iCreate has partnered with Swansea Life magazine to produce a series of features that give local celebs the chance to visualise their dream penthouse apartment. The first to step forward is rugby star Tommy Bowe, whose vision for a cool New York-style loft apartment in South Africa was brought to life by our very own Dan Cherry.
Out on the lifeboat in Swansea Bay
iCreate has been contracted by the environmental Dimension Partnership (EDP) to produce a set of VVMs (Verified View Montages) showing the proposed new Lifeboat station and foreshore redevelopment at Mumbles Pier. A day out on the RNLI Lifeboat in Swansea Bay was part of the deal!
We are working closely with architects Powell Dobson to incorporate their ArchiCAD model into the photographs of the foreshore.
Click here for more information about VVMs and how they’re produced.
MAJOR changes in rural planning guidelines aimed at freeing up the provision of affordable housing and allowing on-farm second homes for farmer retirements are being introduced across Wales.
With immediate effect, a new Welsh Assembly TAN 6 planning edict for local authority and national park planning officials is seen as a major breakthrough in removing controversial inconsistencies between different planning departments.
Other key elements allow for the provision of additional housing for farm workers where a need can be established and greater, and greater flexibility on approving farm diversification ventures. In addition, the rules will make it easier for sustainable eco-building projects to secure planning permission in the Welsh countryside.
Launching the revised code – unique to Wales – at the Royal Welsh Show on Tuesday, July 20, Welsh Assembly Environment Minister, Jane Davidson, said it will make it easier for businesses to set up in rural areas and should help enterprises already located in the countryside to grow – relaxing control over development in the countryside while still ensuring that a measured approach is taken.
She said another benefit of the guidance is that it will make it easier for farmers to build a new home on their land so they can pass their business on to a younger person, while continuing to live on the farm.
Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, said that retaining young people and skilled workers were two of the biggest challenges for rural communities, and the launch of TAN6 would go a long way towards addressing those issues, especially within the farming community.
“The farming sector needs to be a viable and attractive option to young, skilled people and this new planning guidance will definitely help in realising this vision.”
CLA president, William Worsley, welcomes the changes and notes: “So often Wales is in advance of England and very often from the English perspective we look jealously across the Border because the rural understanding in Wales is far greater than so often is the case in England.”
[Adapted from an article by Barry Alston for Farmers Guardian]
iCreate is already working with clients throughout Wales (and the UK) to provide 3D visualisations for submission in support of planning applications. These visuals – often photomontages and verified views – can be a key deciding factor in assessing the visual impact of new developments on their proposed location.
iCreate has just been awarded a prestigious international award for their pioneering work in the field of interactive 3D applications. The company has been crowned the winner of the “Best 3D Real-Time” category at the 3D Awards, which took place as part of the annual Mundos Digitales graphics and animation conference in Spain, on 7th July.
Jake Major, creative director at iCreate, says the awards bestow immense industry recognition at a global level. “The 3D Awards are entered by firms all over the world, from the US, Europe, Dubai and China, and across the three categories iCreate is the only UK winner. It’s a boost for our team and a real endorsement of what we’re trying to achieve with the iViewer.”
The iViewer is a revolutionary software tool developed by iCreate, which publishes 3D models so that they are interactive for the end user.
“Basically, we make visual applications for smart phones, touchscreens and PCs, in which the user can interact with realistic 3D models. This is a great tool for launching new products, product user guides, property marketing, gaming, and pretty much any situation where a business needs to communicate complex information in a way that makes it interesting and easy to navigate.”
Growing demand for smart phone ‘apps’ is driving innovation and research at iCreate, as more and more users now own a handy touchscreen device which is the ideal channel for publishing 3D interactive models. Recent figures suggest that smart phones already account for 17.5% of handsets in the UK, with 17m people using a smart phone ‘app’ in October 2009 [source: newmediaage, 7th Jan 2010].
The rise and rise of smart phone ownership and mobile internet use is leading businesses and organisations to consider how they can tap into this new way of interacting with customers. If you’re one of them, and want to find out how a local company could help you engage with an international audience, call Jake now on 01792 824 894.
Welsh architectural visualisation company iCreate has been nominated in the category of Best Overall Real-Time Presentation at the prestigious CGarchitect 3D Awards 2010, for their pioneering iViewer interactive 3D technology.
Jake Major, creative director at iCreate, says the awards bestow immense industry recognition at a global level. “CGarchitect.com is the leading online community for the Architectural Visualisation sector, and a global voice for the industry. The other nominees are from the US, Europe, Dubai and China, and out of 15 nominees across three categories, iCreate is one of only three UK firms selected. It’s a boost for our team and a real endorsement of what we’re trying to achieve with the iViewer.”
The iViewer publishes 3D architectural and masterplan models in an interactive format, which means the user can navigate around the models in a 3D game style virtual environment.
Its application as a property marketing tool is enabling homebuyers to explore new developments in virtual reality before they’re built, via the web, touchscreens and even the iPhone.
In the field of regeneration and town planning, iViewer Interactive 3D Masterplans are in use as a powerful community engagement and public consultation tool, presenting a clear overview of rural and urban areas and making complex development proposals engaging and easy to understand.
The CGarchitect.com Architectural 3D Awards were started in 2004 to recognize outstanding achievement in the field of architectural visualization. iCreate’s nomination for this highly prized international award will stand the company in good stead later this summer, when their groundbreaking iViewer technology comes on show at the UK National Regeneration Summit in London in July.
Just a quick note to announce the release of the new website and brochure for our client, MAB Homes in West Wales. We’ve put together a comprehensive marketing package for this new housebuilder, to enable them to sell their new homes ‘off plan’, before they’re built. The brochure features realistic CGIs of the properties, as well as 3D floor plans showing the interior layout. The website is built with a powerful Content Management System behind the scenes, which means our client can update the website in-house with no particular software expertise. All in all its an effective property marketing package – visit the website now at www.mabhomes.co.uk and let us know what you think!
Property Marketing Website
Sat 22nd May 2010
Walk along the beach from West Cross to Swansea City Centre – Swansea at its best in the sunshine.
As Britain acclimatises to the new Tory-Lib Dem coalition, local councils and regeneration agencies are left pondering what their position will be and exactly how much devolved power will be issued to them as ‘localism’ becomes the watchword within the sector.
Having participated as a multi-media consultant for a number of regeneration frameworks in the recent months, the proposition of devolved power putting emphasis on local business-led enterprise partnerships – working from the ground up, sounds, on the surface, to be positive.
The big question remains as always, and that is the question of funding. Considering that the issue of regeneration did not take precedence in many of the party’s manifestos, there remains a big question mark for the time being, and many councils are now playing the waiting game to see just when and where the big money is going to come from to invest in new and existing regeneration programmes
We are pleased to say though that our recent innovation in interactive masterplan framework development is taking off, and is probably very timely, as the public sector is told to cut down on red tape and to communicate what can be vast and complex frameworks, more efficiently and effectively.
Before and After views of Swansea High Street
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing our images go global…or national at least!
The BBC have released a news article on their website documenting the current regeneration work that is transforming the old, run down areas of Swansea High Street into a vibrant ‘creative cluster’ where people can work and live in a harmonious environment.
The developers of the scheme, Coastal Housing, Commissioned iCreate to visualise the whole project, and the images – some of which can be seen on the link below, are some of the most pleasing we have created. Not only because of the way they look, but because of the use they have been put to.
Follow the link to the full story:
This is our new blog. Our old blog is still here: