By 2021, the construction market will be worth $24334.9 billion. As technology innovations continue to drive customer experience, 3D renders will steadily gain popularity among home builders and architects.

Here are 5 compelling reasons why.

3D renders close the gap between the architect’s vision and the client’s expectations and helps facilitate feedback and the approval process.

While architects’ hand-drawn concept sketches can be highly detailed, they still cannot account for every nook and cranny, every angle. They also are not necessarily precise, unlike technical drawings.

This also means that everyone involved in the project is working toward the same finished product and has an easier time staying on track.

With the lifelike realism of 3D renders, the client and the architect are seeing the same house, building, bridge, train station, and so on. The client knows exactly what the architect has in mind and what the finished build would look like.

This means they can point exactly to which particular parts they would like to be changed before the actual build begins. Here, point to can be quite literal, because the reference material is almost entirely visual. This is ideal, because most clients don’t know the technical terms, and even when expressing their thoughts in nontechnical terms may still not accurately communicate what they want.

Consequently, the architect can promptly modify the models according to the client’s preference.

3D renders make it possible to see the design from all angles.

Great 2D drawings will not always give you accurate data, which means you can’t rely on them to be able to execute a build with as few “Oops” realizations as possible, or none at all.

Certain design flaws that are not readily apparent in well-executed 2D drawings are easy to spot in 3D renders, because you and your team can see the design from all angles—which can be a lifesaver for builds that require fitting a structure within a challenging space, either because of the shape or because of the existing features in the neighboring buildings, and so on.

3D renders help make it possible to predict the future of the design.

With 3D renders, you can more vividly situate the project and have a much better understanding of the specific daylight issues with neighboring buildings and infrastructure, if any; and other structures, or even trees. You can see how your house or building relates to the other structures that surround it (e.g., does your dining room open out to a view of the neighbor’s second-floor balcony?).

Vegetation will show how the project will look once it’s been integrated into the local landscape.

3D renders can also factor in the roads and pathways around the site to highlight either accessibility or privacy, allowing planners to anticipate how new properties will relate to both planned and built infrastructure.

3D renders are cost-effective.

You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site.

—Frank Lloyd Wright

Fast-forward to the 2010s onward, 3D renders help prevent costly fixes once a build is under way by allowing the following to be done at the design stage:

  • Modifications to accommodate client’s preferences as well as recommendations from engineers, consultants, and other stakeholders
  • Corrections of design flaws spotted on review

With 3D renders, you are also able to run tests on all aspects of the build, as well as experiment with building materials or finishes to see which ones would best suit the client’s needs, the purpose of the structure, or the site of the build.

You can run additional renders without incurring huge costs: remodeling can be done at a reasonable cost once the object has been created. A 3D render is also cheaper than commissioning an architectural model—it lets you save both money and time. A 3D render takes only hours, while a physical architectural model can take a week. (Note: architectural models do have their own merits and should not be abandoned altogether.)

3D renders have great marketing value.

As a product of the seamless melding of art and technology, 3D renders make for a compelling marketing feature for architectural firms and practices. They make it that much easier for prospective clients to get a better sense of your style and the sensibilities of your work, to get a more detailed image of what it would be like to live in house or a building that you built.

In other words, 3D rendering gives you a louder voice to communicate your brand as an architect or as a firm, collectively.

Are you ready to optimize the benefits of 3D rendering? Get your 3D renders through architectural CAD outsourcing to truly save on costs and time and get top-quality professional renders. After all, you have a business to grow.

Explore Purple Cow CAD’s easily scalable solutions now.