What Are Verified Views and When Are They Required?

It has three ingredients: a photograph of the site as it is today, the project's 3D model and survey-measured reference points that allow the model to be fitted to the photo. Then it is checked that what you see matches what was measured.

Hence the word "verified": the image can be checked against data, not just looked at. It can be accompanied by a methodology document explaining how it was produced.

When looking at one, pay attention to four things:

• The background photograph. It is the real site, not a recreated scene.
• The superimposed project. It appears where it will go and with the project's dimensions.
• The viewpoint. The same building looks different from another corner, which is why it matters where the photo was taken from.
• The level of representation. How much of the project is shown, from the outline to the photorealistic rendering (see below).

Four differences to avoid confusing them:

• Purpose. A marketing rendering seeks the most attractive image; a verified view, the most faithful.
• Creative leeway. In marketing you can choose the time of day, the light and the mood that best serve the project; a verified view sticks to what was measured.
• Viewpoint. A rendering seeks the most favorable framing; in a verified view the viewpoints are agreed between your planning consultant and the local authority.
• Backing. A verified view can be accompanied by a methodology document; a marketing rendering does not come with one.

That is why a marketing image is never presented as a verified view, or the other way around.

They are required within a planning application when it is necessary to assess how the project affects what can be seen from its surroundings. That is why you will see them linked to visual impact studies: the TVIA, for urban settings, and the LVIA, for landscape.

In London, the London View Management Framework (LVMF) protects certain views. If your project affects any of them, your planning consultant will tell you which images and which analysis are required.

A marketing rendering can accompany the Design and Access Statement, but that does not make it a verified view. If you are unsure whether your application requires one, your consultant has the answer.

The same view can be drawn with more or less detail: as an outline of the building (wireline), as an unfinished volume (massing) or as a photorealistic rendering with materials. Each level shows more: the outline marks how far the building reaches, the volume adds its mass and the rendering with materials also shows what it would look like.

Which one is required is set by the local authority or your planning consultant, not the studio. It is worth asking before you request a quote.

The work is shared among several parties, and it helps to know who does what:

• The local authority. It assesses the application and, depending on the site and the project, may require verified views.
• Your planning consultant. They tell you which views the application needs and at what level; the viewpoints are agreed between them and the local authority.
• The surveyor. They provide the measured data of the site; if it does not exist, the studio can take care of the survey.
• The studio. It photographs the site or works with your team's photos, places the model, checks that it matches and delivers the images.
• Afterward, if you wish, marketing images from the same model, always presented as what they are.

Once you know how many views are required, from where, at what level and by what date, the next step is to write to us. This service has no standard schedule: it is defined with each application.

The verified views service, with its steps and what we need

Send us your drawings or your model and a short description. Within 24 business hours you receive a fixed-price proposal.

Request a proposal