In the 17th century, documentation of architectural marvels was mostly through written records and visual appreciation. Filippo Brunelleschi, an Italian architect tried to understand vanishing points in a structure and eventually coined the concept of perspective. Perspectives now are used to imagine varied imaginations from different viewpoints. Not only did perspective elevate art into science but also transformed it into living realities. This concept evolved through drafting, sketching, and now is generated with 3D software. Thus, with dependency on conveying messages through renderings and a need for more realistic but dreamy versions of the client’s imagination, visual architecture took birth. Renowned architectural firms turn to visualization firms to help them portray their designs in a favorable light. VISMO ApS is one such firm based in Copenhagen, Denmark. They have been doing this since 2008 and have a wide range of clients and locations of projects. Their goal is to accentuate the beauty, mood, and purpose of the projects through various feedback sessions with clients.
Communicating concepts and ideas through visualizations and renderings is their expertise. Architects at VISMO ApS are detail-oriented and have a touch of Nordic aesthetics to their images. Telling stories of clients’ imagination and bringing out the best in their designs is reflected in this one of many visuals.
1. TEC H.C. Ørsted | VISMO
Location: Lyngby, Denmark
Year: 2017- 2018
Type: Education | Competition Project
Client: NORD Architects
The visions for the technical new High School building were that it should reflect the spirit of the great Danish scientist H.C. Ørsted and the thoughts he had about magnetism, movements, and nature.
The visuals depict an environment with dynamic relations which the scientist stood for and weaves nature into the building in form of color, ample light, and materials.
The image captures aesthetic transitions in informal and formal spaces and dissolves the firm line between theoretical and practical areas. Unlike the conventional concept of a bold technical outlook, the idea focuses on an approach towards science, art, culture, nature, and free movement. The building is a network of learning areas with specific classrooms and areas that function as knowledge communities.
2. Leiden Bio Science Park
Location: Leiden, Netherlands
Type: Mixed-use
Client: studioninedots
Leiden Bio Science Park contains around 103 dedicated medical life sciences companies and institutions. It hosts the largest number of bioscience start-ups in the Netherlands and several multinationals and internationally acclaimed research institutes. The administrations on the park are active in initiatives to improve the park. There are numerous planned projects and proposals under the municipality of Leiden which are currently in progress or are about to be implemented.
Leiden Bio Science Campus by studioninedots is one such proposal that combines housing, sports, work/home units, and social hubs. The aerial view by VISMO ApS depicts a hyped realistic version of what the project would look like whereas the other renders showcase the beauty of these hubs and units bathed in daylight which merges them into the natural context. Communal spaces have a beautiful transition between the built and unbuilt space, making one want to dive into the image to play music and feel the ambiance of the space.
3. The Harry Jerome Community Recreation centre | VISMO
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Year: 2018
Type: Community Centre | Competition Project
Client: HCMA Architecture + Design
HCMA Architecture + Design won in the category of Future projects, civic in the World Architecture Festival for The Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre. The project aims at creating a fluid environment with proper interaction with nature as well as with the built space. The visualization blends raw nature and spatial elements making the centre look more humane and real.
One of the judges described the project as “A flow of natural landscape including water features, boulders and trees permeate and enliven the upper terraces, which allow views to the sea, the city, and the mountains”. The original centre is planned to be replaced by this proposal by 2023.
4. Hegnets Have
Location: Humlebæk,
Year: 2016
Type: Health-care (nursing home) | Competition Project
Client: RUBOW arkitekter A / S
Hegnets Have is a winning competition entry at Copenhagen for a new care and rehabilitation centre with 50 homes and a health centre. The centre is designed after inspiration from evidence-based research on healing architecture.
The building material used is brick with glass for fenestrations and openings, which provides a connection between private homes and nature. Housing typologies and a planned landscape enable an individual to feel at home both in the exterior and interior.
The project aims to strengthen the existing landscape to maintain the identity of the site and further highlighting them with additional features. The quality and Nordic aesthetics of VISMO ApS creates a view with communal harmony and sensory satisfaction. Detailing of architectural elements such as light, material and spatial context manifests pleasant frames of what everyday life in the centre would look like.
