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7. Renderings and Models

• Most library construction projects of any size will benefit from renderings and models.
  
  
• Renderings are artistic drawings of selected views of the inside and outside of the new library. Unlike the elevation drawings, which are rather mechanical representations, renderings are sketches in perspective. They have all the extra details to which most viewers respond-trees and plantings, passing cars, users, and so on. Some renderings are simple black-and-white sketches, while others are full-color works of art.
  
  
• Models are three-dimensional representations of the completed building. Usually they are simplified, and frequently they are stylized. Models can vary from simple constructions showing little more than basic masses, to complex representations in color, with added trees, pedestrians, vehicles, and so on. Some models are exterior models only, while others have removable roofs and upper floors so that people can see the interior arrangement of each floor of the library.
  
  
• Sometimes it's to your advantage to keep renderings and models somewhat vague and conceptual. The more detail you give people up front, the more they'll expect to find that specific detail in the finished library. Since models are frequently built early in the project, details can change a great deal between then and the final bid documents.
  
  
• Since very few people can read blueprints, renderings and models are an important way to show them what the completed building will look like. In particular, voters and donors need to know what their tax dollars and donations will build.
  
  
• The creation of architectural renderings and models is a highly skilled specialty, not something you can turn over to a friend who draws well or makes hobby models. Some modern CADD systems can actually rotate views of buildings in space, and these greatly simplify making renderings, but it can be expensive to input all the necessary data.
  
  
• One major issue is accurate representation. Artists who create renderings of proposed buildings tend to gild the lily by omitting ugly mechanical details (such as air handling equipment or penthouses). They also tend to improve on the surroundings by replacing used car lots with virgin forests, adding greensward for which there is no actual space, and so on. Sometimes even the client doesn't realize how things will actually look. You will have to decide whether selective artistic vision will hurt or help you in the long run, and make sure you and your architect settle this issue face to face before renderings are prepared.
  
  
• Software exists to provide approximate images of your proposed building will look when it is completed, and to provide an animated impression of how it will feel to walk through it. You may find this a useful promotional device, but remember that it's impossible to recreate the impression of moving through a three dimensional space on a computer screen.
  
  
• Renderings and models are expensive. The cost ranges from a few hundred dollars for a black and white drawing to many thousands for a complex scale model.
  
  
• Study models, however, fall into a completely different category. They are more rough-and-ready constructions used by architects to study massing or convey ideas to owners. Study models are part of the design process and should not require any additional fees.