1 · The brief, in one breath
Studio M+Co rang us up wanting visuals that could walk into a city-council chamber and do the talking for them. Seven hero images, two feedback rounds, one… frankly ridiculous… week. Challenge accepted.
2 · What hit our inbox
- A tidy 2D drawing set — plans, elevations, site (still smelled of plotter ink)
- One stubborn brick chip — clay-red, low-sheen, “non-negotiable, folks”
- Mood board of civic buildings that aged well (think: no trendy gimmicks)
- Soft-scape palette — tufted grasses, easy shrubs, zero-maintenance vibes
- A phone–snapped site photo so we could nail the actual sun angle, not guesswork
3 · White-model pass → Are we on the same page?
Before anyone argued over brick tone, we built a clay-white model and fired off three views:
1. Cantilevered entry
2. Central courtyard
3. Winter-plaza massing
We got back a casual: “lower the camera by half a step, widen the path two metres.” Ten-minute tweak. That tiny detour saved us hours later.
4 · Skin, light, life
Now the fun bit. Brick dialed to that chip, glazing nudged until reflections felt honest (not mirror-glass Vegas showtime). We lit three moods:
- Clear AM — crisp lines, morning bustl
- Blue-hour glow — the building says “come on in” after work
- Even overcast — for the review board that hates dramatic shadows
Then we sprinkled people doing ordinary things: kid nagging a parent, a couple debating which entrance to take, a lone yogi rolling up a mat. Real life, not stock-pose mannequins.
5 · Moments worth bragging about
- Dusk render stole the meeting — a board member whispered, “That’s a postcard.”
- Snow scene ticked the planner box: “Show me it works in February.”
- Overcast set… boring but necessary — proved the massing without glamour lighting.
6 · Where the images went & why it mattered
Channel
- Stakeholder deck
- Town-hall posters
- Studio M+Co site
- Planning docs
Result
- Unanimous thumbs-up (zero follow-up questions — rare)
- Residents warmed up to the project before a shovel hit dirt.
- New headline project; leads bumped the very next week.
- Fast-tracked sign-off — paperwork that usually drags for months.
7 · Quick reflection
Show the naked geometry first, earn trust early, then dress it up and let people imagine life inside. That’s the trick. In a week we moved a sketch closer to reality — one frame, one little course-correction, at a time. And honestly? That feeling never gets old.