Creating Tomorrow’s Views of Today’s Design: GBA Uses 3D Visualization to Enable Stakeholders to ‘See’ What’s Ahead for Our Communities

by David McGill

Visualization Specialist

George Butler Associates, Inc.

Lenexa, Kan. (January 16, 2009) – What if you could “drive” down a one-mile stretch of newly improved four-lane divided arterial roadway past existing residential and commercial development and a grade school; “stop” at newly signalized intersection while “enjoying” new landscaping, sidewalks, and other amenities; and “turn” onto a busy existing collector street toward your destination. And all of this before the improvements were even built.

If you are a public works director, a city councilman, a homeowner, a local retailer, or a parent whose child attends the school, you may be very interested in new 3D visualization technology designed to enable you do just that. For those of us who provide engineering and architectural design services for the built environment, the technology is revolutionizing how we communicate vast amounts of technical data to stakeholders in a clear and understandable way.

While not all engineering construction projects today are rendered in 3D animation, the technology is widely available and its use more and more prevalent. Just a few years ago, we would have relied on a two-dimensional rendering and some relatively obscure plans and specifications to communicate our ideas. Today, however, 3D digital technology is changing all that. And with 4D, which incorporates construction scheduling and sequencing, and 5D, which incorporates the resources and cost required for construction, already being used by the E/A industry, we’re looking at an even more interactive, seamless, and comprehensive approach to project planning, design, and construction.

GBA’s design visualization specialists use the latest computer technology to help clients and stakeholders get a clear picture of what’s ahead for their projects. It enables them to consider the potential impact of alternative designs before construction begins, while changes are still the easiest and least costly. It also enables clients to get important input from and market their projects to constituents, investors, and even potential customers before the project leaves the drawing board.

There are other benefits as well. Using 3D visualization, our engineers, architects, and their clients can see how building systems, materials, and interiors work together within the context of a new building. Fly-bys and walk-throughs allow owners to experience the aesthetic and practical impact that the design will have on those who use it. In addition, adding a third dimension to a two-dimensional CADD drawing can enable designers to more accurately determine concrete and structural quantities, coordinate construction with underground utilities, or experience first-hand how traffic is impacted by a new development. For our clients, all of these applications ultimately mean a more successful project for themselves and for the public.

GBA specialists use a variety of CADD/modeling software packages to create 3D modeling, computer animation, virtual environments, photo-simulation, and video production. Some of these include Civil 3D, Revit Architecture, Geopak, MicroStation, AutoCAD, Adobe Photoshop, and 3D StudioMax. We can take aerial and ground photography of a site and build a “virtual” project within that environment. Or we can insert “real people” into a virtual project environment. 3D visualization can also be used in conjunction with geographic information systems (GIS) to provide municipalities with visual cadastral mapping, an end-to-end design, and documentation of utility and communication networks, or a comprehensive engineering design of land development, city planning, and infrastructure support.

While 3D visualization is changing both engineering and architectural design, even newer technology such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) – used in conjunction with 4D and even 5D – is already enabling engineers, architects, and contractors to seamlessly generate and share information in the same interactive model. The new technology is already impacting the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of buildings of the future and has tremendous implications for vertical construction as well.

As projects become more complex and communication more critical, the benefits of these new technologies become even more apparent, the types of clients and applications more numerous. GBA will continue to embrace these new technologies to achieve our core purpose, which is to create remarkable solutions for a higher quality of life.

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