It’s time to get your creative thinking cap on!

The Challenge of Tomorrow is an exciting architectural visualization competition brought to you by Ronen Bekerman, in partnership with TMRW.SE and sponsored by Enscape.

Below, we take a closer look at the competition, which is open until May 30.

TMRW 2020 invites participants to design and visualize the architecture of tomorrow, set in 2040, within the context of the Hudson Yards in New York City.

Hudson Yards is New York’s newest and largest development – a 28 acre LEED Gold neighborhood, home to a mix of residential, commercial, retail and public open spaces.

Challenge participants are requested to submit at least three still images that tell the story of their entry. There is also the opportunity to provide an interactive experience via VR.

TMRW 2020 provides a competitive, yet educational environment in which entrants are encouraged to engage and provide feedback to other participants. It also aims to challenge and inspire creators to showcase their best work, helping to push not only themselves, but the boundaries of ArchViz.

Prizes include 1000 EUR cash prizes, two 5-year Enscape licenses and three 1-year Enscape licenses, plus the possibility of working for an award-winning visualization studio, TMRW.SE!

Leading artists from the field of architectural visualization will judge this year’s competition and choose the winners of TMRW 2020.

Entries will be judged based on categories including concept, story, lighting, materials, 3d modeling, technical skill, emotive qualities, as well as participation on the blog, showcasing progress and offering feedback to fellow participants.

The Jury Panel:

Keely Colcleugh – Director and Founder, Kilograph.
Tamas Medve – SORA Images.
Mengyi Fan – Director of Visualization, SHoP Architects.
Britton Wade Chambers, AIA – Senior Associate Principal, KPF Architects.
Andreas Landgren – Founder and president of Tomorrow.
Ronen Bekerman – Director and Co-Founder, The Craft.

Last year’s winner, Nicolo Paolino, spoke with Ronen Bekerman about his journey before and after the competition and shares his tips to those entering TMRW 2020.

Paolino, who studied architecture and graduated in Milan, now works for Tomorrow Architects, who are based in Sweden. He recommends creating realistic renders but keeping things simple and paying attention to the competition rules.

Read Nicolo’s story and tips here.

Registration is now open and you can sign up here. The challenge runs until May 30, and winners will be announced in June.

For further information on The Challenge of Tomorrow, including FAQs and competition rules, visit https://tomorrow.ronenbekerman.com/

Good luck!

Rendern in Vectorworks ist jetzt möglich, dank der allerneuesten Enscape Version 2.7.1 und einer frei erhältlichen Beta-Version!

Mit Enscape können Architekten und Designer jetzt noch bessere Renderings in Echtzeit erstellen, damit sie mehr kreative Zeit für innovative Ideen haben. Mit diesem benutzerfreundlichen Rendering-Tool können Sie Ihre Entwürfe als realistische 3D-Umgebung in Echtzeit begehen und erleben, bevor sie gebaut werden.

Mit Enscape für Vectorworks können Sie neue Konzepte visualisieren, hochwertige Bilder exportieren und Modelle in virtueller Realität prüfen, um Projekte besser und schneller umzusetzen als jemals zuvor.

Laden Sie Enscape Version 2.7.1 herunter, die für Vectorworks 2020 Service Pack 3 bis Oktober 2020 kostenlos ist.

Rendern mit Enscape für Vectorworks ist ganz einfach und erfordert keine Schulung. Mit Enscape und Vectorworks können Sie:

1. Modelle mit nur einem Klick rendern
2. Konzeptänderungen sofort visualisieren
3. Bilder und Panoramas exportieren
4. Videos einfach bearbeiten und exportieren
5. Projekte in virtueller Realität am Bildschirm begehen

Unsere kostenlose Beta-Version ist in Arbeit, einige Funktionen werden bis kommenden Oktober entwickelt. Dazu zählen die Asset-Bibliothek, ein Material-Editor und Favoriten-Ansichten in Enscape; diese Funktionen werden so bald wie möglich veröffentlicht!

Um mit Enscape in Vectorworks zu rendern, laden Sie bitte die Beta-Version herunter. Wählen Sie im Installationsvorgang bitte die Option für Vectorworks aus; eine ausführliche Installationsanleitung finden Sie in unserer Knowledgebase.

Sobald Sie die kostenlose Beta-Version installiert haben, läuft Enscape bis Ende Oktober 2020 kostenlos!

Wenn Sie wissen wollen wie Sie Designs in schöne Visualisierungen mit Enscapes Echtzeit Rendering und VR Möglichkeiten verwandeln, dann besuchen Sie Enscape3d.com.

Dort finden Sie eine Übersicht mit vielen Vorzügen, die Echtzeitrendering mit sich bringt. Die Features, die von 85 der Top-Architekturfirmen mit Freude genutzt werden, plus Rendering Beispiele, die von unseren Usern in Enscape erstellt wurden.

Nutzen Sie eine kostenlose Beta-Version und legen Sie direkt los mit der Kreation von atemberaubenden Visualisierungen in Echtzeit!

Rendering in Vectorworks is now possible thanks to today’s release of Enscape version 2.7.1 and a free public beta!

Enscape enables architects and designers to quickly create beautiful renders in real time, giving you more time to design, create and innovate. With this simple-to-use real-time rendering tool, it’s possible to walkthrough and experience your designs in a realistic 3D environment, before they’ve been built.

Enscape for Vectorworks allows you to visualize as you design, export high-quality images and review models in virtual reality – boosting your project workflows like never before.

Get your free beta to run Enscape with Vectorworks 2020 Service Pack 3 for free until October 2020.

Rendering in Vectorworks is made easy with Enscape and no training is required. With Enscape and Vectorworks, you can:

1. Render your model with just one click
2. Visualize design changes as they’re made
3. Export images, panoramas, and standalone files 
4. Edit and export videos with ease
5. Walkthrough projects on screen and in virtual reality

Our free beta version is a work in progress, and some features will be under development between now and October. These include the Asset Library, an Enscape Material Editor and Favorite Views; we’ll release these features as soon as we can!

To start rendering in Vectorworks, simply sign up for your free beta here. When you run the installer, be sure to select the installation for Vectorworks; for a detailed installation guide, head to our Knowledgebase.

Once you install the free beta version, Enscape will run free of charge until the end of October 2020!

If you’d like to learn how you can transform your designs into beautiful visualizations with Enscape’s real-time rendering and virtual reality capabilities, be sure to visit Enscape3d.com. 

You’ll find an overview of the many benefits to rendering in real time; the features which 85 out of the top architectural firms enjoy using, plus rendering examples that have been created by our users in Enscape.

Take out a free 14-day trial and start creating your own stunning visualizations in real time! 

Having the flexibility to work from home on a regular basis, or as and when needed – such as in the midst of a Coronavirus pandemic, certainly has its advantages.

