The Politics Of Architectural Renderings

We’ve all seen them, the glossy, glittering “architectural renderings” of buildings yet to be built. They leap off the page, dazzling us with the promise of a skyscraper which will blend seamlessly with its surroundings, and yet add a brilliant new dynamic to the city skyline. It all seems too good to be true, and it often is. Architect’s renderings are, by necessity, targeted to the audience to whom they are presented, with the overall aim of getting everyone with a say to sign off on a project that they otherwise might not view favorably. It would be too strong to call it manipulation, perhaps, but at the very least, it is architecture’s signature marketing device.