Render (3D visualization)

A render is a photorealistic image of an interior that a computer calculates from a 3D model with defined materials, furniture and light. It lets you see and discuss the future apartment before the first bag of plaster is bought, and correct the layout, colours and lighting in time. A series of renders from different angles, and sometimes a 3D walkthrough, is the standard result of the visualisation stage.

How it is made. First a 3D model is built from the layout and the measured plan: walls, openings, furniture. Then materials are assigned (textures of wood, stone, fabric), light sources are placed and cameras are set up. After that the rendering engine calculates the paths of light rays in the scene. Interiors are usually produced in 3ds Max or other 3D editors with V-Ray or Corona Renderer. A single frame takes from minutes to hours to calculate.

Types. Still images from different angles; a 360° panorama and a 3D tour through which you can "walk" the apartment (for example, we have a 3D tour for the Bukhar Zhyrau Towers 115 m² project); animated flythroughs. For restaurants and commercial spaces a visualisation helps present the concept to an investor or landlord, as in the concept for the Heavenly restaurant, 170 m², in Singapore.

How to tell an honest render from an advertising one. In an honest one, specific items from the specification are shown (this sofa, this tile), the light corresponds to the real fixtures in the project rather than a "studio" fill, and the geometry matches the drawings. Beautiful but unrealistic materials, unrealistic window light and a "photoshop version" detached from the project lead to disappointment on site.

Typical client mistakes: taking a render for an exact photograph (colours on screen depend on monitor calibration and look different in real life under different light); approving the visualisation without checking it against the drawings; asking to "change the colour" late, when materials have already been bought; forgetting that small details in the frame may differ from real products. Look at a render together with material samples.

How we do it. 3D visualisation is included in the design project, and 3D views are part of the working project; a separate price for visualisation without a project is available on request. The concept and visualisations usually take 1–2 weeks of a 2–4 week project. Our principle: a render is a promise that has to be kept on site, so we visualise what can actually be bought in Kazakhstan within the project budget.