Townhouse Rendering & Duplex 3D Renders

The set a townhouse launch usually needs

Off-the-plan buyers of a townhouse are buying two things they cannot see: the dwelling itself, and what it is like to live in the middle of a row of them. The streetscape answers the second question and is usually the image that carries the campaign, because it shows the rhythm of the frontages, where the driveways and visitor parking sit, and how much planting there really is.

Individual dwelling views then do the selling. Where a scheme has three or four dwelling types, each type needs its own frontage view, and because the types share a model these are variants rather than separate jobs. Interiors are usually shared: one kitchen and living view per type covers most of the campaign, since buyers accept that the finishes are consistent across the development.

• Streetscape showing the whole row in context
• Individual frontage per dwelling type
• Rear, courtyard or private open space view
• Kitchen and living interiors shared across types
• Aerial or site plan for a staged release
• Furnished 3D floor plans per type for the listing portals

Duplex and dual occupancy

A duplex is a different sell. There are two dwellings, often mirrored, frequently on a knock-down-rebuild lot in an established street, and the render has to do something a townhouse render does not: convince the neighbours, or at least the planner, that the new building belongs on that street.

That means the useful duplex render is almost always a street-level view at pedestrian eye height with the neighbouring houses modelled from survey and photography, not a three-quarter marketing angle floating on white. Where the site is in a character or heritage area, that view is the one that decides the application.

Renders that satisfy the planning pathway as well as the campaign

Townhouse and duplex schemes are assessed against standards that care about specific, visible things: how the building meets the street, the depth and usability of private open space, overshadowing of neighbours, and whether the upper level is set back enough to avoid overlooking. A render produced for marketing will usually flatter every one of those. A render produced for the application has to show them accurately.

We produce both from the same model rather than charging for two projects. Tell us at briefing which images are heading into an application and we build those to planning standard, with realistic camera heights, neighbouring buildings at their true bulk, and landscaping shown at the maturity it will actually be at handover rather than in thirty years. Our guide to 3D rendering from house plans explains which drawings to send for each of those views.

The briefing guide covers how to flag which images are heading into an application, and the turnaround guide shows how a lodgement date translates into a delivery date for the set.

Why one model matters on this project type

Townhouse rendering generates more imagery than any other residential type, and it generates it in waves: planning first, then the launch, then facade or colour variants when a type is not selling, then floor plans when the portals need them. Building the scheme once and drawing everything from that model keeps the cost of each later wave low and, more importantly, keeps the brochure, the hoarding and the listing showing the same building.

It also means a change made late, a roof form revised at planning, a colour scheme dropped, updates every image rather than orphaning the ones already produced.