Barks and Board Pet Resort — Case Study
Reception lobby of Barks and Board pet facility. Navy blue/dark blue color scheme with paw print decals on walls, arched product shelving, curved reception counter, illuminated logo on wood feature wa
Client
Kahn Architects
Industry
Retail & Showroom Design
Objective
Design visualization and marketing collateral for a retail & showroom design project in Asheville, NC
Deliverables
7 photorealistic interior renders across eye-level frontal, three-quarter perspective, wide-angle elevated, one-point perspective (corridor view into suite), elevated wide-angle viewpoints
Project Overview
This is one of those projects where the visualization had to work as hard as the design itself. Barks and Board Pet Resort came to us when the Kahn Architects needed images that could move a retail & showroom design project through approvals, into marketing, and onto investors’ desks — all at once.
The Challenge
The challenges here were layered. Some were technical, some were practical, and some came down to managing expectations across multiple stakeholders who each wanted the renders to do something slightly different.
Environmental context was critical. This project doesn’t exist on a white background — it sits in a real place with real neighbours, real vegetation, real light. Getting that wrong would make even perfect architecture look like a toy model.
Consistency across the full gallery was essential. When someone flips through all the images, they should feel like they’re walking through one coherent place — not looking at renders made by different people on different days.
The design had details that only become visible at close range — joinery, hardware, texture variation. These details are exactly what separates a good render from a great one, and the Kahn Architects knew it.
Our Approach
Post-production was intentional and restrained — subtle atmospheric haze, corrected colour temperature, refined contrast. The goal was always to enhance realism, not to fabricate it.
Landscape and context modelling happened in parallel with the architecture. Trees, ground cover, street furniture, and sky were all custom-built for this project’s specific location and character.
The 3D model was built methodically from architectural plans, elevations, and sections. We cross-referenced everything to catch discrepancies that could show up as visual errors in the final renders.
Material development was a dedicated phase, not an afterthought. We sourced or created every texture to match the specification documents, testing each one under the project’s target lighting conditions before locking it in.
Camera positions were proposed based on what the architecture does best — the moments where form, material, and light come together most compellingly. We presented grey-shaded compositions for approval before adding materials and entourage.
The Result
What started as a visualization brief became the foundation of the project’s brand identity. The renders are the first thing anyone sees when they encounter Barks and Board Pet Resort — and they’re designed to make that first impression count.
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