But for some professionals, including architects and designers, it’s a completely new concept that has never been tried and tested – what happens with software licenses? How can you best collaborate with colleagues and clients? How do you stay visible and keep up productivity?

If your company is planning on introducing flexible working or home working contingencies, whether or not it’s related to the current health crisis, here are a few remote working tips to help you get the most out of your new (even if temporary), working environment.

NOTE: We’ll cover specific advice for Enscape users on using Enscape at home in this article.

Architect, author and Revit expert Dan Stine explains what you’ll need to consider when it comes to your hardware, software and data needs.

Hardware and Internet Requirements
Before you start working at home, you need the right hardware in place. Do you have a company laptop, a company desktop or a home computer (i.e. personal computer) that is appropriate for home use? Connect with your IT department and make sure that you have the right hardware to get started.

Next, think about your internet service. Working remotely requires reliable internet. A wired connection is preferential, but a decent wireless connection can also work. Although common in the USA, keep in mind that not all plans provide unlimited data, so that could be a challenge with the large datasets architects and engineers often work with.

With a home internet service, consider bandwidth – both up and down speeds (Autodesk recommends symmetrical 25 Mbps), and find out if you have data caps and what the overage rates are.

Accessing Software Licenses
You need to make sure that you’ll be able to access your software licenses when working from home (click here for a more detailed look into software licensing).

Some licenses will allow you to work from anywhere. For example, if you use Enscape as your real-time rendering tool, then you can access a fixed-seat license or a floating license (with internet) from anywhere, be it a company desktop in the office, a laptop away from the office, or even a personal computer at home (although you will need Enscape installed locally as well – see the next section below, for specific information on using Enscape in a home-working environment.). This is also true for architect staples like Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office.

Autodesk products currently offer multiple ways to work remotely. First, for network-based licenses, a license may be checked out for a specific amount of time on a company laptop. Second, named-user accounts may install the product on two devices (concurrent use is forbidden). Thirdly, a special ‘home use’ license is available for each network license a company has; note that this cannot be installed on any company-owned computers.

It is also possible to checkout a network license for Rhino and SketchUp Pro.

Accessing Project Data
After considering both hardware and software, the next critical piece of the working from home puzzle is understanding where project data lives and how to access it. For most, the data lives on local servers (LAN or WAN). For others, some project data is stored in the Cloud, e.g. Revit projects living in Autodesk’s BIM 360 Design.

The options to access company servers range from using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to connect your company computer to the office, to using Remote Desktop (RDP) to remote control your work computer from home. Additionally, some companies use VDI, which allows both company and personal computers to connect to a virtual desktop loaded with all the required applications based on staff roles.

When Revit models are housed in BIM 360 Design, the remote user can directly access the project without needing to connect to the office. This is especially true if using an AEC cloud-based content management tool like CTC Software’s Hive to load standard company details and families.

So before leaving the office, ask IT to advise you on how to access your files and project data if you haven’t tried working away from the office before.

Here is some guidance on how to use Enscape from home.

If your computer at home is powerful enough to run Enscape and you want to use Enscape for your own design work, rendering creation or other daily work, you’re good to go. Take Enscape home with you! Grab your license key (for example from our License Center) and install Enscape on your home computer. That’s it!

If you’re planning to use Enscape to present to a colleague or customer, the same procedure works fine. Just make sure to use an online video meeting tool as described later on in this article.

If your computer at home is not so powerful, then you should be aware that the regular Windows Remote Desktop solution (RDP) does not support OpenGL 4.4, which is needed by Enscape to run. Thankfully however, NVIDIA has just created a tool to help accelerate Windows Remote Desktop streaming with GeForce drivers R440 or later. You can learn more about the executable that you can download here.

Another solution, other than just having a powerful machine at home, laptop at hand or using the NVIDIA executable, is for your company to provide a dedicated server using Windows Server 2019, which provides Windows RDP with OpenGL support while Hardware Acceleration is enabled. This way, one centralized server hosted by your company can enable a number of designers to work with Enscape, even if their available hardware is not powerful for Enscape. Of course, you should also check the requirements of the CAD you are using in regards to RDP.

Before using Enscape at home, it’s advisable to check with your administrator to ensure that you have everything that is required.

Next up on our list of working from home tips – visibility and communication.

One of my favorite tools that I frequently use when working remotely is Slack – an instant communication tool that helps keep teams connected. It’s the first thing that I open and check when I power up my laptop each morning.

Often used by both on-site and off-site employees, tools like Slack can help to quickly communicate company-wide messages via dedicated announcement channels and provide a place for teams to connect and keep projects moving with messaging streams that eliminate the need for endless email threads.

The instant messaging functionality means that you can get fast answers to your questions, either via private one-to-one or group messages.

And with a variety of status options, it’s easy to stay visible and share your availability with colleagues – whether you’re at your desk, on a meeting, or even out sick or on vacation.

When working remotely, it’s important to stay visible and over communicate. Those ad-hoc conversations that happen when you see a colleague in the kitchen or coming out of a meeting aren’t as common when you work from home, so it’s a good idea to pro-actively use tools such as instant messaging to keep collaboration channels open and to feel better connected with your teams.

Slack offers a lot of great advice for getting the most out of Slack as a remote worker – check out their tips: Your Guide to Working Remotely in Slack.

It’s not uncommon for clients and even colleagues to be based in different locations. Gensler, the largest architectural firm in the world with over 6,000 employees, have office locations in 50 different cities that come together to work on their projects:

With team members and clients based afar, there will be times when you need to connect and collaborate virtually, and to do this, you’ll need to have the right tools in place.

Online Video Meetings
Video meetings offer an affordable way for companies of all sizes to meet online and are particularly popular when travel is not possible.

With the aid of screen sharing, you can share whatever is on your screen – so it’s still possible to walk colleagues and clients through your design concepts and deliver a presentation.

It’s also possible to record meetings, and share that recording with non-attendees. Meeting notes can even be transcribed automatically by some meeting tools, helping everyone keep track of key decisions and action items.

If you plan on using a webcam, then be mindful of how your background would appear – you may be working from home, but you still want to look professional. Alternatively, you could look into Microsoft Teams whose meeting tool automatically blurs your background for you.

Screen and Video Recording
I recently worked with a software developer in Hawaii (I’m based in Brazil). I had questions over how to use a certain piece of software, and I was sent step-by-step instructions via a short video that was created for me – I could see her screen and could hear her walking me through everything. It was brilliant!

So, if there is something that you need to explain to a client or colleague and you haven’t got time for an online meeting, or you want to share something that can be referred back to, try using a free screen and video recording tool such as Loom. It’s very simple to use, and is perfect for when you want to provide a quick instructional video.

Project Management Solutions
Another collaboration tool worth exploring is project management software. Particularly useful when working as part of a distributed team on small or complex projects – project management tools provide excellent visibility into open and completed tasks and help teams hit their deadlines and reach their goals.

