He said renderings shown to the public suggested the grain terminal would be much smaller than it was and people were shocked when they saw how large the structure was. A computer image of the terminal would have been geometrically accurate and the public would have seen its true scale, Lloyd said. Lloyd said his firm refuses requests by clients who want to alter a computer image in order to make a proposal more acceptable. Though an offending post or balcony could easily be removed, Lloyd said he has taken an ethical stand that if something is in the plans it must be in the computer image. Subsequent images from the same plans cost about half that.
Viewers can use the mouse to move from the kitchen to the living room.
A mouse click on the light switch shows the night view of the skyline from the unit. Bennett said retention is much greater in an interactive display than with brochures, sales talks or other passive methods. Lloyd thinks that within a year his firm will be able to produce virtual reality tours, giving potential buyers or tenants a chance to walk through a project before it is ever built. So far only minimally, Bennett said. The real estate industry remains fairly traditional and traditional rendering techniques often serve their purposes, he said.