Easy-to-use viz plug-in now available in Early Access for Sketchup, with Revit, Rhino and Archicad to follow
Lumion has unveiled Lumion View, a new visualisation plug-in that allows architects to visualize their projects in a path-traced real-time viewport without having to leave their primary modelling environment.
The software is billed as an early-stage design companion, purpose-built for design exploration by delivering live rendered feedback to design choices. Any geometry or material changes that are made in CAD/BIM tool are automatically reflected in the Lumion View window.
“We think of Lumion View as a new viewport to a CAD tool,” says Artur Brzegowy, product manager, Lumion. “It’s like a viewport on steroids. It can help you to make better design decisions, instead of creating a final beautiful render.”
Features include real-time ray tracing, conceptual render styles (clay, wood, Styrofoam, glossy), sun studies, and material adjustments directly within the CAD environment. Users can also ‘quickly produce’ up to 4K renders for sharing visuals with clients. VR walkthroughs and a Mac version are on the roadmap.
Lumion View is currently available in Early Access for SketchUp, but there are plans to expand to Revit later this year, followed by Archicad, Rhino, and other platforms.
Pricing has not yet been announced, but the company has said that Lumion View will be ‘very affordable’ and will also run on ‘much lower grade hardware’ than other viz tools.
Lumion View is positioned as a complementary solution to Lumion Pro, which will continue to be Lumion’s ‘high-quality, high-end visualisation platform for the architecture community.’
Lumion Pro subscribers get free access to Lumion View, and for every Lumion Pro seat, up to 10 team members can be invited to use Lumion View—at no extra cost — until October 31, 2025.
