An animated video of how Coquitlam's busy Pinetree Way may look when the Evergreen Line opens is available for viewing online.
The fly-over view of Pinetree, which next spring will start to undergo a $14-million overhaul to prepare for the rapid transit line coming in the summer of 2016, was made by ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. The 3D visualization work, which can be seen at coquitlam.ca/pinetreeway, is an artist's interpretation of Pinetree, from the Evergreen terminus near Town Centre Boulevard to the Lougheed/Barnet intersection.
ISL specialist Arthur Chin said the video gives several angles, meandering from the bird's eye view above the Evergreen guideway to street level. And it focuses on a few new features to come for streetscaping (for example, light columns, wider sidewalks and plantings).
It took about seven weeks to complete the three-minute long animation and two 3D visualization experts as well as city project managers, landscape architects and designers were involved in its production.
Photos were used to recreate landmarks around Pinetree, and city staff provided a general massing model for population estimates. The ISL team then set a path for the cameras to fly through the model, setting the computer network to render 4,300 frames that were compiled to complete the video, Chin said.
"One challenge with creating this video was modelling the amount of ground-level detail in 3D as the majority of the video would be shown from a pedestrian eye level," he said. "If the entire video were shown from an elevated perspective, there would be less emphasis on creating all the smaller details on the ground as they would not be visible."
Chin said 3D visualization videos can help the public better understand the engineering design in an easy format. As well, they can help designers make modifications after seeing them in a fuller context, with the surrounding environment. Promotion and marketing also can play a part in their use.
ISL creates up to 10 videos a year of proposed infrastructure projects for western Canadian developers, municipalities, private corporations and provincial ministries. Recently, it worked with the city of Red Deer to fine-tune its 2019 Canada Winter Games bid, which it won.
