Hyper-realism and loose-reality: the limitations of digital realism and alternative principles in landscape design visualization

Despite on-going advances in digital visualization technologies, the messy complexity of the corporeal landscape remains a challenging subject to represent. Nevertheless, realism-oriented rendering software developed in other fields drives an escalating supply and demand for hyper-realistic visualizations of design propositions. Through the lenses of perception, technology, technique, practice, and education, this paper argues that the limitations associated with hyper-realism in landscape design visualization are profound. In its place, the paper frames an adaptable visualization rubric that is more suited to the varied nuances of the landscape, while also complementing the intermediate skills of many designers who undertake landscape visualization.