Nicholson Nairn and Peter Stott
Aykley Heads, Durham
Planning visualisations, accurate verified views, photomontage, site photography
April 2024
Drag the handle to compare the existing site with the proposal.
A planning application lives or dies on whether officers and neighbours can picture the scheme in its setting. For this project at Aykley Heads in Durham, we worked with Nicholson Nairn and Peter Stott to show how the proposed building would sit in its existing street.
We visited the site and photographed it at the times of day that mattered, paying close attention to the direction of the sun. That keeps the light in our CGI true to what people will see on the street. We also photographed the existing building in detail, so we could build accurate textures and blend the render cleanly into the existing photographs.
The viewpoints were not surveyed, so we worked as close as we possibly could to the initial camera positions. The result is very close to an accurate representation of the proposal. Swipe between each pair to see how closely the render lines up with the photograph.
Planning visuals have to stand up to scrutiny. These are the things we check on every scheme, and we will tell you plainly where the site limits what we can do.
We visit at the times of day and sun angles that matter, so shadows and daylight in the CGI match the real street.
We record the existing materials and detail, so the proposal blends into the photographs rather than looking pasted on.
Where we can survey the camera position, we do. Where we cannot, we match the brief as closely as the site allows and say so.
Every view comes with a swipe, so officers, neighbours and the design team can compare the existing site and the proposal directly.
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