Recreating Ieoh Ming Pei’s iconic building in 3D

This particular project was aiming for the 3D modeling of an iconic chapel from the early 60s. Its shape and feel represented somewhat of a challenge for me, wondering how I could try to recreate that kind of geometry.

As for my other projects, it was also a way to better understand the space and the way it was designed, while also learning and improving on both modeling and redering software : 3dsmax to model, Unreal Engine to render animations.

The impulse of the project

While glancing through the works of the great Ieoh Ming Pei, mostly known for the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, I came upon a particular project of his, a chapel he worked on early in his career : the Luce Chapel.

The shape was something out of a fantasy movie production design, especially the inside, with very high walls, twisting and stretching towards the sky, hovering above a very unique kind of space. Religious architecture tends to do that, all the more with a very skilled architect designing it.

Right then I thought to myself that I wanted to learn how to draw something like that, and to go deeper into the studying of that chapel’s design. A few days of work later, with a lot of trials and error, I ended up on a result that was satisfying enough, in terms of geometry mostly.

This means, if one day, I get inspired enough to imagine shapes as ‘complexe’ for any given project, I’d have the necessary tools to create them in the machine, which was the goal all along, besides learning abouth the details of the making of this project in real life.

Final results in 3dsmax + Vray

I did put the 3D model file, in max format, as well as an fbx and an obj exports, for free on my CG trader profile. You can grab it there, along with any other models I uploaded :

https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-models/exterior/landmark/luce-chapel-im-pei

Final results in Unreal Engine 5

After modeling the building in 3dsmax, which was hard enough when you’re still figuring out the software, I wanted to get back into the rendering capabilities of Unreal Engine.

In terms of animation, texturing real time, foliage and tree assets, it was close to the best I could hope for, with ressources like Quixel Bridge and Megascans Library, all completely free. The render speed was a bonus when comparing it to Vray in 3dsmax, especially when it came to animation.

Here’s what I ended up with as far as I could push it (at one point you can get sick of one project when you’re on it all the time) :

Making Of the Luce Chapel 3D model

Step-by-step summary :

1. Setting the objective
2. Making a reference image library with Pureref
3. Drawing the 2D base in Autocad
4. 3dsmax file : tryouts for losange shaped walls
5. 3dsmax : modeling and correcting using edit poly modifiers
6. 3dsmax : finally positionning the walls and adjusting them with FFD 3x3x3 boxes
7. 3dsmax: modeling the rest of the building : windows, ground, stairs
8. Export to Unreal Engine via Datasmith plugin
9. Texture materials and cameras set up in Unreal Engine
10. Sequencer set up with different level sequences : png exports
11. Final video render in Unreal Engine (after going through DaVinci Resolve)

Video Recap

After a few animation exports in png sequences to DaVinci resolve (also free), then exported as video formats and cut together in another software.

About the Luce Chapel

Conception

This project was close to the first personal commission taht Pei got as a 39 years old architect. Financed by the Luce foundation, the project included the Taichung University, which the Chapel was a part of on the far end of the campus, also designed by Pei and his team. Chen Chi-Kwan, a Taiwanese artist-architect, was part of that team and deserves a good part of the credit for the design and construction supervision of the operation

Made to host around 500 people, the Chapel is based on an hexagonal base plan, 4 concrete walls, waffle slab pattern thickening from top to bottom, following the hyperbolic paraboloids shapes at 20m height.

The building had both yellow tiles on the outside (which I could not recreate properly) reminiscent of the Forbidden City roofs, and the vertical expression of a gothic cathedral.

Construction

Massive bamboo scaffoldings, 2 monthes of pouring concrete off a gigantic wood structure, made by 25 local carpenters. 30 pages of unprecedented structure calculus, on paper (no computer), by Heon-San Fong, gave enough confidence to build the whole thing.

Sources

Conclusion

Here’s where I’m leaving this project before moving on to something else. Hope you’ll enjoy it and take something from this post. If you have any question feel free to leave them in the comments.

It’s a long way to get used to all the modeling and redering software that’s there for architecture, so we might as well learn about the models while learning how to model.

See you on the next one,