5. 2Amsterdam | VISMO
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Year: 2014- present
Type: Redevelopment | Mixed-use
Client: KCAP Architects & Planners
2Amsterdam is a redevelopment project of two office towers from the 1980s, these towers are set in Zuidas, Amsterdam’s main business district. The transformation program consists of public lobbies, a garden, flexible workplaces, a 4-star hotel overlooking the city, and A-class offices. The functionality of both the towers differ but at the same time retains their character as one building ensemble. The western tower consists of the hotel with the sky bar and the eastern tower consists of office spaces. The iconic glass façade brings out the unity between the buildings. By encapsulating the towers into one ensemble and yet clearly defining the plot boundary, an urban block is created that enables interaction and recreational space between the towers.
6. The Danish Immigration Service
Location: Næstved, Denmark
Year: 2020 Completed
Type: Commercial
Client: AART architects
According to AART architects, the new head office of the Danish Immigration Service is rounded by a deep democratic consciousness. A work environment is designed where the offices and workspaces are spread along the facade on each floor while the meeting rooms, flex rooms, cafés, and separation spaces are located by the atriums. The office landscape depicts interaction, respect, and a dignified experience for visitors. Interior layout is inclined towards intuitive wayfinding and a user-centric approach. The Architectural style is expressed classically through warm materials and crisp natural lighting throughout the building.
7. Keynes Building
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Year: 2017
Type: Residential
Client: OZ architect
At the beginning of 2017 OZ architects were asked to transform an 11-year-old Keynes office building into residential use. The design required the use of the original design and an attempt to use the maximum structural capacity of the building. Considering all these perimeters, two floors are planned to be added on top of the building and existing floors be raised and used to prevent interventions in the building’s installation structure as much as possible and filled with extra insulation. The new premise, recessed glass, and balconies around will give a brand-new image to the Keynes building. As a result, the structure immediately acquires a change in character.
8. UNSW | VISMO
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Type: Mixed-use | Competition
Client: 3XN and Aspect Studio
3XN and Aspect Studios have been selected to design a mixed-use tower for the University of New South Wales in Sydney. UNSW aims to create a welcoming campus weaved into environmental sustainability with a focus to nurture cross-faculty educational and social interactions. The project is inspired by 3XN philosophy of how architecture shapes behavior, featuring a central staircase, terraced platforms connecting multiple floors, and outdoor spaces. “We are proud that we won this project,” says Kim Herforth Nielsen Architect MAA, Founder and Creative Director of 3XN. The concept for the building enables a creative learning environment from observation and interdisciplinary collaboration through an open design concept.
9. 8th and Pine
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Year: 2014- Present
Type: Residential
Client: Perkins + Will
“No limitations,” were the words Delta Land Development used when Perkins + Will architects were asked to design a project that would “revolutionize the development industry.” With those words, “Canada’s Earth Tower (8th and Pine)” was born, designed to advance a comprehensive set of environmental goals in an unprecedented way.
The tower will use local timber and a technique that will use reinforced concrete elevator cores to provide lateral stability to the structure, while engineered wooden columns and composite floors will make the tower. Making the mixed-used tower the world’s tallest hybrid timber tower, in turn reducing the greenhouse emissions through carbon sequestration. The tower will support the community and improve the experience of living in tall buildings.
10. North Park | VISMO
Location: Idre, Sweden
Type: Hospitality | Recreational
Client: Kjellander Sjoberg Arkitektkontor
Idre is a village in the north of Dalarna that offers skiing and other adventures all year round. Kjellander Sjoberg Arkitektkontor has proposed North Park, a recreational and hospitality project for visitors to enjoy their stay and to admire the natural beauty.
The proposal consists of a cafeteria with a common meeting and recreational space, suites, and other activities. The first floor overlooks the meeting space and gives a beautiful view of the scenery through the glass panels. The Nordic light in the visuals by VISMO ApS illuminates the insides and captures the aesthetics of the interior spaces, bringing warmth to the image through their realistic material textures and quality of details.
