Software company Morpholio, which blends virtual hand drafting with virtual reality features in its Trace programs, launched Shadow Maker on March 22. A new feature for the iPhone and iPad app Morpholio Trace, Shadow Maker can place models in their real-world solar conditions. Trace is just one part of the company’s app suite and is intended specifically for sketching and drafting.
With Shadow Maker, architects can draw up a model and see how sunlight would affect it anywhere in the world, at any time of the year, and at any time of day.
“Anyone who has spent time trying to interpret shadows into a drawing knows that it is not always intuitive,” said Morpholio co-founder Anna Kenoff in a press release. “Shadow Maker effortlessly fuses building form, solar location, date and time into one equation for real design representation.”
Shadow Maker features two different modes for evaluating projects. In Map Location mode, users can integrate Apple Maps location data to view their models under in a real-world context.
The other option, Free Mode, allows designers to tweak each parameter independently, adjust shadows, sun positioning, intensity, and other lighting factors to see how changes to the facade, massing, or landscape would be reflected, or just produce higher contrast visuals.
“We think Shadow Maker changes the stakes for drawing. We tried to shift expectations for what a drawing tool could do and how it could become a seamless part of the design process,” added Mark Collins, another Morpholio co-founder “Our mission is to connect the incredible utility of drawing with new opportunities in mobile technology. This tool shows how bringing those together can evolve drawing and empower architects to work smarter.”