Visualisation in construction: Naji Atallah, Autodesk
The business environment emanating from today’s various industry verticals continues to rapidly change—adopting new advancements in technology and utilising these as new tools to help drive these industries to more growth and profit. The move toward the future allows these businesses to be more unique and innovative, especially if you are within the manufacturing and construction segments. In fact, industry experts have urged that now is the perfect time to increase awareness on the significant benefits and advantages of utilising newer design technologies like 3D and visualisation—which ultimately result in improved operational efficiencies and maximum cost benefits.
Timely as it seems, the rules of today’s global construction landscape translate to effectively marketing your project in a quick yet highly effective manner. With the emergence of major and mega projects across the region, companies in the construction industry do not have time for traditional trial and error practices as these would lead to costly delays—very expensive and time consuming delays for that matter. To avoid these situations, companies are now looking toward using 3D and visualisation solutions, which not only saves cost and time but also ensures that project flaws are dealt with properly and remedied in advance with a sound and secure alternative.
An example of the strategic use of these new solutions can be seen in the construction of the Dubai Opera House, which is a 2,000-seat, multi-format venue for opera, theatre, concerts, art exhibitions, film screenings, sports events and seasonal programmes. Strategically located near the Burj Khalifa, the Opera House is surrounded by large lakes, fountains and an array of mixed-use development. The area was named the Opera District and is positioned to become a cultural destination in downtown Dubai–complete with luxury hotels, residential apartments, a retail plaza, art galleries, waterfront promenades, recreational spaces and parks.
During its pre-construction phase, GRAFF3D presented scale visualisation of the district by using Autodesk 3ds Max Design software. The solution helped produce model-based, high-resolution renderings and cinematic-quality 3D project visualisations of the development. These visualizations are now being used to promote and market the area to potential investors, businesses and residents.
The industry has also seen the increased number of companies offering comprehensive professional 3D visualisation and animation services. These companies, which are staffed with highly skilled, creative and proficient design professionals, offer services like 3D character animation, 2D/3D animation, 3D walk-through, architectural visualisation, 3D medical animation, 3D virtual tour for interior and exterior design, 3D flythrough, rich multimedia visual and presentations supported by titles, music, voice-overs and other content.
To sum up, the construction industry is now being urged by industry experts to take advantage of what 3D and visualisation can do for today’s wide gamut of mega and major projects—exceeding the expectations of clients while also achieving cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency.
