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INDUSTRY focus Real-time renders Enscape 3.2 offers dynamic real-time visualisation and streamlined workflows for architects and designers, writes David Chadwick Iremember a comment from an architect I was chatting to at Digital Construction Week who said that Enscape was an essential item within their architectural toolset. He added that he couldn't envisage now not being able to make changes to an architectural design, and then immediately switch to Enscape to see what the changes looked like in real-time. We've come a long way from the days when you had to swap out your 3D model to a render farm to produce a lifelike visualisation, and while you can now handle it all on your own workstation, there is still a disconnect between the design and the visualisation process. Current applications also tend to focus on different markets for the results - to produce stunning visualisations of static scenes with precise representations of surfaces, materials and reflections, or to create realistic walkthroughs and interactive scenes. Both types demand considerable computing power and tend to be set up post design, with the 3D model having to be exported and set up before it can be rendered. Enscape, on the other hand, focuses on providing real-time visualisation, 3D rendering and virtual reality scenarios for architects, engineers and other design professionals in the AEC industry, with fast and easy immersive transformations of BIM and CAD models. It integrates with the design application - currently Revit, SketchUp, Archicad, Vectorworks and Rhino - and enables users to see creations evolve as they work on designs. Users can also invite clients to get involved in the design process. ENSCAPE 3.2 Enscape has recently released Version 3.2, which enables architects and designers to produce even more vivid real-time visualisations, and to streamline the design workflow. It also introduces a new asset placement tool that is used to populate scenes for additional effect, to render multiple panoramas, and to manage data uploading and the sharing of links. It also comes with a library of green building assets and materials to satisfy the growing demand for sustainable architecture. DYNAMIC ASSET PLACEMENT As Enscape and the modelling software are linked, everything that is added to the model is instantly available in the rendered image - and vice versa. Not a problem when the assets you want to load are to be found in either the applications or Enscape's asset libraries. Once they are placed in a scene, they can be rotated, scaled and moved, depending on the modelling software, with changes synched back to the project. Dynamic Asset Placement can also be used to populate scenes with multiple objects - trees, cars and people - directly inside Enscape, in order to create realistic panoramas. PANORAMA ENHANCEMENTS With Batch Panoramas, users can create scenes in Mono or Stereo from a 3D project, which can be shared by saving as a file and emailing it to a client. You can also upload single or multiple panoramas to the cloud where they can be saved as a gallery, or accessed on suitable devices using QR codes. Once again it's all done within the Enscape application - you don't need to access external apps to generate them. Once a link has been established, or a QR code assigned, Enscape can upload the new scenarios each time changes are made, without viewers having to re-enter links or codes. SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE Architects and clients are getting serious about sustainable design, and you can ruin a good pitch if you populate a zero carbon building concept with a totally unsuitable 16 January/February 2022
INDUSTRYfocus planting scheme, or carbon intensive materials. To this end Enscape have included over 150 green building assets in the latest version, including trees, plants and flowers. Some larger assets are also available, such as wind turbines, electric power stations, electric vehicles, drones and a scooter. This will obviously be increased according to demand and reflect changing energy supply, and evolving methods of transport. Similarly, Enscape has added 25 or so green building materials, such as organic bricks, bamboo fence, recycled plastic, a straw wall, hay plastic, solar modules, printed concrete, clay plaster, solar roof tiles, wood materials and rammed earth. If you are not familiar with all of these yet then you soon will be! It's not just eco materials that have been added, as there are 30 new frequently requested materials now available, such as wallpaper, tiles, marble, granite, leather, plaster and rubber tar - and around 50 new people models have been added to the population too. UPLOAD MANAGEMENT Enscape's previous Upload feature didn't match the intuitive usability of the rest of the software and so has been redesigned in the latest version, with the UI now providing a better and easier to use workflow. This will group uploads by type and project. The function indicators have also been improved. RAY TRACING I have always found ray tracing to be a fascinating subject. It involves following the path of light of rays from a natural or artificial light source as they bounce off all of the material surfaces within a building - some more reflective than others - the attributes reflected (no pun intended) in the material properties of each. It's obviously highly compute intensive and the number of 'bounces' of the rays depends on the processing power allocated to it. Ray tracing is also used to create shadow and lighting effects, and they too are processor dependent. In Enscape 3.2, with its enhanced realtime processing capabilities, shadow sharpness and accuracy has been improved by extending ray-traced sun shadows to videos and real-time walkthroughs. To understand the complexity of doing this, imagine the shadows being created as you move around the building and view sections from different angles - the necessary ray tracing calculations being updated as you move. Dedicated GPUs can handle the calculations easily, with additional performance available from AMD GPUs which use Vulkan ray tracing. NO TRAINING REQUIRED Turning architects 3D models into fully rendered images used to be left to dedicated individuals who had mastered the earlier technologies. That is now a thing of the past as Enscape, fully integrated with leading applications, doesn't require any special expertise or training, and is available from the moment you switch your workstation on. That's probably why it has become a staple extension of design software. By using Enscape, you also gain access to a community of remarkable users whose forum provides an open space to discuss requests and best practices with support from technology development teams. "Real-time visualisation is more than just a beautiful rendering. It is now an essential and critical part of any design process, providing important data to make design decisions and communicate them to key stakeholders," said Petr Mitev, VP, Visualisation Product Group at Enscape. "With each product update, we add new features and improve existing features and functionality to help more architects and designers quickly and easily visualise and communicate their designs in real time. Enscape 3.2 is another step forward in truly integrating the design and visualisation workflows into one." ABOUT ENSCAPE Enscape software is compatible with Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, Archicad, and Vectorworks and is used by renowned architecture firms in over 150 countries. Headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, the company also has an office in New York. www.enscape3d.com January/February 2022 17
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Page 5 and 6: DESIGN WITHOUT LIMITS The best-in-
Page 8 and 9: INDUSTRY news MIXED-REALITY FOR CON
Page 10 and 11: INDUSTRYfocus Jobs for the old boys
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Page 14 and 15: INDUSTRYcomment Adapt or fail As Eq
Page 18 and 19: CASE study A woven façade David Ch
Page 20 and 21: TECHNOLOGYfocus Making the most of
Page 22 and 23: SOFTWAREfocus Update 2, Take 2 What
Page 24 and 25: TECHNOLOGYfocus 4D Planning 4D plan
Page 26 and 27: TECHNOLOGYfocus Harnessing The Atom
Page 28 and 29: INDUSTRY focus Safety first Marek S
Page 30 and 31: EXHIBITIONS Futurebuild 2022: leadi
Page 32 and 33: YOUR GUIDE TO 5 7 2 4 1 3 21 22 23
Page 34 and 35: CASEstudy Rapid 3D scans Trimble la
Page 36: Duke Ellington School of the Arts A

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