house project

[proces2]

here are a bunch of images for a house project that we are currently designing. all c&c's are welcome. please keep in mind though (ie - be gentle)- our main focus is in the design. so, unfortunately, we don't have the skill and/or time to acheive the amazing level of quality that shows up in alot of the images on this site.

[m735]

Really like the design...just a question about the work flow...how do you go from the model to working drawing stage?

[Zero One 010110]

actually i like it very much, there are indeed some modeling probs, buth they are minor, and i think this can translate the idea to your client very well, maybe ill try and do something like this later on. One thing bothers me though, the cameras are way too forced, it distort the images too much, maybe you can try with a camera correction mod, if you are on max 6.

Good work and good architecture, congrats.

[trixian]

Ok I got a question.
Just out of curiosity. Nearly all of the architecture renderings posted here and elsewhere is done with the standard linear perspective.
This seems to work ok most of the time when using a long lens, but once one gets in close like you have done in these renderings, it seems there is some mortal fear of using curved lenses.
Human perception is by default curved (our brains make lines look straight) and reading form and shape with such a wide angled linear perspective, it is hard not to be distracted by the warping this type of perspective produces. Why do you guys never render using curved lenses?
I admit vray's spherical lens is not the most intuitive (it seems to be designed for making spherical maps and does not act like the equivalent type of lens in Brazil or FR), but with a bit of manual tweaking, one can get the correct look.
Any thoughts on this?

[proces2]

thanks, everyone, for the comments.

christian - i have never really played with using curved lenses. for me, i have always played by the rule that it is easier for the eye (the client as well) to automatically correct the 3-point distortion. i am not so sure that it could be as easily understood when lines start getting curved through a spherical lens. i would be interested in testing out the theory though. do you have some suggestions for settings for the spherical camera ?

zero one - i am not that crazy about using the camera correction. it will just end up stretching things vertically (thus distorting them as well). i am just trying to capture as much of the space around the viewpoint as possible - then hoping that the viewer will automatically correct some of the angled lines and 3-point distortion. btw, the client for the project is originally from monterrey, mexico. they currently live in texas.

m735 - now you are getting into the uncharted territory. mainly, things have been translated by using the section tool to cut many sections both horizontally and vertically. those would get composed back together in Autocad to create composite plans and sections. we've also been creating axonometric views of different pieces of the model for the drawing sets. we are hoping to use the 3d model as far into the drawings process as possible and hopefully be able to do some CAD/CAM stuff as well.

sean

[nlo]

great architecture!

i like the "not-too-real" look of the images
i like the polygon people. (poser?)

the things i don't like:
some of the perspectives/camera angles are to extrem
for my taste and are distracting from the project.
(i know in small spaces its often hard to find good ones.)

i'd have left out the railing...it adds this realism which you didn't try to achieve. keep it abstract!

i don't like the tree right in front of the camera...
just too strong for my taste...

[bakbek]

I Remember you posting an animation of this project… any updates on that???

I Love the design and presentation… although the interior shots could use some more light in them IMHO. The second image if very good in expressing the design… also good colors. May I ask to what size you rendered these images and if it is possible for you to share some of those beautiful trees??? (Please… by the way, are they all 3D???)

Best regards,
Bakbek.

[gitano_anton]

Those camera angles!!

There´s no one vertical line that shows vertical ( )
I agree with NLO, the camera angles are too extreme
The house is like a mousehole, in the good sense
If you are decided to correct the perspective and the dark areas, you´ll improve too much the house.

[N3v3rMind]

great work....

[proces2]

i can see how the interior images could use some more ambient lighting. at this point, it is intended to show the dark areas - more of an explanation of the architecture rather than making a polished image. a big part of the design is the study of sun angles and controlling the sun/shadow effects on the exterior and interior of the house. so, i was very sparse with the interior lights and just wanted to show the high contrast/effect that the sunlight will cause. as we develop the interior, we will certainly add lights to level things out more.

bakbek - the animation is still evolving. one effort for the animation was to get some water caustics to work - here's a sample for that part:
http://www.proces2.com/vray/chuck_caustics2.wmv
i will try to post something more along the way. the still images were rendered around 2800x2800 (and formatted down to 2800x2200). all of the trees are bionatics trees, so i can't share them (sorry).

nlo - the people are from Poser. i agree about the tree in the foreground in that one view. the thing is - the site is very heavily wooded along that side of the house. so, i wanted to try to capture that (to show the client) in one of the views.

interesting that most people seem to find the camera angles distracting. in representing the design, i'm trying to fit about 3 different angles into one view - to show the interconnecting parts and the sense of the space around you. the exaggerated cameras and angles are the best way i have found to do that. i also find that it starts to make the image be more of a "graphic" - which is a pursuit of mine as well.

thanks again for the comments,
sean

[J_Bug]

Great job I really like these images .Nice design and lighting. I'm no engineer and just going on previous comments I've got some questions of my own. So if this project started in MAX how do you guys know it will stand up and be functional? What are those four or five thin boxes in the center of the building? I notice you highlighted them somewhat in the bright blue rendering. The camera angles are perfect. They really show off the experience that this building is going to be. So what style is this pad?

--Jon

[proces2]

j_bug - the thin boxes (running mainly down the center of the house) are a series of light wells. the first interior shot shows you standing just to the right of one. the client wants to use a masonry structure, so we wanted to make sure that we still got plenty of light coming into the space (especially along the center of the house). there are some other reasons, but that's the most straight forward one.

the structure - the client wanted to use a prefab wall system for concrete called Rastra. we found a structural engineer who had used this system before and had him review some early designs. it was determined that, generally speaking, everything that we had drawn could be achieved with this system. he is currently doing the actual structural calculations, so we'll find out if everything works.

the style - i'll try to keep this brief, but it may be tough. the client is originally from mexico, so that wanted something in the vain of mexican contemporary design. but, this house is in texas, so they didn't want a mexican hacienda plopped in the middle of a texas landscape. they understood how that would be out of place and inappropriate. so, they asked me to come up with something that mixed some of there aesthetic interests into a design that was truely unique and not bound to a specific style. there are many other layers, but that's the short of it.