I randomly decided this weekend that I wanted to go all out on a building section. I have been spending a little of my free time detailing an old studio project just to have some new geometry to illustrate and present on the site. I really liked some of the interior spaces and thought it would make for an interesting building section illustration. I was also debating whether or not to keep the illustration abstract or to keep things clean and legible. In the end, I took the legible route but threw in some twists. I also applied some HDR effects to bump up the drama of the image. One thing I want to emphasize is that there wasn’t a clear linear path in terms of workflow. I went through many different iterations before I arrived to this final result.

 

To generate the above illustrations, I rendered multiple views in Kerkythea using different shadow settings and section cuts (each took about 10 minutes to render). I did this partly because I wasn’t sure what the final look would be but also so that I would have multiple styles at my disposal to test different ideas. I ultimately used all of them layering them together which added depth to the image while still maintaining clarity in the overall composition.

 

Kerkythea_visitor_center_2

Above, Kerkythea rendering with soft shadows.

 

 

 

Kerkythea_visitor_center_1

Above, Kerkythea rendering with strong shadows.

 

 

 

Kerkythea_visitor_center_3

Above, Kerkythea rendering of the exterior elevation.

 

 

 

Model

I exported a CAD floor plan and used it to inhabit the blank space below the building section. This is a technique we use a lot in the office because it not only adds interest below the ground plane but also explains where the section is cut and how it relates to the floor plan.

 

 

 

Floor Plan xray

Above, Sketchup export of the roof plan in x-ray mode.

 

 

 

xray_section_visitor_center_alex

Above, Sketchup export again in x-ray mode. I like to use these types of abstract images subtly to give another layer of information and texture.

 

 

Final Illustrations

 

Building_Section_visitor_center_alex_hogrefe_

 

 

Building_Section_visitor_center_alex_hogrefe_Close_up