Imagina 2012

Communicating design at Imagina

From February 7th-9th the annual Imagina event will be showcasing the latest in 3D visualisation and simulation.

The usual fairground fodder was given a shot of adrenaline in this hyperrealistic image of Coney Island by Squint/Opera

by Stephen Holmes

The raison d’etre for Imagina 2012 is to present pioneering initiatives, encourage participants to share their experiences and help users to transfer their skills to those who want to develop them.

One of the standout speakers at the conference will be Jules Coke, managing director and a founder of London-based media production studio Squint/Opera.

Having set up the company nearly 10 years ago with three others straight out of university, Squint/Opera has a unique view of the use of 3D technology as a medium with which to showcase the built environment through 3D visualisation.

Having began as a company making documentary films that looked at architecture from the end users’ point of view, Squint/ Opera moved into 2D animation and eventually adopted 3D tools to create visualisation projects as diverse as the new London Olympic Stadium, to whole cities as far afield as Vietnam.

“We started doing 3D visualisation, and since then we have been mixing all three elements — live footage, 2D animation and 3D animation,” said Mr Coke. “Although three of us, and most of the people in the studio, have architectural training, we did not really

come from a 3D technical background in the that process in lots of different ways. For sense that a lot of visualisation emerged example, techniques: the gap between things much more from that side. We came from that they are doing in feature films and documentary techniques, and later on adver- things that you can do yourself in a bedtising techniques. room, the ‘lag’ is getting shorter and shorter.

“Our idea was always two-fold, to take the “At the moment it is still specialised, partechniques that are used in entertainment — ticularly at the higher end — we find it very TV and documentary — and apply them to difficult to explain even to the clients who the built environment, and also to escape are working on large-scale projects what we from the jargon and talk about architecture are actually doing. in a way that someone else would find inter- “Even people in the film industry are a bit esting and can understand.” confused as well, it is moving so fast.”

With Imagina proving a melting pot of dif- With Squint/Opera having such an identiferent industries working with similar fiable style to its work it seems likely that Mr media, Mr Coke is interested to see what part Coke will also cover the wide range of renvisualisation, which he sees as an extension dering styles that have been introduced since of the communications industry, is playing the advent of 3D imagery, and the way in in both architecture and urbanisation which they are received and interpreted by around Europe and the rest of the world. their target audience.

“It is always interesting to see different Mr Coke is certain that different artistic sorts of agencies and people coming togeth- styles for projects, such as hyperrealism, er as the world of 3D is so diverse,” said Mr realism, dream-like and cartoon-like Coke. “It would be easy for us to stay on ‘our approaches, could help and encourage an turf’ as communications, but there are all audience to understand a project, rather sorts of different people using 3D in differ- than a straight photorealistic approach. ent ways. “A lot of companies

“The event has a nice still view it in that way; free-for-all approach. The idea that communications can form part ‘‘ The event has a nice that it is all about the most faithful reproduction of environof an urban design strategy is quite an free-for-all approach. mental conditions and materiality, all of these interesting one.” The idea that things. It is such a good At the time of our interview Mr Coke is still mulling over the communications can form part of an subject: how you mimic nature using a computer, but the way ideas he wants to cover urban design we come to it is from in his presentation, including the role that strategy is quite an much more of a communications point of visualisation plays in a interesting one. view, thinking about modern project, and how its role is growing even more significant. ’’ what it is you want to say, as opposed to purely saying ‘look at

Mr Coke is also inter- this model’. ested in how the built environment has to “You want to say why the model is how it change because of population: “Particularly is and not just what it is, and this is where in larger scale master-planning,” he said. “It all the differences in techniques and artistic shouldn’t be something that happens totally license becomes relevant.” behind closed doors.” It now seems key that a little artistic flair

“The internet and media and how people in a project, especially with the adoption of like to consume stuff — information, content, commercial and documentary styling, go a video and moving image — is becoming long way in providing a winning start for something that is much more expected of the planning, acceptance and even desirabileverything, what might have been expressed ity of a building or area. in print before will now increasingly be With the mixture of architects, engineers expressed in moving image combined with and artists that make up the visitors to print and still imagery.” Imagina, new and exciting ideas and possi-

Elsewhere, there is the question of how bly even ventures are sure to be sparked. quickly visualisation is growing, and how much freedom it provides. “Software is get- Imagina runs from the 7th-9th February, 2012, ting cheaper and faster. You can do more at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco. with it and we are only right at the start of ■ imagina.mc ■ squintopera.com

Speakers’ corner

Every year Imagina presents a slightly different programme. Here is our guide to who will be leading the way with the best architectural and urbaisation talks at the event. Jules Coke The co-founder and managing director of Squint Opera will be comparing a wide range of rendering styles that have been introduced since the advent of 3D images, and assessing the way in which they are received and interpreted by their target audience. What types of graphics will we see and use most over the next few years?

Daniel C. White Vice President at RTKL, the firm that has designed some of the world’s foremost architectural spaces, Mr White’s talk will explore how digital, 2D, 3D and BIM innovations of all kinds are used to accomplish day-today tasks using examples from RTKL’s works around the globe.

Ralf Levedag Architect and projects manager at Cabinet Wilmotte & Associés. Mr Levedag will discuss the future Stade de Nice, which saw its design move into new technological grounds with the inclusion of sustainable development and energy saving.

Benoit Frederique In his role as product manager for Bentley Systems, Mr Frederique will be taking part in the Virtual Cities conference, comparing complex problems faced by towns and cities that wish to move towards specially developed and long-lasting digital mock-ups based on reliable geospatial data, and which professional software packages could benefit according to local needs and the services involved.

Dominique Lancrenon Tackling the issue of using 3D cartography to better fight urban sprawl, Mr Lancrenon, president of the European council of spatial planners, will be chairing a conference to assess the role of 3D in local coherence planning and the use of virtual mock-ups in redeveloping urban centres.