VSFX 768 - Photo-realistic Modeling

CG Hard Surface Model - Famous Architectural Facade - The Getty Center, Los Angeles

Project Summary:
Using any modeling techniques, create a model of a famous architectural facade. It need not be built in the round or in it's entirety so long as the most visible portions are complete. Emphasis should be on reliable photo references and generating the surface via modeling instead of bump or displacement maps, except where they make more sense.

Results:
Click on the image to the right to see an animation of the finished model.

Wireframe

On my recent trip to LA for Siggraph 2010 a friend took me to the Getty Center. Anyone who has ever visited will understand when I say that I was struck by the compound. It is a truly breathtaking campus set atop the hills of LA that combines stunningly beautiful architecture with expansive views of most of southern California. I made as many mental notes of the space as I could (since I didn't have the prescience to bring a camera) and began amassing reference images as soon as I returned. I decided on the main approach to the lobby just beyond the tram stop since it is the bit any visitor would see. Though there are numerous photos of the compound, it's front entrance is surprisingly sparse on photos; I'm sure in part due to the fact that the sides of it are rather inaccessible either by design or by nature. Google satellite images provided layout and numerous tourist photos helped me determine scale and dimension. Though monumental in scope, I still tried to model down to as accurate a scale as I could as seen in the wireframe of the stairs below.

Occlusion Renders