The power of verified views
Take a closer look at the header image above: does anything look out of the ordinary? It’s a classic London street scene: looking south on Brompton Road, with a view of the iconic Art Deco Michelin Building – now a fabulous restaurant. So far, so SW3. But between the upscale stores and ritzy restaurants, something’s amiss: the apartment block on top of the JOSEPH clothing store, in the middle of the frame, doesn’t actually exist. It’s a product verified views, a type of accurate visual representation. The power of verified views is the ability to precisely and realistically show what new developments will look like, exactly as they should appear – it’s a crucial tool for anyone in the business of building new developments, including planning departments, architects and property developers. So how do we do it? Read on to find out more about verified views and their continued popularity in the ever-changing world of property.
What are verified views?
Verified views are different to standard CGIs, such as computer-generated marketing images that you might see in the glossy brochure for a new housing estate or apartment building, which have much more in the way of artistic license. As the name suggests, they are a verifiable image – scientifically speaking: the view is created from a real location that actually exists, rather than an imagined perspective.
Verified views provide a realistic visual of how a development will look when it is built, which is hugely important for planning departments to see when considering the positives and negatives of a new construction. As they are based on real, technical data, they are more accurate than CGI alone, because they offer a real-world view – because they are drawn to scale based on hundreds (sometimes thousands!) of accurate measurements, the development won’t appear bigger or smaller than it actually is.
Because verified views are based on scientific data, the process takes much longer than drawing a standard computer-generated image. During the process, a number of photographs will be taken of the proposed location. These are marked up to show different points – our surveys team will then go out on location and take accurate measurements from all the points in the photographs. In the meantime, our CGI team starts drawing up the images; when the measurements come back, the surveys and images are combined to create a precise verified view of the proposed development.
One only has to read through a handful of rejected planning applications to see the phrase “impacts on surrounding landscape” as a reason for rejection. With the use of verified views, this problem can be mitigated much earlier in the development process, before even making an official application, as the impact of a new development can be easily seen. Plus, surveys and technical drawings alone are not easily understood by everyone, and plans can be misconstrued. Images that clearly show a proposed building accurately within a setting can be easily interpreted by both professionals and non-professional interested parties. Not to mention, designers can also benefit from seeing the development ‘in place’ at an early stage in the process, to help with choosing building materials or adjustments to height and mass.
The architects or designers of a construction will also be required to supply detailed information on the type of proposed building materials too, so that the images are as realistic as possible. This includes everything from the type, size and colour of bricks to be used, the colour of the glass and how reflective it is, to the type of landscaping that will be included.
Consider the image on the right, which includes two different types of brick, cladding, render, lots of glass and landscaping too – it’s easy to understand why each image takes a long time to create. Plus, taking the images is an exacting science too: it must be a dry, still day with little wind and no rain, the camera must be level and have a fixed lens, and survey points must be set out in the ground and shown in all the photos.
There are different kinds of verified views – which one is best suited to your project? This depends on a number of factors, from the level of detail required to the context of the site in question.
Verified views can range from basic outline representations to fully rendered, photo-realistic images. The level of detail is prescribed by the Greater London Authority – it’s a cumulative scale, with each higher level incorporating all the detail of the previous level. In the early stages, to assist with initial planning, the lower levels are usually sufficient. But when making extensive or convoluted planning applications, the top level AVR 3 is the best option.
AVR 0
Level 0 is the most basic of accurate visual representation (AVR), which includes just the layout and size of the proposed development, shown as ‘massing’. Level 0 is also known as block models, and can be very useful in the early stages of design.
AVR 1
For more detail, level 1 displays the proposed development massing, along with a wireframe overlay which shows extra context such as windows and doors where appropriate. It is occluded behind any foreground elements such as other buildings and trees.
AVR 2
Level 2 shows a plain white render of the massing, with no other materials. It is also lit with a sunlight system to accurately match the photo so all shadows match. It is also occluded behind any foreground elements such as other buildings and trees.
AVR 3
The most detail is provided in Level 3, including a fully realistic render, all the different materials, accurate sunlight system and full occlusion around the surrounding elements.
Did you know?
In London, building sight lines are protected by planning regulations to preserve specific views of a number of landmarks – particularly St Paul’s Cathedral. The protected views are managed under the London View Management Framework and restrict the height and location of new buildings which may obstruct these sightlines.There are 13 different sight lines around London, eight of which are focused on St Paul’s Cathedral. Protecting the views help to preserve London’s iconic skyline, influence urban development – to ensure that new construction respects and enhances the existing urban landscape, and allows points of access to enjoy views of the city. How many London landmarks can you see in the image on the left?
This is where verified views play such an important part in siting new developments before starting construction – it’s easy to see how they might impact sight lines.
There are 13 protected views in London; as well as the views around St Paul’s, they are also in significant locations such as Alexandra Palace and Parliament Hill, King Henry VIII’s Mound in Richmond, the Royal Naval College and the Palace of Westminster.
Whats the process?
1. We’re given a brief by the developer, including the
requested number of AVRs and view locations which are typically selected by the local authority for the purposes of visual impact assessment.
2. We take high resolution photos from a variety of viewpoints and focal lengths to record a set of parameters during a photoshoot. We may include draft photos to establish exact sight lines, followed by a second high resolution shoot.
3. Our surveys team captures GPS location data for each viewpoint, as well as a range of reference points on the surrounding buildings to ensure a high degree of accuracy with the final design.
4. Using supplied architectural CAD drawings and OS mapping, our CGI artists create a fully textured 3D model to help visualise the mock up. We provide the draft renders for architectural approval.
5. The data reference points from the survey and the real-world camera locations are imported into our 3D model and virtual ‘cameras’ are positioned throughout; we then render images from our virtual cameras.
6. Based on the time of day that the photos were taken we light the photos to match, so that shadows can be shown accurately – just as they would if there was a real building standing in the place of the proposed development.
7. We match the context photography and rendered images together to create the final verified views and apply masking to any elements of the render that would be obscured by the surrounding buildings, plus add enhancements like reflections and texture.
8. We provide detailed before and after views, exact locations, camera data, survey reference points and a full breakdown of our process and methodology to show exactly how the verified views have been achieved, presented in a detailed document.
Would you like to find out more about verfied views?
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