File Sharing
Sharing images or videos can be tricky given that their file sizes are typically quite large. But if you’ve created an animation or a rendering of your 3D model with Enscape, then there are several exporting options which make it easy to share and allow others to review your projects. You can learn more about exporting in Enscape here.

Cloud-Based Documents
Cloud-based collaboration tools such as Google Docs, are ideal for when you want others to view, edit and comment on your documents simultaneously.

Simple create your document and share it with your teammates. You can get a shareable link, or email your document directly from the Google Doc itself. Make sure that you enable editing rights to allow others to make edits. Click: Share > Advanced > Change > On – Anyone with the link > Access: Anyone ‘Can edit’:

It may be tempting to dress for comfort when working from home, but studies have shown that what you wear influences how you act.

Getting dressed for work immediately sets your mindset to ‘work-mode’, inspires abstract thinking and gives you a feeling of competency which can help boost your working day.

Not to mention that if you’re invited to an unplanned last-minute video meeting, you’ll look and feel more professional if you’re dressed for work, rather than home.

Most of us have probably heard that sitting at a desk for extended periods is not great for you.

A desk that offers both seated and standing options is ideal for both home and office use. But if you don’t have one, you’ll need to build in regular breaks and raise your screen to prevent discomfort.

If you are using a laptop and either have a spare keyboard or can bring your keyboard home from the office, raise your laptop and connect your keyboard so that your eyes are in line with the top of the screen. This is far better for your neck.

Another thing that I do when working from home is to deliberately use a small glass of water so that I have to regularly get up to re-fill it. My back and legs appreciate the short walk to the kitchen, and my eyes are also thankful for a break from my screen.

One final piece of advice I have here, is to eat lunch away from your desk and even slip in a quick walk if you can. This gives your brain the chance to be distracted, which can lead to greater creativity, it helps you rack up your steps for the day, and it also keeps your work area crumb free, with less germs!

Here are a few additional tips that apply to both office and remote workers from Lifehack: How You Can Stay Healthy Even Though You Sit At A Desk All Day

Lastly, if you’re working from home, try to find the best place to work that will be comfortable, practical, yet quiet enough for you to be able to concentrate.

If you miss the buzz of the office and are finding it strange working in a quieter environment, don’t be tempted to turn on the TV – it will more than likely distract you.

Instead, choose instrumental music or songs that are familiar to you – YouTube offers an enormous number of classical tracks that can provide calming background music that may even stimulate your creativity and productivity.

Having the flexibility to work from home is often seen as a perk – especially as it means you can skip the commute to the office and get back some of that precious time to do what matters to you.

It’s also enormously helpful to have the option if you and your company are trying to reduce the risk of spreading and catching viruses such as the now infamous Coronavirus.

It might seem strange at first, but once you’ve got your to-do list in place and have implemented a few of the tips mentioned in this article, you’re sure to be as productive, if not more so, than when you’re in the office.

Enjoy the change of scenery and I hope you feel inspired when working in a new space!

In this article we mentioned Enscape – our real-time rendering and virtual reality tool. If you’d like to start creating your own renderings from the office or from home, try Enscape for free for 14-days! Get your free trial here.

In the final episode of the Art of Construction’s real-time rendering podcast series, we hear from the inspirational team at Turner Fleischer Architects based in Toronto, Canada, about how they’re using Enscape’s real-time rendering solution to create a more collaborative design experience, and how they believe that transitioning to real-time rendering is simply inevitable.

Turner Fleischer were early adopters of real-time rendering, and utilizing a tool such as Enscape enabled them to not only keep up with the speed of change within the AEC industry, but also improve their workflows and save a considerable amount of time as renders are available instantly. It has also helped clients to better understand their design intent, and given their studio back a level of control that was lost when they outsourced their renderings in the past.

Senior Designer Nebojsa Milutinovic appreciates the fact that with Enscape, you don’t need to wait until a project is complete before you visualize a building. Instead, you can instantly see what you’re drawing in a rendering or virtual reality environment. This allows him to quickly check critical details such as proportions, and make sure that what he’s designing, fits within the context of a surrounding city or neighborhood.

Kristian Pal, a Digital Practice Lead at Turner Fleischer, believes that real-time rendering is simply inevitable. Technology changes at such a rapid speed, and it was only a matter of time before they switched over to using a real-time rendering solution.

Steve Nonis, Principal at Turner Fleischer Architects, goes on to explain that by having the power to create renders in real-time, the practice managed to reduce the gap between the initial concepts and when they outline their vision to a client.

Quickly providing an initial idea to a client in a format that they comprehend, has allowed clients to participate in the design process at a much earlier stage.

Additionally, being able to share a set of realistic renders to a group of stakeholders around a table, and extract a link, providing it to a client so that they can walk around a model themselves, has led to working more collaboratively than ever before.

And this has not only benefited clients, but also the engineers and contractors that they work with. Being able to accurately show their design intent through detailed and accurate renders and virtual reality, leads to better collaboration and better co-ordination once you’re further along on with a project.

Another tick in the box from Turner Fleischer is Enscape’s simplicity.

They see Enscape as a stepping stone between a model and a client since it translates complex components into something a client will easily understand.

Being such a simple and intuitive real-time rendering tool has encouraged product adoption throughout their practice. Through Turner Fleischer’s well-established training academy, which offers an array of in-house educational opportunities, employees are introduced to Enscape and shown how to get the most out of the product, so they feel confident in using the tool and implementing it within their workflows.

Turner Fleischer Architects understands the importance of staying on top of technology trends to help improve their productivity and various aspects of their business. They also know that being able to adapt and find ways to be creative with the help of technology is essential to helping them deliver more than just great spaces.

Listen to Turner Fleischer’s story in full on the Art of Construction podcast: Episode 174. Real-Time Rendering & Virtual Reality Series: A Collaborative Design Experience

Interested in creating your first render with Enscape? Take out a free 14-day trial today!

In the first two months of 2020, we’ve already seen so many exciting projects and announcements making waves through the architecture industry. Among the inspiring design reveals to enticing new project announcements, there are some clear trends emerging that are set to define this year. 

Below, we take a look at the latest architectural trends – 5 dominant themes emerging in the sector, and discuss how they’re influencing the way architects may need to approach their work.

Compare how different getting around was at the beginning of the 20th century versus its end. The world went from horse-powered carriages being the standard mode of transport, to widespread use of personal cars, public bus systems, and even airplanes. Now, still at the beginning of this new century, we can expect to see even more radical developments in transportation. 

Architects designing for tomorrow will need to be mindful of how our modes of travel are changing. Some of today’s projects are already anticipating these advancements, introducing drop-off bays for rideshares, condensed parking for automated vehicles, and even skyports to accommodate landings of Uber’s soon-to-be-flying aerial rideshares with Uber Air.

