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Customer story: Tim Eckmair, Odell
Odell Associates Inc is a full service Design Firm offering services in Architecture,
Engineering, Planning, Interior Design and Landscape Architecture. The firm has offices
in Charlotte, North Carolina, Richmond, VA., and Dallas, TX. Odell is well known for its
excellent record of service to its clients. These relationships have allowed the firm to
become an international leader in the design of a variety of major project types,
including airports, arenas, education, elder care, corporate/commercial, government,
healthcare, hotels and research.
Throughout its 63-year history, Odell has utilized a variety of means and methods to
convey design issues, from quick hand sketches to sophisticated renderings and models.
Renderings and sketches are an important tool in our design arsenal. Images that
successfully convey your thoughts and ideas for a project to a client are indispensable.
In the earliest stages of the design process, the ability to explore and refine an idea
is extremely significant.
In some instances a quick hand sketch on site is the appropriate media; in other instances,
a compelling photorealistic 3D animation production is the way to go. In the early stages
of the project however, we have tended to shy away from the more refined media as it left
the client feeling locked in and, in some instances, left out of the process. Our clients
generally react favorably to the softer media and sketches with hand drawn qualities.
That's what initially attracted us to the Piranesi product. Its inherent flexibility and
user interface allowed us to exercise control over the software, (rather than the other
way around).
These renderings for an expansion to an existing Hospital in Georgia, were used to
communicate to the client a specific design direction for the campus. The healthcare
business today finds itself in a very competitive industry where image, facilities and
perception are every bit as important as the reputation and services offered. By studying
how the facility could transform itself over the next 20 years, Odell used rendered images
to show a progression of changes and options that would allow the hospital to achieve its
internal goals.
The renderings below were part of a master planning effort for a large mixed-use development
totaling over 200 acres. The facility development offers everything from restaurants and
hotel accommodations to shopping, offices and a variety of sports facilities as well as
residential options. Piranesi and SketchUp allowed us to quickly model several options for
the client to consider, which in turn got us complete buy-in and understanding as well as
approval. Odell eventually produced 24 rendered images from the overall model using the
Piranesi package.
These renderings were quickly put together for a client presentation concerning a new office
building in Tennessee. In less than 2 days from start to finish we were able to put together
a proposal document containing 8 rendered images along with plans and site information. The
speed and ease of using Piranesi has really given us an edge in turning around material in a
timely, efficient manner.
The rendering below was used to illustrate a new concept for an urgent care facility in North
Carolina. The image was modeled in SketchUp, rendered in Piranesi then edited for effects and
added entourage in Photo Shop. The ability to 'hand paint' textures in Piranesi is an essential
tool that we use to create and adjust our images to help keep the image soft and malleable from
the clients' perspective. This imagery really seems to be successful in working with our
clients in the early stages of the project's development.
Timothy J. Eckmair, AIA / NCARB,
Sr. Project Designer / Associate,
Odell Associates Inc.
Tel: 704-414-0000
Email: eckmairt@hotmail.com
Web: http://www.odell.com/
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