As both a creator and fan or architectural renderings, I have come to recognize that without people included, rendered spaces often appear lifeless and scale-less. So I concede the need for people. But too many, and the distractions abound - we are designers of spaces after all, not of people. Granted, there are some spaces that require a good number of people in them to avoid unfortunate associations; for instance, a church interior with only a few people in the seats would be a terrifying prospect for a client to consider! So, sometimes, less is not best, and we have to use our discretion as communicators. I am troubled, however, by photo-realistic depictions of people in full glory - bright colors, active postures, strong facial expressions, and - worst of all - close proximity to the frame. Not only does the visual noise that results distract from the clear communication of the architectural intent, but I am convinced that the more distinctive and identifiable the people in a rendering are, the more our eyes linger on
them rather than the space. I think we are hard-wired to search out people in our visual field and to quickly ascertain if they are friends or foes. This focuses our attention on posture and expression, and we drift into assigning stories to the people we are observing -
this woman is looking at
that man with curiosity. Does she think she knows him? Does she desire him? Does she see him as a prospective employee? And that man on the cell phone...is he angry? Frightened? Or merely concerned? What is the call about? An automobile accident? A stock loss? A jealous lover? And before long we are not considering the architecture at all.
I'm inclined to prefer abstracted figures, neutral in color and perhaps semi-transparent. The
suggestion of an occupied space...So, I am wondering how the rest of you handle this in your renderings.
-------------------------------------------
James VanderMolen AIA
President
Elevate Studio
Grand Rapids MI
-------------------------------------------