Time was when architecture was even more of a mystery than it is now. To envisage what a building would look like you had to understand plan drawings presented by an architect - or at least pretend to. Gradually, though, 3D computer images of proposed buildings are becoming the norm. Planning authorities increasingly expect them, those who buy property off plans will be given an image of the finished building, and competition entries from architects are often virtual realities of their proposed schemes. "Once one firm decides to present a project in a sophisticated way, it ups the ante for everyone else," says David Murphy of Modelworks, which specialises in architectural models and computer images. "For instance, because large developers are in competition with each other they have to keep up with the technology. The buying public will visit more than one marketing suite in a day and they will be influenced by the packaging." Developers will often pay €30,000 to €40,000 for this, although prices start at around €2,000 for a simple image.
