Potential donors get the experience of taking a virtual reality tour of the building, rather than just having to envision it on paper. The historic building will be reconfigured from the ground up. By viewing the models, one can take a virtual stroll down the main hallway, gaze at a painting on a wall or admire the structure's majestic columns from a panoramic angle. Karen Mullowney, associate director of the Parkland Foundation, is one of the lead fund-raisers. She is already using the models to help secure the private donations that will fund most of the project.
People are amazed when they see what the building can become.
This year, more than 100 groups bid before the May convention in Dallas. Past projects have yielded impressive results. And in Miami, the AIA worked with architecture students to build a memorial in the Florida Everglades to the 110 victims killed in the 1996 ValuJet plane crash. But this year's project may be the most complex yet. The AIA joined forces with the Dallas ArchiCad User Group, comprised of North Texas architects who use the high-tech software made by Graphisoft U.S. Inc. of San Francisco.