Beneficios retributivos de la educación

The term “rendering” tends to make us think of computer renderings, but architectural renderings existed long before there were computers to produce them. To render an image simply means to depict it artistically—by hand, by computer, or by any combination of the two. Three- dimensional computer modeling and rendering have largely supplanted the role of the architectural illustrator, yet it is widely recognized that even the most sophisticated rendering software produces images that lack an esoteric quality found within renderings produced by hand. It is ironic that the current trend in modeling software is to produce rendering engines that can replicate the inaccuracy and smudgy quality of hand-drawing. There is a place for photorealism in architectural renderings, but humans often seem to be much more comfortable with the imperfect results of drawings made by hand.

As any professional lighting designer will tell you, even the most physically accurate and fastidiously calculated and rendered architectural scene cannot replicate the feeling of being in the space. One of the most severe limitations of computer rendering systems is the method of output. A typical computer monitor may have a brightness scale (contrast ratio) of around 1,000:1. This sounds impressive, but it represents only one-thousandth of the range over which the human visual system can operate. The result is that when we are in a real lit environment we can see a huge amount more detail in

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Computer renderings have real limitations and cannot produce the same visual effect as actually standing in the space. It is therefore often better to deliberately eschew any attempt at photorealism when you are producing a light rendering. If the information can be conveyed effectively with a hand-drawn rendering, that is likely to be the fastest way to produce the required image. Of course, the accuracy of a hand-drawn rendering depends on the lighting experience of the designer and his or her skill with a pencil. This image of the natural and electric lighting within a space was produced by an interior architecture student. This kind of hand-drawn rendering is within the capability of anyone who takes the time to examine how light interacts with space. Even if your drawing skills are not up to presentation standards, the discipline of producing hand renderings will make it much easier for you to identify mistakes and perceptual inaccuracies in computer

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This rendering was produced in 3ds Max, an Autodesk-owned three-dimensional modeling program that includes the ability to use real luminaire photometry to produce more accurate results. It was a presentation image to demonstrate the lit effect of a design for a conference room. An experienced designer is able to determine how accurate a computer rendering is, and is able to adjust image brightness or contrast to better match how users will actually perceive a space. This rendering, done as part of the design process, is a very close match to the completed project.

the bright areas and shadows than a computer monitor or printout can ever replicate.

This is not to say that computer renderings are not useful tools for the lighting designer. Clients tend to believe renderings produced by computer and often see them as some kind of sample of reality. This can be good—and bad. For a computer rendering to produce useful lighting results it must not only utilize measured photometric data from the actual luminaires used in the project; the model must also include the correct colors, textures, patterns, and materials for every surface in the scene. Given that renderings are usually produced at relatively early stages of a project, it is highly unlikely that all the materials finishes will have been determined. The computer modeler often has to guess what some of the materials, colors, or furniture will be, which means that the lit effect can never be considered completely realistic.

The level of photorealistic detail computer renderings can produce frequently causes other problems when light renderings are presented to clients. The presentation about lighting can quickly be diverted by discussions about the particular texture of leather displayed on the seating or the pattern of marble used on the walls. Architects and designers therefore need to be very careful in their use of computer renderings; sometimes it is prudent to dispense with some realism in order to focus discussions on the task at hand.

exactly how the project will look when completed. Yet the lighting here is photometrically accurate. The software uses measured data of real luminaires to calculate the lit effect. This is far superior to the very crude lighting effects produced by 90 per cent of three-dimensional design software. Specialist lighting calculation software such as AGi32 does not have “spotlights” and “floodlights” as in most three-dimensional software—it only uses real luminaire data.

This set of images was produced by New York lighting designers OVI. Even though the model appears to be cardboard, it was actually produced in AGi32, a professional lighting calculation and modeling software program. The model was deliberately created without color and the shapes of the figures were given the appearance of two-dimensional cutouts to concentrate attention on the lit effect. In the same way that a sketch section drawing does not show the final construction detail, it is clear that these images are not intended to show

In this model and the one below, the designers experimented with supposedly similar luminaires from different manufacturers to gauge the difference in the lit effect. Here they try mounting a row of downlights near the vertical surface and lighting the benches from underneath.

In this version the row of downlights is mounted over the benches as opposed to close to the vertical surface.

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In this model and the one below, the different components of the scheme are isolated. Here the model shows what the space would look like if it were lit only by uplighters, and how the addition of light below the benches helps to create a subtle but important visual lift in this area.

This version shows how downlights prevent people being silhouetted against the lit wall.

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