HKS Licenses for Video Game Visualization of Major Projects
Back when this writer was still writing from the unusually-chilly Phoenix, you might recall his write-up and tour of the Arizona Cardinals‘ stadium. Well the design/architecture firm responsible for the actual building itself, HKS, has returned to the news with this story of licensing video game technology in their pitches to clients, as well as in visualizations for after they land the gigs, in showing just how the thing is supposed to look, beyond blueprints. They’ve set up a contract with the same people, Epic Games, who are responsible for the backbone behind some of the biggest video games to walk people through finished products long before the mayor and his photo-op orphans break ground in a new stadium or whatever else is costing millions to build. Unfortunately, no word on, if things don’t go well in a meeting, they can flip a switch and turn on invading alien hordes to blow up in their little virtual worlds. Lord we hope so.
Adopting the new technology is also helping HKS address long-standing challenges. The firm had found that clients often have trouble translating two-dimensional images — let alone architectural plans — into accurate ideas of what a building or interior space might look like in reality. “The worst is when a client sees a finished building and says: ‘That’s not what I expected,'” says Pat Carmichael, the company’s advanced technology manager and visualization guru.
