Grid for Architects - The Key Story

In the process of bidding for contracts, architects produce 3D mock-ups of proposed designs. The rendering of these designs into photo-realistic animations or still images requires large amounts of computing power, which is only required for short periods of time (normally immediately prior to the submission of bids).

Grid computing service providers allow customers to use computing resources on demand, removing the need for architects’ offices to invest in expensive hardware that lies dormant for most of the time.

BE03 have developed a web portal application which provides user with a simple interface for submitting rendering jobs to a Grid. Behind the scenes, the portal does all the hard work of locating resources and deploying the rendering software.

CETIC are in the process of rolling out a service to architects' offices, which exploits both the Grid for Architects software and existing HPC resources purchased by architects.