottom line. However, there are limits that come with technology—ones that cause many professionals to tear their hair out. It’s especially apparent when they implement 3D rendering and visualization into their design workflow.

That begs the question: What do you do when you can’t figure out how to make the process go faster? Invest in real-time rendering.

But first, what’s real-time rendering?

Real-time rendering is not an overcomplicated term. It provides animations that are rendered in real-time, so that you’re able to see your ideas in a click of a button. However, in order to fully understand how powerful real-time rendering is, we’ll first need to talk about the rendering pipeline.

The pipeline represents the entire foundation of any 3D rendering and visualization engine. It’s where the rendering of all your 3D objects, lighting models, lighting sources, materials, textures, weathering, and etc. happen.

Within this pipeline, you’ll experience three conceptual stages: 

  1. The application stage
  2. The geometry stage
  3. The rasterizing stage

 

The outcome results in a beautiful render that’s measured in fps (frames per second). 

While this sounds like modern technical mumbo-jumbo, it’s not exactly new technology. Anyone who is a gamer has experienced real-time rendering. The game industry has already been leading the charge in making more refined real-time rendering encounters, but architects and designers have only begun utilizing this technique to present their ideas. 

The ability to showcase your designs to your clients and give them an immersive presentation sounds like a dream, right? It’s incredible how real-time rendering can  save you time, money, and make the feedback loop much smoother. 

Real-time rendering softwares are an amazing tool for you to integrate into your workflows. In fact, it’s increasingly becoming a need for rendering and visualization. 

Here are 5 reasons why real-time rendering is the future of design and design communication.

1. Real-time improves the design process

Any designer or architect knows that the design process is a never-ending loop of trial and feedback until time runs out or resources run dry. Savvy architects are champions of this process and know that feedback is absolutely essential to the final result. 

That’s why real-time rendering is a great tool for designers to utilize. It provides the quickest feedback anyone in the industry has experienced before. 

Here’s an example of how it can help: 

Imagine that you’ve just invested in the right rendering engine and the expert needed to operate it. Now you have the ability to create an environment that your team can constantly refine and revise. Your feedback loop has shifted from staggered critiques to instantaneous evaluations that you can attend to on the fly. Through this advantage, you’ll be able to iterate and collaborate more effectively, which will lead to greater freedom and creativity. 

2. Real-time saves you time and money

Any designer worth their salt knows that time is money. As I mentioned earlier, real-time rendering shortens the feedback loop and simplifies the decision-making process. Therefore, there’s no question as to whether it will save you time and money, because it 100% will. 

3. Real-time gives a more interactive experience

It’s no surprise that clients are expecting more interactive experiences through augmented reality and virtual reality. They’re now looking for a fuller experience in order to best understand your vision. When you leverage real-time rendering, you’ll be able to add another layer of realism and depth for your clients to experience. 

Through VR, AR, and interactive walkthroughs, you can help your clients make more informed decisions within minutes. They’ll be able to preview how the lights will look during the day, how the paint of their walls will complement their furniture, and so forth. Say goodbye to those days of tedious back and forth.

To illustrate our point better, we’ve included a quick VR walkthrough for Lumion. Lumion users can easily learn how to create VR walkthroughs by watching this quick tutorial. 

If you're interested in learning how you can design extremely interactive walkthroughs and XR experiences, get in touch with us! We are experts in developing XR apps and content that are realistic, effective, and highly immersive. 

4. Real-time is fast

A great real-time rendering tool helps shorten the time you spend waiting for the end result by a considerable amount. Besides being able to preview your design before you render, you can also receive high-res photorealistic images or panoramas within minutes. If you’re looking to export your render out in a video, you can present it within a few hours!

5. Real-time gives you a competitive edge

If you’re looking for ways to stand out from your competition, real-time rendering will make all the difference. If your company specializes in providing stunning architectural presentations—i.e. short films and interactive experiences—you’ll be able to further enhance your process and continue to wow your audience. 

Now that we’ve discussed the advantages of real-time rendering, you’re probably wondering which rendering software is the best fit for your needs and goals. Good news—we’re about to break down an option for you.

Lumion is a fast, real-time 3D rendering software that is designed for architects, interior designers, artists, and more. This software is outstanding in many ways than one. When you leverage Lumion, you’ll be able to quickly and effectively turn your 3D models into a living, breathing experience.

Many architects love how fast Lumion is in producing photorealistic images, highly detailed panoramas, and immersive videos. This is made possible through their GPU-based engine, user-friendly interface, extensive effects, and in-depth tutorials.

The most exciting thing about Lumion is that it’s a standalone software that packs a pretty powerful punch. You can use features like volumetric spotlights, rain streaks, orthographic views, animated phasing, fine-detail nature, and more to provide a dynamic archviz experience for your clients or your team. 

The best part? Lumion is compatible and is able to LiveSync with almost all CAD tools. 

Want the visual document for this article? Download our whitepaper here!

If you’re interested in getting a free demo of Lumion, get in touch with us by contacting us, emailing us at sales@digitalquest.asia, or calling +60 3 7960 3088. Our experts would be happy to provide you with a free consultation and demo.