Gensler is one architectural firm involved in the development of Uber’s new skyports, with their concept, CitySpace, planned for roll-out in Dallas and Los Angeles in 2023, just three years from now.

Speaking of this newest mode of transportation, Gensler explain that “Mobility in particular has an enormous impact on people’s experience of a city. If we can improve mobility, we can give people back time and reduce carbon in our atmosphere, and we can begin to give our city streets on the ground back to people. This is the promise of Aerial Rideshare, and this is why we created our CitySpace concept for Uber’s Skyport Mobility Hub.”

In many parts of the world, urban populations are growing exponentially, with an additional 2.5 billion people projected to live in urban areas by 2050, according to the United Nations. Already some of today’s capitals are just a few years out from becoming megacities: metropolitan zones home to more than 10 million people. 

What’s behind this rush to the big cities? A change of lifestyle among the younger generations. Millennials and Gen Zers have grown a preference for urban amenities, and are turning away from the archetypal life path of settling down in the suburbs. For many, today’s economy makes it difficult to own a suburban home anyway. 

To support more concentrated populations, architects are starting to put more focus into enhancing urban density in a way that optimizes livability. They’re tasked with designing spaces that are nimble and multi-functional, allowing for a variety of needs to be met within a single, smaller area. 

This is also requiring many architects to think on a much larger scale than they’re used to working. It’s no longer just about individual buildings, it’s also about how urban areas function as a whole.

There’s another perk of city life that’s drawing younger residents: the potential for greater community. From the rise of co-living spaces to even co-working hubs like WeWork, it’s clear that there is an emerging market in providing young city dwellers with venues where they can share experiences with others. 

Whether working on residential facilities, commercial sites, or outdoor spaces, architects and designers will need to be increasingly cognizant of this growing demand for communal use. More buildings designed in 2020 will feature amenities that foster connection among individuals and address user needs as a group. In some cases, amenities that have been traditionally offered on an individual basis may start making more appearances in common areas.

With more governments setting sustainability targets and the larger public coming to believe strongly in the importance of greener practices, eco-conscious design has long been growing in popularity. Today, it has become a priority for the vast majority of high-profile architecture projects around the globe. 

Architects at some of the world’s most eminent firms are pushing sustainable design to the edge, innovating by not only addressing climate and energy issues, but by also maximizing potential adaptability.

As Perkins Eastman’s Elaine Lee alluded to in the previous quote, technology is becoming a dominant mode by which architects are delivering the higher performing designs of the future. Other industry leaders are recognizing this as well.

Indeed, tech is becoming more than just a part of the architectural toolbox. It’s becoming an outright necessity. By enabling more accurate site analysis, design previews, and even projections of building performance, technology is an integral part of the 21-st century design process. 

3D modeling has become especially invaluable for streamlining workflows at leading firms:

Not only are today’s 3D modeling tools making it easier to update project designs and documentation across the board, the most cutting edge programs, like Enscape, are allowing for an unprecedented level of design simulation. 

Real-time renders provide incredibly realistic architectural visualizations, and walkthroughs of 3D models can be viewed in virtual reality, allowing architects to gauge user experience before projects are even built. This allows for much more intuitive design, in which architects can perfect the feel and functionality of a building far more effectively than they would have with design mediums of the past.

Design for the New Decade with Enscape – Get Your Free Trial

It’s with great pleasure to announce that Enscape is sponsoring the very first WARMING competition – WARMING 2020: Architecture for a Changed World.

WARMING invites architects, designers, engineers and problem-solvers from all disciplines to submit their strategies on how we can live in a more sustainable-focused world that looks to prevent climate change and adjusts to the impacts of global warming.

With the world’s temperature projected to increase by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit in the next century, it’s anticipated that we will see an increase in wildfires, droughts and heatwaves; more intense hurricanes and higher sea levels around the globe.

But according to NASA, the extent to which regions will be impacted by climate change will vary, especially if we see the adoption of various measures to help reduce global warming or if we can adapt to these environmental changes.

Open to individuals or teams, WARMING asks that participants provide building or landscape proposals of any program, scale or site, that offer strategies that address the issues of global warming. 

Proposals should illustrate and communicate the issues of global warming that are being addressed and the strategy(ies) used to help respond to those issues. 

Competition participants may also choose from submitting strategies that prevent the rise of global warming, that react to the changing world that we live in, or, take a combined approach that features both preventative and reactive solutions.

And of course, with any great architecture competition comes prizes! First place will see the winner(s) walking away with $5,000, plus a mention in the WARMING book and exhibition. A full list of prizes can be viewed here. 

For further details on the competition, including proposal specifications, frequently asked questions and information on who’s on the judging panel, please visit the WARMING website.

Registration is now open until Aug 2, and the competition submission deadline is Aug 3. You can find the registration form here.

If you’re not already using Enscape to create your design visualizations, here is your chance to try it for free!

Enscape is a real-time rendering tool that quickly transforms your design into a photo-realistic visualization. It works within Revit, SketchUp, Rhino and ArchiCAD and instantly renders a model with just one click of a button. It’s extremely simple to use and the rendering results that you can achieve in just a few seconds are extremely impressive.  

We’re offering all WARMING participants the chance to use Enscape, for free! Simply apply for an educational license here, attach a copy of your competition registration receipt, and we’ll set you up with an Enscape license for the duration of the competition. 

We’re excited to see how entries into the WARMING competition will push the boundaries of design and deliver exceptional visionary ideas that can help us live in a more sustainable-focused world. 

We wish all WARMING competition entrants the best of luck. We can’t wait to see your incredible designs!

With 85 out of the top 100 architecture firms using Enscape, there are many reasons why customers love to use our real-time rendering tool.

In case you didn’t know, Enscape is a real-time rendering and virtual reality solution for achitects and designers who need to quickly create realistic and accurate renders to visualize their designs. It’s wonderfully simple to use, and delivers outstanding results very fast.

I recently asked a few of our customers what they loved most about rendering with Enscape – take a look at what they had to say!

One of the beautiful things about Enscape is that it integrates directly into your CAD software. Whether you use Revit, SketchUp, Rhino or AutoCAD, you can quickly create high-quality renders, 360-degree panoramas, animated walkthroughs and even access your project in virtual reality, all without having to leave your design program.

What’s more (and this is often a favorite amongst architects and designers) – any changes made to your project through your CAD, can instantly be seen in your Enscape render and in virtual reality. YES – it’s true! With Enscape’s live link, your planning data and your 3D visualization can work side-by-side, allowing you to see the impact of every change that you make, the moment you make it.

With real-time rendering technology, gone are the days where you had to wait hours for a single image to render, or even outsource your renders which would add significant lag times to your workflows.

Now, thanks to Enscape, you can instantly create a 3D visualization in a matter of seconds. With just one click, your planning data is automatically transformed into a realistic render – particularly handy for when you want to reality-check your design or quickly prepare for an internal or client presentation.

