Week 8 - Visualisation and the Image

In  Walter Benjamin’s reading “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, he explores the shift of perception in 20th Century film and photography. This was discussed through the introduction of lithography which was surpassed by photography. He defined photography as a process to reproduce aspects of the original capture that weren’t attainable to the naked eye. However, technical reproduction also positions the copy of the original out of place and therefore denotes that even the most perfect reproductions of a work of art lacks in one thing: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. The aura which Benjamin represents tells us that the originality and authenticity of a work can never be reproduced.

Architectural conception and realization usually assume a one-to-one correspondence between the represented idea and the final building (Perez-Gomez 2007). This idea is further extended in Peter Eisenman’s reading ‘Architecture After the Age of Printing’, as he discusses digital mass customization as an effective process in small scale, but not on a full scale construction. Even though BIM is a family software developed to exchange information among others, it is limiting in the amount of standard geometric notations and thus inspiration. As a result, architecture has traditionally envisioned the concept of a space within four walls, a limited way of organizing space and the relationship between the elements within the space.

But through the introduction of advanced softwares such as BIM, objects in the 3D world environment has progressed into the integrated approaches of streamlined highly photo-realistic renderings that are published straight into the cloud. This process successfully saves time and money with the beneficial ability to accurately present high quality images. Detailing, lighting, materiality and daylighting are very important factors to consider when producing graphics for clients, but also for the designer or architect who require constant feedback on details such as solar access into the building via simulations and diagrams. We begin to become aware of this ability to reassess and change the design which therefore also progress into simultaneously streamline a traditionally tedious process.

Ultimately, the future of visualisation and the image will become more immersive as we turn towards realistically rendered 3D environments. Game rendering softwares such as Unreal Engine, Cryengine and Lumion are a few of the many tools which are continuously being updated for realistic reproductions that allow for real-time interaction between the spaces and thus bridge the gap between a concept to a reality.