Realtime

Orlando Sardaro, a passionate 3D design and rendering enthusiast from the very beginning and the director of Design8 bv, shares his extensive experience in this blog about starting with the solution—integrating real-time feedback into your workflow.

“Destination reached. Or …”

Have you ever experienced this? You navigate to your destination. Once you arrive, you hear:
“Destination not reached! You took a wrong turn and are nowhere near where you wanted to go…”
No, of course, you haven’t! Why not? Simple: navigation tools provide you with realtime feedback! If you had taken a wrong turn, you would have known immediately. Did you miss an exit? The navigation system notifies you and instantly calculates a new route. If only the design process were this realtime!

Square One

Unfortunately, as a designer, this does happen to you. After all, not all information is available in realtime. Here’s an example: you’re designing a building and want an indication of its energy performance. If you can’t calculate this yourself, you rely on a third party for feedback. And that takes time. If the result is disappointing? You adjust your design, but then you have to go back to that third party and wait again… Back to Square One.

Not only is this killing your productivity but also your creativity. And it’s detrimental to your project’s timeline. If you decide not to wait and just take a guess, you risk a failed project or excessive costs.

Start with the solution

The solution is simple: start with the solution. That may sound too good to be true, but it’s not. Realtime software exists—use it and adjust your project in realtime! Here are a few applications:

Realtime Rendering

Realtime rendering works like a game. While you design, you immediately see your creation beautifully dressed with shiny materials and reflective lighting. No more waiting! And these renders keep improving in quality. Perfect for instantly visualizing the impact of your design choices.

Examples of realtime rendering applications include Chaos Enscape, Chaos Envision, Chaos Vantage, and Twinmotion by Epic Games.

Realtime Energy Consumption

No, I’m not talking about the app that shows how much power your solar panels generate. That’s fun too, but I mean tools like Enscape Impact and Trimble Sefaira, which provide realtime feedback on the expected energy performance of your design.

This software calculates in seconds how many MWh your design will use per year, identifies the biggest energy consumers (cooling, heating, lighting, etc.), and determines whether there’s sufficient daylight. Ideal for setting the right starting point or convincingly advising your clients on which design variant to choose.

Realtime Climate Data

SketchUp Pro has included the PreDesign tool for many years. This online tool provides realtime climate data based on your project’s location, such as expected sunlight hours, average temperatures, and wind intensity. PreDesign then guides you toward the right design direction. And if you implement this information correctly, you’ll see it reflected in realtime in energy tools like Enscape Impact.

Realtime Topology Optimization

Topology optimization refines your design’s shape for maximum stiffness with minimal material usage. In xDesign, part of the SOLIDWORKS Cloud Offer, you can answer this question in realtime. Define your material, apply forces and constraints, and xDesign does the rest! No more running up and down the stairs to the structural engineer on the third floor. Sure, exercise is important, but why not bike to work instead? With a topology-optimized frame!

Getting Lost

So, there’s no need to get lost in your design process anymore. Use realtime software! Stay in control. Start with the solution. I’m sure it will make you more productive and significantly shorten your project timelines.

Echtzeit

Finally, the word realtime… In Dutch, we don’t have a perfect one-word translation. But in Germany? They do! They call it Echtzeit—now that’s a beautiful word, isn’t it?

So come on, don’t waste any more time—go realtime! It’s about time!