3D Computer Modeling
by Jeff Thomas

An excellent tool for depicting your church project in an exciting and easily understood format is to create a full-color computer model of your proposed new facilities and site development. This model can be created early in the design process. The amount of detail depicted is up to the church and budget constraints, but the model can include furnishings, and even masonry and flooring finishes based on photos of the actual building products.

A virtual walk-thru of the interior and exterior are possible. The architect can create numerous versions of the project using different color schemes and exterior material combinations and styles. These tours can be presented on the small screen of a personal computer or on a projection screen for an entire congregation. The “tour” can be rendered as a movie with background music and narration if desired. “Screen shots” of the building can be made during a tour and those images can be printed, or put into a slide show, on the web, in e-mail, or in a PowerPoint presentation. The possibilities are limitless and the virtual building can be modified as the project develops or changes.

Other advantages include the portability and indestructibility of the medium. It can easily be mass disseminated. It is possible to depict the church as it might appear at various phases of development, such as with and without an anticipated future building addition. A computer model may be the best way for others to ‘catch your vision.’