Plus, by utilizing NVIDIA’s RTX technology, Enscape is able to calculate lighting and reflections at considerable speed, giving our users impressively detailed and accurate renders in no time.

By enabling you to test-drive your design at any stage of the design process, using a real-time rendering tool such as Enscape, makes it easier to spot things that you may not necessarily have noticed on paper. For architect Jeremy McCrate, it helps him to test a project more thoroughly, especially before construction starts.

Enscape is the only architectural virtual reality tool that directly integrates into CAD software. With just one click, Enscape automatically converts your file, allowing you to walk through your model in virtual reality. The results are incredible, and no specialist skills are needed.

Providing this immersive experience to colleagues, clients and stakeholders enables a far deeper understanding of your design intent, and helps to speed up decision making considerably.

Some early adopters of virtual reality may have been stung by the high costs and long waiting times involved with converting their project into a VR model. But with Enscape, it’s simple, fast and included in the cost of every subscription – no additional charges here!

Communicating a concept can sometimes be a challenge – especially to clients and stakeholders who may not be used to thinking three-dimensionally. But with realistic renders, video walkthroughs, and virtual reality all a simple possibility with Enscape, you can provide experiences like no other, and ones that your clients will love.

Ease-of-use is always at the forefront of the minds of the Enscape engineering team. Once installed, Enscape appears within your CAD’s toolbar. From here, you can see your model as a stunning, photo-realistic visualization in just one click. It really is that simple.

And once you’ve created your render, you can easily make adjustments if, for example, you decide that a certain material isn’t right, or if you’d like to see how artificial or natural lighting would appear at different times of the day.

Plus, to keep things as simple as possible, included with your Enscape license is access to over 1,400 3D assets that have been created by our design team – and that list keeps on growing! So you have an incredible array of vegetation, entourage, objects and more to choose from, all from within your CAD tool.

Enscape’s rich features, rapid performance, and affordability, make it a real-time rendering tool of choice across the AEC industry. And being so easy to use, with no training required, it’s easy to see why Enscape has become a standard application in thousands of projects worldwide.

To start creating ultra-realistic renders yourself, take out a 14-day free trial and let us know how you get on!

Featured blog post image credit: Enscape user Lasse Herbo Madsen. Many thanks!

Christopher Collins understands the importance of delivering exceptional customer experiences to his clients. Read his story and see what happened when he shared one of his Enscape renders of a local project online.

Walter Elias Disney had a saying – “How do we plus it?”. It was his way to motivate his people to go beyond the standard to improve upon the “magical” Disney experience.

Similarly, we attempt to improve the customer experience by taking the extra step for our clients whenever we can. Providing extra for our clients is one of the reasons we adopted Enscape as our rendering tool over others. It improved our design and presentation capabilities while maintaining efficiency in a concise, simple workflow. A good example of this is how Enscape recently helped us to support a local community project.

The Warwick Valley Humane Society is in the process of raising money to fund a much-needed expansion of its current facility. The current capital fund is falling short, and although it is not our charge, we wanted to assist with fundraising in any way possible. The existing building of approximately 2,000 square feet is cramped, overcrowded, and not up to current shelter standards.

The design of the new facility came together through a series of meetings with the building committee. The proposed design adds 7,500 square feet to the original building to solve current space issues, improve operations, and meet shelter standard guidelines.

As is often the case, the design team had a good understanding of the look of the building, but it wasn’t until we presented the Enscape renderings that we realized the true excitement for the project. The director said, “I was in tears . . . It is beyond my wildest expectations!”

To boost their campaign, we posted the Enscape renderings on social media, created presentation boards, and promoted the project when possible. To date, the Enscape rendered images have reached over 5,500 people online.

Somehow, this “standard” just didn’t seem enough. We were satisfied that we had met the programmatic needs with the design but felt we needed to assist further. Walt Disney’s saying kept running through my head, “How do we plus it?”

As a result of the exposure, we received a phone call a few days after going live. The voice at the other end of the line said, “We saw your post for the Warwick Humane Society. A local video production company would like to donate their time and efforts to create a video to help with fundraising.” This sounded like the plus we needed! I met with the group, discussed how to move forward, each person assigned a task, and we went to work. The goal: to produce a clip to convince the public of the dire need for the expanded facility, and to showcase the new facility design. The video needed to depict the current deficiencies while highlighting the solutions of the proposed design.

The conclusion of the meeting was to create two types of video clips. A series of teaser videos to run on social media, and a second longer length video. Our office provided an Enscape animation of the rendered computer model in a few different iterations to allow the media group as much flexibility as possible. We created the building model through a combination of Revit, AutoCAD, and SketchUp. The final rendered outputs are based on the materials and forms in the SketchUp file. The images and video are unaltered Enscape output.

The full-length video begins with images from the existing shelter and current residents. It transitions to interior pictures of the existing shelter. Together, these images capture existing deficiencies and facility overcrowding, to set the tone of hardship. As the tone of the voiceover transitions to one of hope, the video and sound heighten the anticipation, and the building animation that we created in Enscape appears in a flash of light. As the building animation plays, sounds of birds singing enhance the optimistic effect of the new facility design. The video fades to images of happy shelter residents and information on how to donate is provided.

The resulting video, along with other awareness campaigns has been viewed by many thousands of people, helping The Warwick Valley Humane Society approach the goal of the capital fund.

The basis of this project, providing improvements to a vital aspect of the community, is a positive contribution to our community. Our capabilities, with the assistance of Enscape, pushed the boundaries of the elevated nature of the importance of the goal. To borrow again from Disney, we found a way to double plus the campaign and define a new capability for our team.

The first teaser can be viewed at the link below. Please view, like, share, and consider donating.

https://www.facebook.com/playcraftstructures/videos/859566261162404/

Credit to those who gave up their time to create the fundraising video:
* Mark Mason, Marc Mason Voiceovers * Suzyn Barron, Shelter Director * Tim Ball, 4074 Films * Robert Campbell, Digital Media, LLC * Christopher Collins, Architect and firm owner, New York * Kevin Malone, Architect and Firm owner, KLM Architect * Sam Levin, Architectural Technician

Over the past 20 years, rendering digitalization has helped to advance the art of architectural design.

And now, Abel Design Group, an architecture and design firm based in the U.S., with offices in Houston, Austin and Denver, have decided to take it up a notch with the introduction of real-time rendering with Enscape.

In the latest Art of Construction podcast, Justin Gross, Mallory Gaylor and Matt McMullen of Abel Design Group discuss how real-time rendering has already improved their design process and enabled an even more collaborative relationship with clients in just a few short months since implementing Enscape company-wide.

Here are a few highlights from the podcast.

Before rolling out Enscape’s real-time rendering tool in all three offices, Abel Design Group would rely on hand sketches and computer rendering which they sometimes outsourced due to its time-intensive nature. They would also utilize Photoshop to achieve more realistic-looking renders, which would add an extra step to preparations ahead of client pitches.

