Interview with Nick Nakadate of MulvannyG2

Interview with Nick Nakadate of MulvannyG2

Nick is the Digital Graphics Coordinator for MulvannyG2 Architecture, one of the leading firms in the Northwest and across the U.S. He is responsible for making sure all digital presentation and design collaboration work is completed, and currently manages a small team as well as doing production work.

CGA: Could you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about MulvannyG2 and your role there?

NN: I'm the Digital Graphics (DG) Coordinator for MulvannyG2 Architecture, one of the leading firms in the Northwest and across the U.S. We have offices in Bellevue, WA, (Headquarters), Seattle, WA, Portland, OR, Washington D.C., and Taipei. We do most project types, which makes my job all the more challenging. I am responsible for making sure all digital presentation and design collaboration work is completed. I manage a small team as well as do production work. Projects range from 3D modeling and rendering, to Photoshop rendering and image montage, and on-the-fly 3D design studies.

CGA: Tell us about your background. How did you get into the Architectural CG industry?

NN: I became interested in CG in high school and started teaching myself programs. I started on 3D Studio R1 and AutoCAD R12 at Iowa State University. As I progressed through the ISU B.Arch program, I integrated CG into my design process and studio work. I got involved with the Virtual Reality program through the engineering college at ISU and Architecture Professor Chiu-Shui Chan, and presented my thesis in VR. After graduating in 1997, I continued to learn more programs throughout my career as an architect. I had always done CG as a part of my job at firms (3D modeling, rendering, animation, design studies, etc.), and the demand kept growing, as well as my addiction to CG. Eventually I made the switch to doing 100% CG at MulvannyG2.

CGA: Is architectural CG work something that you have always wanted to do, or were you just in the right place at the right time?

NN: I think it was inevitable that I became involved with architectural CG. I had always been strong in art. I actually studied vocal music and design at St. Olaf College before transferring to ISU to enter the architecture program. I had also been very involved with the sciences, so it all just made sense and "happened" in the end. I was lucky to find CG since classes did not exist on a large scale when I was in school.

CGA: What type of projects are candidates for a computer rendering at
MulvannyG2?

NN: Most projects are candidates for CG. There are those that are more basic and don't require much in the way of presentation or involved design study, but most can benefit from the use of CG in some way.

CGA: What type of lead-times are you given to work on a project? Is there a project in particular that was completed in record time?

NN: Ha! I think 99% of our projects are completed in record time. ;) Sometimes we face 4 to 12 hour deadlines. Very unrealistic when faced with modeling and rendering a building. We have done this enough to be prepared for the worst and can handle most of those "challenging" requests.

CGA: What have been your most rewarding experiences while working with
architectural CG work?

NN: Designing something beautiful that fits its design purpose. It's always a pleasure to use CG to explore design options and end up with the right solution for the client and the architects.

CGA: Where do you see the future of architectural rendering and how will new rendering technologies affect the future of MulvannG2?

NN: Architectural rendering will continue to grow and expand in all areas of architecture, and eventually will become a standard byproduct of the design process. As architectural documents make the transition from 2D to 3D and more and more architects design in 3D, the renderings will improve greatly in quality. Faster and higher quality render engines will allow architects to analyze all aspects of their designs almost instantly. GI engines will be the standard. The challenge will then come back to whom has the best design, not the biggest glam factor. CG will bring architectural design to a new level at MulvannyG2, as well as the rest of the industry.

CGA: What have been your biggest challenges both past and present, with
regards to computer renderings?

NN: Getting the designers and clients to see the benefit of using CG more as a design tool, and not just a glorified set of markers. Don't get me wrong, CG obviously has its place for presentation work, but an often-overlooked component is the database of parts that the design is comprised of. Our estimating department will love me when quickly extracting reliable data from a model becomes a reality. How would you like to know how many cubic meters of concrete are in the shear wall on the west wing? And the number of gallons of paint required to paint each doorframe in forest green? How many clients wouldn't like to know, real time, how much the temperature in their living room will change, when the southern louvers are changed from extruded aluminum to stone. More and more people are catching on, and this will eventually cause huge changes for the better in architecture.

CGA: Have any of the renderings produced at MulvannyG2 been featured in
industry publications or won any awards?

NN: Most of our renderings go to the client or to the city for design review. We haven't done a lot of submission to win awards, but we are featured from time to time in the local papers and publications. We had a few renderings recently published on the Informatix Piranesi gallery: http://www.informatix.co.uk/pir_gallery.htm

CGA: What project are you most proud of and Why?

NN: I'm most proud of a current office building project. It was great to collaborate on the design with the project architect and work out complicated design issues in 3D. The process we went through and are still going through have saved hours and days of time which otherwise could have been wasted in inadequate 2D processes. The frosting on the cake was when the project architect said that designing in 3D with CG "is a luxury" he didn't really have before.

CGA: What software do you currently use and have you used in the past
for computer renderings and why have you chosen those particular
applications?

NN: I use Lightscape 3 and 3DS Max 4 for our renderings. Lightscape is an obvious solution for obtaining radiosity meshes to render in 3DS Max. Lightscape is a must for stills and especially animation when time is short and expectations are high. We are also using mental ray to deal with scenes with high poly counts and complexity. We use Piranesi to take the edge off of images that may appear too hard or realistic. We can cover all ranges, from sketchy to realistic in this manner.

CGA: What do you not like to see in computer generated architectural work?

NN: Scenes with lens flares and overdone reflectivity. I am sometimes blinded by scenes that look as if they were polished to a high buff with ten coats of wax. I also dislike scenes that are nicely modeled yet have poor textures. Of course there are also too many cheesy outer space and castle renderings with dragons, warriors, or aliens.

CGA: What tip(s) can you give our readers to improve their architectural
renderings?

NN: Take the time to make all aspects of the rending right - textures, lighting, modeling, etc. I know it sounds obvious, but so many renderings could be improved with a little more careful thought and care. I know I am guilty of this. Don't depend on modeling, lighting, or texturing more heavily than the other components to carry the rendering. Treat them all equally. A good rendering boils down to composition and artistic value in the end.

CGA: What is your favorite link to visit on the web? (not necessarily CG related)

NN: http://www.starwars.com/

For now at least. Can't help myself. I'm sure everyone understands.

CGA: Which/What web based resources that you have found the most informative?

NN: http://graphics.stanford.edu/~henrik/

No explanation necessary.