11. North Shore Winter Club
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Type: Recreational
Client: Perkins + Will
North Shore Winter Club by Perkins + Will architects is a replacement project which consists of many site complications and a need for a complex program for a user-centric design. The design program brings multiple athletic programs and initiatives into a new facility that is easy to navigate while creating a sense of community. The facades visualized by VISMO ApS bring out the sophistication in materials and aesthetics which blends with regional climate and surroundings. Open floor sections, overlooking balconies, and the use of partial glass panels create an intangible relationship with nature and the structure.
12. Langsand
Location: Hvide Sande, DK
Year: 2015-present
Type: Residential | Competition Project
Client: Bay Arch
A Langsand is a small marina of holiday apartments. According to bay arch, the maritime environment of Hvide Sande has inspired the Langsand project. The project comprises 90 houses, which are inspired by fishermen’s huts, sails, and surrounding buildings. There will be different house typologies to create a village atmosphere and a sense of intimacy along with marine life. The project inspires privacy at the scenic marina as well as an interaction with the local life. The private homes bring out a modern and open design with a homely feel to it.
13. Kop Zuidas | VISMO
Location: Amsterdam
Year: 2017
Type: Mixed-use | Competition project
Client: space&matter
Kop Zuidas is a competition entry by Space & Matter’s for the development of mixed-use buildings in Zuidas, a prominent business district in Amsterdam. It combines a mix of multi-tenant buildings, offices to engage its surroundings. The competition brief called for a design that establishes itself within the rapidly developing context of the Kop Zuidas district.
In response to this, the building in its design challenges the users to move and interact by providing a play of recreational spaces at various levels which initiates the movement, and sharing of numerous working and residential typologies that connect the neighboring blocks increasing the interaction of the people and space. The courtyard space enhances light, air, and landscape creating formal and informal growth along with housing upgrades.
14. Niels Hemmingsens Gade Building Renovation
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Year: 2017 – Completed
Type: Redevelopment | Commercial
Client: Årstiderne Arkitekter
The neo-classical historic property bank in Niels Hemmingsens Gade was built for a Bank in 1868. Since 2010 it has been empty. In 2017 the building underwent renovation with new functions which also contributed to the development of the neighboring Copenhagen area.
The building naturally comprised exceptional spaces that were restored to their original glory. For instance, the bank hall with beautiful vaulted ceilings, golden pillars with minute glass details, wood, and wrought iron. During the process, a beautiful coffered ceiling in one of the rooms was found and brought back to its original shape. The building was brought to life with the cooperation of new functions. The daylight on the office floors portrays the historic as well as modern look.
15. Scanport | VISMO
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Type: Mixed-use | Competition project
The project focuses on well-being and the creation of a new urban destination in the region. The office building is located in one of the most international business districts of the Nordic region. VISMO ApS accentuates the interior length of the building with crisp natural light spreading through the atrium across floors to the common area. The lobby reflects an informal-formal relationship with the modern office building. The area altogether is set to develop with many proposals on both commercial and recreational grounds.
Technological advancement in architecture rendering has brought visualization to Virtual and Augmented reality, VISMO ApS incorporates virtual reality in all phases of their design. They offer two types of virtual reality, 360 panoramic tours and an immersive game engine based virtual reality, which allows the users to enter and explore every detail and texture of their project, making them have a multi-sensory journey. Thus, elevating the client-designer interaction to the next level. In addition to images and virtual reality, visual architects at VISMO ApS create animated architectural films for clear visual communication and a cinematic weightage to the projects.
References
- https://vismo.dk/
- https://perkinswill.com/
- http://www.spaceandmatter.nl/kop-zuidas
- http://www.bayarch.dk/
- https://www.nordarchitects.dk/tec
- https://www.ozarchitect.nl/projects/keynes-building-housing/
- https://www.constructionspecifier.com/revealing-designs-for-the-worlds-tallest-hybrid-timber-tower/
- https://www.archdaily.com/930585/3xn-and-aspect-studios-design-new-unsw-tower-in-australia