But with the introduction of real-time rendering, they are now able to achieve a photorealistic render in a matter of seconds. They are also able to compress timelines which is improving the efficiency of their entire design process and ultimately giving them a better product in a shorter amount of time.

And one advantage that Abel Design Group particularly appreciate, is the ability to test-drive a design before presenting it to clients. Creating a detailed and accurate render directly from their CAD tool, allows the team to preview all aspects of a project and walk through a space to check and confirm that their ideas work in practice.

Using real-time rendering has allowed Abel Design Group to remove barriers when it comes to client presentations. Not everyone is capable of thinking 3dimensionally, but presenting a render allows a client to better understand a space and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Additionally, the ability to make amendments to a design and see how they would impact a space in real-time has enabled this architectural firm to bring clients in and truly become active participants. Now they can sit alongside a client, incorporate their feedback and show them exactly how their ideas would appear in reality.

Senior Associate Mallory Gaylor, who works on the corporate interiors side of the business, explains how Enscape has also helped to facilitate the visualization of her projects, particularly through the use of videos. When Mallory is pitching to clients, she’s really selling an experience, not just a space. Through using high-quality videos, she’s able to showcase the finer details of her interiors and provide a detailed walkthrough for her clients which offers an enhanced viewing experience.

Throughout the podcast, we hear of the value that real-time rendering has brought to Abel Design Group in a very short amount of time.

Justin Gross, an associate from the firm, explains that Enscape’s real-time rendering tool has been designed with architects and designers in mind. The tool works from within Revit, SketchUp, Rhino and ArchiCAD, mimicking the tools, ribbons and language of the software to expedite understanding and adoption. Gross also appreciates that there is no need to export a file from your CAD tool and then import it into a standalone which makes Enscape especially easy to use, since everything is available in one place.

Another delight is the simplicity involved when testing new ideas. Since you can simultaneously work in your CAD whilst seeing the changes appear on your render, you have the luxury to try various ideas such as finishes and see how they interact with a space, which can be hugely useful in your design development phase.

Lastly, we hear how beautifully simple it is to navigate an Enscape model. There have been times when the team have sent a link to a client so that they may walk around a model independently – with great success. Having these types of options available are particularly valuable when you work with an international client base and truly help to deliver maximum value to your clients.

To learn more about Abel Design Group’s experience of introducing real-time rendering into their practice, check out the full podcast – Episode 171: Real-Time Rendering and Virtual Reality: The Evolution of Design

To try Enscape’s real-time rendering tool for yourself, download a free 14-day trial here!

It’s time! We’re excited to announce the winners of the 2019 Enscape Holiday Rendering Competition.

Back in December, we asked our users to submit their best holiday season render for their chance to win one of three prizes, including an NVIDIA graphics card.

We were blown away by what we received – over 200 brilliant visualizations! Thank you to everyone who participated – we were really impressed with the quality of your submissions and thoroughly enjoyed reviewing them.

Our judging panel have spent time deliberating over the entries and we are pleased to say, have come to a decision. We are delighted to announce that three winners have been selected!

Many congratulations Taoklai! You have won a sketchbook, Copic sketch markers plus an Enscape Fan Kit.

What we loved about your render were the camera angles, the view focus, showcasing both cold and warm at the same time, and the beautiful festive lights.

Many congratulations Mark! You have won a Logitech keyboard and mouse plus an Enscape Fan Kit.

We were impressed with the beautiful depth of field, the story behind the picture, the natural scene and the realistic glass – great job!

Congratulations Tuan Anh on winning our Holiday Rendering Competition! We loved how you captured such a great feastive atmosphere, your model diversity, your attention to detail and the clever lighting effects on the chimney.

As our competition winner, you will receive an NVIDIA graphics card RTX 5000 courtesy of NVIDIA, plus an XL Enscape Fan Kit. A big well done from the Enscape team!

We’d like to thank everyone who submitted a visualization for our competition – we hope you had fun creating your festive images. Here are a few more of our favorite renders that were highly commended.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2019 Enscape Holiday Rendering Competition. We look forward to seeing what beautiful renders you will create with Enscape in 2020. Happy New Year!

Real-time rendering has revolutionized the architectural, construction and engineering world over recent years.

Professionals in the AEC space are now able to save a significant amount of time and money by creating high-quality renders, in-house, in a matter of seconds; eliminate friction within workflows by generating renders directly from their CAD tools and impress clients with realistic walkthroughs that truly demonstrate all aspects of a space.

In the first episode of a three-part series on the Art of Construction Podcast, host Devon Tilly speaks with Enoch Chow, former Director of Digital Practice at Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects (EYRC) and Matt McMullen, Associate Principal at Abel Design Group to understand how real-time rendering is helping architectural firms in various aspects of their business, including how to better communicate their design ideas to clients.

In this podcast, Enoch explains how EYRC Architects believe in the importance of focusing on technology and innovation and testing various different technologies to see what helps to improve their workflows. Enscape’s real-time rendering plugin, that works seamlessly with Autodesk Revit, SketchUp, ARCHICAD and Rhino, is one tool that they have tested and successfully implemented into their business.

Before implementing Enscape, in order to create their still images ahead of a client presentation, EYRC would go through a painfully lengthy process of extracting their documentation, importing it into another program which would then take numerous hours to render a single image. Sometimes they would even outsource their renders which would require up to two weeks to be added to their workflows. They knew that there had to be a faster and more efficient way of creating their architectural visualizations, which led them to discover Enscape.

By utilizing Enscape’s real-time rendering plugin, EYRC has dramatically changed the way they work which has helped them to stand out in a highly-competitive market. By leveraging their BIM model, they can now generate collateral that is just as powerful and effective compared to renderings that they have historically outsourced.

And not only can they create high-quality visualizations themselves in a matter of seconds, but they can also present to clients and allow them to walk through and view a project beyond one perspective. This has created many “aha” moments with their clients as they can now better understand a design concept with the help of photo-realistic renderings and walk-through capabilities that even allow changes to be made and seen simultaneously in the render.

At Enscape, we truly believe that real-time rendering is empowering architects and AEC professionals to focus on what really matters to them and their business. And with affordable and simple-to-use tools such as Enscape available to the market, it’s an exciting time to be able to design and show even your most complex concepts and projects to your colleagues and clients and create more of those wonderful “wow” moments.

To hear Enoch’s inspiring story on how real-time rendering has transformed his architectural world, be sure to listen to The Art of Construction podcast, Episode 169: Real-Time Rendering and Virtual Reality: Storytelling is Story Selling.

To try Enscape’s real-time rendering tool yourself, download a free 14-day trial here.

We’re delighted to announce that Enscape’s core features are now available with BricsCAD BIM V20 on a separate subscription basis, thanks to a new integration.

