State University of New York Admin Building

The SUNY System Administration Building (State University of New York) is an historical building part of Downtown Albany Historic District, formally known as the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Building.

The middle section of the building has a 13 story tower topped with an eight foot tall weather vane.  The Chancellor of SUNY official residence is in the south tower's top four floors.

The building was built in 1914 and was originally designed by Marcus T. Reynolds.  The design was based on the Nieuwerk annex of the Cloth Hall in Ypres, Belgium.

The building was headquarters for the Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Railroad as well as the Albany Evening Journal newspaper and later was used by other businesses including the predecessor of  the New York State Department of Transportation.

It sat dormant after the D&H Railroad and Evening Journal abandoned the building and remained that way until 1972 when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also purchased by the State University of New York as their central Administration Building.

Perspective Rendering by XR3D Studios

In 2012, XR3D Studios was commissioned by SUNY to create an Architectural Animation of some new additions and a newly landscaped plaza in front of the building as seen below:

The SUNY Administration Building will continue to be preserved and remain an historical icon under the National Register of Historic Places and the State University of New York.

Architectural Renderings

An Architectural Rendering is an artist's illustration of a specific architectural structure, or group of structures.  Architectural Renderings are as old as architecture itself.  In the past, Architectural Renderings were created from paints, oils, pencil, and many other mediums.  They were used to help others visualize what the new architecture would look like before it was ever constructed.

Today, the old mediums are still used, however, technology has allowed us to use computers to generate 3D models and render those models with textures and lighting, creating a much more photo-realistic image than could be produced before.

Other advantages include the ability to make changes to the image with little effort.  The 3D models can also be animated along with camera paths, allowing one to experience a simulated virtual tour, or walk through experience as if one were to take a camera through the finished project long before the project is even started.

The following is an example of a virtual tour animation video:

Virtual Tour Animation has become very popular among competing architecture firms and construction and development companies, especially when going to bid new projects.

Architectural Renderings are primarily used for marketing and presentation in the following ways:

1.  Pre-construction sales of future projects
2.  Bid Presentation
3.  Investment Presentation for fund raising
4.  Design Visualization for customers and planning authorities

As technology continues to progress, the methods we use to produce Architectural Renderings and Architectural Visualization will undoubtedly progress as well.