Architecture and construction industry design revolution launched in the UK

A Scottish software developer is revolutionising how proposed developments are viewed with a new system which gives architects, officials and the public a chance to see new projects onsite, before a foundation or brick is laid.

Pinnacle Visualisation, based in Aberdeen, has developed “Eyesee” to allow developers to bring designs to life, using mobile technology to see structures exactly where they are proposed – delivering significant time and cost savings at the architectural design stage.

Eyesee allows planning officials, local authority committee members and investors to carry out a site visit and, holding an iPad displaying an “augmented reality” live view, walk around a 3D model site and even stand inside and look out through its windows.

The software can record video footage and capture high resolution still images from the augmented reality view – providing developers and architects with the ability to engage with stakeholders who want to see a proposal in context, as well as informing their own design teams’ work.

A family company, led by directors Allan, Kenny and Lynsey Steele, Pinnacle Visualisation builds on a background in commercial property and software development previously established at sister company Pinnacle Consulting.

The firm is supported by renowned north-east development specialist George Massie, whose extensive experience in planning and urban design of major development projects, including town centre redevelopment and large-scale business parks and headquarters sites throughout Scotland is well known across the industry.

Eyesee has been developed over a two year period, from initial concept to fully functional release, and has already been used to provide project visualisations for developments in the US and Europe.

Kenny Steele, managing director of Pinnacle Visualisation and creator of Eyesee, who is based in Aberdeen, said: “The planning process is a hugely technical business and a major undertaking for everyone involved in a project – for decades planners and stakeholders have had to rely on drawings and, more recently, 3D computer-generated flythrough videos.

“Every available technique, before now, has been an expensive, time-consuming process. Eyesee has been designed to deliver real cost and project time savings because you can see exactly what you’re going to build in context, with no guesswork required.

“We had one aim and that was to put structures of any kind, from single units to entire masterplans into the real world, so you can see them as though you could reach out and touch them.

“We don’t want to hear the phrase, ‘I didn’t think it would look like that’ again. Eyesee allows you to see what a building really looks like, ultimately saving a huge amount of time and expense on the planning phase by putting 3D renders into the real world, rather than down on paper.”

George Massie, whose consultancy in major property development spans more than 30 years and includes some of Scotland’s largest projects, said: “Eyesee does something that, as a development advisor, I think the industry has needed since the dawn of modern technology, but which has only now become possible.

“It simplifies a key stage of the design and planning process by delivering buildings on site, at full scale, at eye level – rather than the artificial aerial views and rendered videos we are used to.”

Eyesee is already being used by architects in the USA, and has been deployed for major commercial development projects where multiple models have been visualised on-site. The system also includes a desktop package to allow new or updated structural models to be dropped into video footage recorded onsite.

Kenny Steele added: “There’s no limit to the environment in which we can use Eyesee - we are targeting growth internationally in industrial, commercial and residential project development, and there is potential for the system to be used in the energy sector.”