BricsCad users can now benefit from using the fundamental features of Enscape’s real-time rendering solution, helping users to visualize projects at any stage of the design process.

VP of Customer Services at Enscape, Jonathan Knöfel states that “The partnership with Bricsys is a great opportunity to provide the benefits of Enscape to a broad audience in the AEC industry and beyond. Enscape fits perfectly in the visualization portfolio of BricsCAD and allows users to link up their design and decision-making processes substantially.”

With the BricsCAD version of Enscape, users can benefit from many of Enscape’s valuable features, including:

• One-click rendering – render quickly and easily with the click of a button
• Live-link technology – see how changes made in BricsCAD appear in Enscape
• Standalone exporting – export and share your files with clients
• 360° panorama views – see the whole picture
• Video options – use the power of video when presenting to clients
• Walk-throughs – see how a space works and feels as if you were there

For more information on how to get started with BricsCAD and Enscape, and for customer service-related questions, please contact BricsCAD directly. You can also see system requirements and read top tips for getting started on the BricsCAD support site.

If you’re looking for examples of renders created with Enscape to inspire your next project – you’re in the right place.

As 2019 comes to a close, we decided to take a look back at the dazzling renders our customers submitted via the Enscape forum this past year and showcase a few of our favorites.

What stood out when we looked at these renders, was not only the impressive realism that our customers managed to achieve but also the passion and pride behind each one as we read the snippets of information provided with the visualizations on the forum. It was also heartwarming to see such a sense of community as members shared their advice and encouragement with other users – many of whom they have never met.

There were literally hundreds of beautiful renders to choose from when we embarked on the selection process, and all had elements of brilliance, but here are just a few of our absolute favorites that truly sparked joy (be sure to also take a look at our dedicated showcase page on our website to see a few more great examples of Enscape in action!).

Thanks to all of our users and customers for using Enscape in 2019 and a big thank you to those who regularly share their projects on the forum – you rock! We really can’t wait to see what you will create in 2020. Happy Holidays!

‘Tis the season to render: with just a few weeks to go until the holidays, Enscape wants you to get into the holiday spirit by entering our Holiday Rendering Competition.

All year long, we’ve been blown away by the stunning work you have created, and now, we want to see what the holiday season means to you. Whether you celebrate Christmas, can’t wait for Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, or are just looking forward to ringing in the new year, capture the spirit of the season in a rendering and enter for a chance to win our grand prize: an NVIDIA graphics card! (a special thanks goes to NVIDIA for getting into the festive spirit with us and giving away one of their graphics cards for this competition!).

Sometimes the magic of the holiday season can’t be put into words; so don’t! Render it using Enscape and you could win one of the following prize packages:

–    1st Place: An NVIDIA Graphics Card RTX 5000 + an XL Enscape Fan Kit

–    2nd Place: Logitech Keyboard and Mouse + Enscape Fan Kit

–    3rd Place: Sketchbook and Copic Sketch Markers + Enscape Fan Kit

How to enter the Enscape Holiday Rendering Competition:

–        Render your favorite holiday scene out of Enscape; get creative!

–        Submit your most festive rendering by January 6th, 2020, in one of two ways:

1. Post it on your public social media channel, whether Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or Instagram. Follow and mention @Enscape3d in your post and use the hashtag #EnscapeUnwrapped.
2. Share the rendering in the Showcase section of our Forum. Add the hashtag #EnscapeUnwrapped to the title of the post, so we know it is a competition entry.

The rules for posting on each social media channel differ slightly, so check out specifically how to enter via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

Please note that by submitting your rendering entry into the Enscape Holiday Rendering Competition, you are giving Enscape permission to share your render on our website and on social media.

The competition will run from December 4th 2019 to January 6th 2020. The Enscape team will pick 3 winners via a judging panel from all images submitted. The winners will be contacted on January 10th.

We are excited to see what the holidays mean to you! If you haven’t downloaded Enscape yet, get your free trial here and start rendering! If you have any questions about the competition, contact us at support@enscape3d.com.

Good luck!

Image credits go to Utopia Studio 3D – many thanks!

BETTER STARTS HERE.

That was the memorable and inspirational slogan used throughout this year’s Autodesk University. Seen literally everywhere you went, it helped to set the scene for three intense days of learning, sharing and networking.

So what do you get when you combine over 10,000 professionals from architecture, construction, manufacturing, engineering and media creation at Autodesk University, Las Vegas? Utter brilliance.

Autodesk University is all about helping to advance industry practice through inspiring and connecting those who design and create everything around us. The conference is now in its 27^th year, having started in San Francisco, close to Autodesk’s headquarters back in 1993.

Enscape were fortunate to attend AU this year (a special shout out to everyone who swung by our booth!), and here are just a few takeaways from what was an incredible and inspirational event.

Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost kicked off with an enthralling general session on day 1 (make sure you check out the full video here).

With the world’s population increasing, there is an increased demand for more homes, more hotels, more everything. There is a need to create more either by being creative with what we already have, or by creating something from scratch – but whatever we do and however it’s done, it has to be sustainable.

And with the construction industry alone being responsible for creating 1/3 of global waste and with buildings emitting 39% of the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide, the AEC industry has the opportunity to make a positive impact on the world around us.

How can we make better use of the world’s energy and materials? How can we use more renewable and circular materials? How can we positively impact the health and lives of those around us? Anagnost states that we need to fundamentally change the way we build in order to create a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous future for billions of people.

One tool that can help us to deliver a more sustainable world is of course, technology. There is SO much that technology can do and can help us with.

It can help to improve productivity by eliminating processes that can be done with the help of technology. It can help to automate tasks, to speed up workflows, to help us make better-informed decisions.

One tech trend that came out of Autodesk University was that technology will become a collaborator, and with it becoming more and more intelligent, it’s something we should explore deeper.

Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost talked about how one of the biggest hotel chains in the world, Marriot, are using Autodesk technology including Revit in the prefabrication process of modular units to drive efficiency, reduce waste and increase the speed at which they can deliver hotels.

Marriot are scaling up their use of modular construction – what they claim will disrupt the way buildings are built. This involves the prefabrication of modular guest rooms that arrive at the construction site fully constructed and fully finished – including internal components such as the bed and even the sheet and pillows. Marriot’s modular hotel, The AC Hotel New York NoMad, is expected to open late 2020, will be the tallest modular building in the world and will take just 90 days to erect.

BuildChange CEO Elizabeth Hausler joined the general session to talk about their use of technology with AI (artificial intelligence) to help build disaster-resistant homes and schools. Their mission is to greatly reduce death, injuries and economic losses caused by housing and school collapses due to earthquakes and typhoons in emerging nations.

BuildChange are maximizing their use of technology to scale quickly. They want to strengthen 10 million homes in the next 10 years and by using artificial intelligence, they can increase the speed at which they work. They have developed a program which can see from a photo if it’s possible to strengthen a building. This saves a considerable amount of time and human resources, and makes their vision of strengthening their target of 10 million buildings more achievable.

Enscape, of course, is another example of technology which can help save AEC professionals a significant amount of time, help to improve workflows and client collaboration. Over the course of the three days, we heard from countless customers who wanted to express how much Enscape has changed the way they work. They were impressed with its simplicity and its speed when creating 3D renderings from their 2D models. They told us how they could now create architectural visualizations in a matter of seconds, at any stage of the design process which was helping them in so many aspects of their work. It was great to hear.

Another word that we heard in various sessions at AU19 was ‘data’. It’s clear that data is still a challenge for many organizations but it’s a tool we need to get a better grasp of and should be utilized more to help us make better-informed decisions.

Technology can also help with the interpretation of data – with various software tools and artificial intelligence helping to pull data together, interpret it, and enabling us to understand so much more.

We heard that data needs to flow through various systems to help each of us work intelligently. It’s one thing to ‘think’ that you know that something should be done in a certain way, but data can help to either confirm or challenge our assumptions and should be given more focus by each of us.

This year’s event was incredible on many levels. The constant buzz of inspiration; being surrounded by thousands of your peers; being able to connect with others and hearing powerful stories either from the stage or over a coffee. You can’t help but leave this conference fired up.

We’re excited for what the next 12 months will bring in our industry. Better collaboration, better efficiency, better sustainability, better everything.

BETTER STARTS NOW.

We are very excited to announce that we will be at the biggest Autodesk event of the year – Autodesk University Las Vegas!

Autodesk University attracts over 10,000 professionals from all over the world. Representatives from construction, manufacturing, architecture, engineering and media creation will attend the four-day conference, which this year will take place at The Venetian, Las Vegas, November 18 – 21, 2019.

LEARN, CONNECT and EXPLORE are the main themes at the university, and with over 900 different classes and activities on offer, you can be sure to learn something new and get the chance to explore new trends for the future.

For the 3rd year in a row, we can proudly say “Visit us at AU Las Vegas!”. You can find us on all three expo days at booth #AE223.

Come and see what’s new at Enscape and learn more about the latest release which now supports NVIDIA’s RTX ray tracing technology. You’ll also get the chance to meet CEOs Moritz Luck and Thomas Willberger, plus members of the marketing, product management and support team. Come by our stand, grab a margarita plus some of our cool gadgets and have a chat with us!

We love our customers and building strong partnerships with them. This year, we’re excited to welcome architects Turner Fleischer onto the stand, who will share insights into their daily work and will also demo projects that they have realized with Enscape.

Following a day packed with learning, great conversations and probably a lot of walking, be sure to stop by the Enscape booth on Wednesday, November 20 from 5.30pm and join us for orange margaritas. Cheers to some interesting conversations!

As you may already know, Enscape now supports the full power of NVIDIA’s RTX. This allows Enscape to build on our current foundation, making it possible to ray trace more geometry in a higher resolution, at exactly the same frame rate. RTX’s hardware acceleration provides us with the ability to significantly speed up our lighting and reflection calculations. The faster Enscape can calculate, the more accurate the reflections and indirect lighting will be, which means even more realistic visualizations are now possible!

To watch this power combination in action, you can visit us either at the NVIDIA or Enscape booth at Autodesk University. One of our team members will be there to offer you a live demo and show you the power of RTX in combination with Enscape. Meet us at the NVIDIA booth #AE200 or Enscape booth #AE223!

We look forward to seeing you at AU19! But if you’re not able to join us, don’t worry – we’ll be sharing key highlights on the blog shortly after the event, so watch this space!

Since its inception, Enscape has been known for its precision and simplicity, delivering offline-rendered image quality at real-time speeds. With its latest version, 2.6.1, released on November 12 2019, Enscape is now one of the first rendering engines for architects to support NVIDIA’s revolutionary RTX technology, which sets the new standard for real-time rendering.

In this article, we’ll look at how Enscape applied ray-tracing techniques in its real-time rendering engine in the past; how the addition of NVIDIA RTX technology now allows Enscape users to render with even more detail and accuracy than ever before, and what one renowned architectural firm thought when they tried out the impressive new rendering capabilities.

In contrast to many game engines, we here at Enscape already realized the value of showcasing ray traced lighting and reflection calculations and have done so in our real-time engine. Everything we see in the real world is a result of light interacting with the objects in our view. Ray tracing techniques emulate this effect: an algorithm simulates light rays, tracing them from the imaginary eye, or camera, to the light source. As this is fundamentally similar to how light behaves in real life, it can achieve amazingly realistic results.

It was, however, computationally taxing  to run so many calculations in real-time. Tracing rays for every frame was resource intensive and required a great deal of optimization work in other areas. To achieve real-time framerates, it was necessary to partially scale back reflection quality during camera movement and the amount of geometry visible in reflections. But now, with the release of Enscape version 2.6.1, thankfully this is no longer the case.

For Enscape, the advent of NVIDIA RTX  technology means for the first time we will be able to achieve physically accurate reflections and diffuse, indirect lighting. RTX will dramatically enhance the Enscape experience, bringing about even better performance, light transport and reflection quality.

NVIDIA RTX allows Enscape to build on our current foundation, making it possible to ray trace more geometry in a higher resolution, at exactly the same frame rate. RTX’s hardware acceleration provides us the ability to significantly speed up our lighting  and reflection calculations. The faster Enscape can calculate, the more accurate the reflections and indirect lighting will be. The way you use Enscape will not change; the results you get, however, have the possibility of being more realistic, with no extra effort on your part.

Fully realistic reflections have traditionally been an inherently difficult topic for real-time renderers. For developers, this has been complicated by the fact that glass  is a highly important and often used design element; designers expect sharp and correct reflections. Now, RTX gives us the power we need to offer both the performance Enscape is known for and do so with highly realistic reflections.

This has come in handy for Toronto-based firm Turner Fleischer Architects. The renowned firm has always chased cutting-edge technology to convey their designs. As Turner Fleischer Principal Steve Nonis says: “Enscape has radically revolutionized the workflow and client offerings at our studio. The increased speed and enhanced quality of our renderings facilitates a totally new way for us to design, in realtime, with immediate feedback. Design is always an iterative process, but Enscape has made it a dynamic one at Turner Fleischer: the tools we use can now keep-up with our creativity, allowing quick decision making and letting our clients instantly see the impact of their choices.”

Trying out the new NVIDIA RTX technology with Enscape was a no-brainer. “With the addition of RTX to this mix, we can now add to the accuracy, quality and depth our visualizations, with accurate reflections, particularly on glass surfaces, bring static images to life,” says Nonis.

Want to learn more about Enscape and how it supports NVIDIA’s revolutionary RTX technology? Stop by the Enscape booth #AE223 at Autodesk University, Las Vegas from Nov 19-21 and come and see it in action!