Living room, Italy - Oliver Gustav.
Architecture illustrated Transforming the visions of architects into their most aesthetic expression while remaining true to details, scale and surroundings – this is the task of architectural illustrators. Among the first in Denmark to specialise in digital illustrations, Peter Krogh-Hansen, the founder of Archivisuals, has had ten years to refine the balance between art and craft. By Signe Hansen | Photos: Archivisuals
A decade ago, most architects in Denmark were still using manual drawings to illustrate their visions. However, in recent years, the possibilities and advantages of creating digital 3D illustrations and visualisations have convinced both architects and clients of the benefits of putting the pen away. The shift has not only allowed – and compelled – architects to include a new level of detail, but also enabled clients to foresee the full potential of a project. “In most cases, there’s a huge amount of material behind each illustration – it’s very precise in regard to facades, descriptions and the economy of the project, and, in most cases, that’s what will de12 | Issue 126 | July 2019
cide whether the project becomes reality,” explains Krogh-Hansen. “But it’s also vital that a client gets to see the potential of the project, and that’s the primary purpose of my work – to give clients the visualisations that can help them make the right decision.”
tecture, chose to dedicate his architectural career to illustrating other people’s designs. But to the 45-year-old, who worked with multimedia authoring for six years before embarking on his architecture degree, it makes perfect sense. “I come from a completely different background. When I first started at the School of Architecture, I was the only one to bring a laptop, and a lot of people found it really odd. But when I left, five years later, everybody had a computer,” he says. “While studying, I worked with an architect who did everything by hand – the roof, the tiles and so on – and every time
In 2009, Krogh-Hansen founded Archivisuals, and since then, the firm has illustrated projects for many of Scandinavia’s leading architects.
A decade of illustrations It may puzzle some that Krogh-Hansen, a graduate from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Archi-
Peter Krogh-Hansen.