Visualization by 100CGI Studio for a private client: The Ormond Foundry, a century-old industrial building in Dublin converted into an 800 sq m corporate headquarters. Twelve stills were delivered in 15 days.

The brief was to sell the contrast rather than smooth it away. Old brick and new glass meet along a visible seam, and that seam is the selling point of the conversion.

Everything in the scheme answers to the exposed red brick, and old Dublin brick is the hardest thing in the room to render: rough, light-absorbing, the opposite of the crisp glass standing in front of it. Three surfaces had to read at once, matte brick, sharp reflections on black-framed partitions, and the soft nap of upholstery. Get one wrong and the image stops being believed.

The cameras were set for bright overcast rather than hard sun. Sun would have over-dramatized the brick and crushed the shadows in the meeting rooms, while soft northern light lets every material read true. Faking a Mediterranean afternoon is how a client ends up wondering why the finished office looks flatter than the pictures. The move that ties the two halves together is a simple one: the brick stays visible straight through the glass partitions.

Rendered in 3ds Max and Corona. Full case study: The Ormond Foundry.