Hayes Davidson

A London architectural visualisation studio, founded in 1989 and now employee-owned, that creates realistic images and verified views of buildings before they are built.

About Hayes Davidson

Hayes Davidson is a London studio that makes realistic computer images of buildings and places that do not exist yet. Architects and developers use these images to explain a design to clients, planners and the public. The studio is known for verified views, which are accurate images of a proposed building placed into a real photograph of its surroundings, so that planners can judge what it will really look like. It also uses augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and short moving images called cinemagraphs to show schemes to people who cannot read architectural drawings.

The studio was founded in 1989 by Scottish visualiser Alan Davidson after he worked at the Richard Rogers Partnership, and Dezeen described it as the first company dedicated to computer-generated imagery for architecture. In its early days it worked on Apple Macintosh computers. Over the years its images have helped explain well-known London projects before they were finished, including the London Eye, Tate Modern, the Shard and 30 St Mary Axe (the Gherkin). Wikipedia reports that by 2015 the team had produced more than 20,000 images, and the RIBA collected its work in 2002. We could not find a formal mission statement on the pages we read.

Hayes Davidson is based in London. New London Architecture lists its address as 77 Weston Street, London SE1 3RS, near London Bridge. An earlier home, according to Wikipedia, was a converted warehouse in Paddington that the studio moved into in 1997. Its work is mostly for projects in London and the wider UK, so the capital is where most of its people work.

On culture, New London Architecture says the studio has more than 30 staff and is 100 per cent employee-owned. Wikipedia says Davidson led the move to employee ownership in 2015 and links it to values such as partnership, transparency and mutual support, with management shared out rather than held by one boss. These are the studio's own claims and the founder's own words as reported, not something we have checked. Clients have included well-known architects such as Foster, Zaha Hadid, Wilkinson Eyre, Kengo Kuma and Heatherwick.

The roles in a studio like this are mainly 3D artists who build and light models, people who produce verified views, animators and film makers, project managers who work with architects and planners, and the support team that keeps a studio running. If you like art, computing, photography or architecture and enjoy making things look real, this is the kind of place where those interests turn into a job. We have not covered hiring routes here; the studio's own website is the place to check for current openings.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Accurate images of proposed buildings placed into real photographs, used to support planning applications.', 'title': 'Verified views'}
• {'desc': 'Realistic stills and animations that show a design to clients, planners and the public.', 'title': 'Architectural CGI and film'}
• {'desc': 'Immersive ways to experience a proposed scheme before it is built.', 'title': 'AR, VR and cinemagraphs'}

Key facts

• Founded in London in 1989 by Alan Davidson; described by Dezeen as the first company dedicated to CGI for architecture
• More than 30 staff and 100 per cent employee-owned (New London Architecture)
• Images produced for London projects including the London Eye, Tate Modern, the Shard and the Gherkin
• Based at 77 Weston Street, London SE1 3RS (New London Architecture)

Website: www.hayesdavidson.com