Creating Reality with Imagination

BSide specializes in next-generation architectural visualization; from audio-visual elements to even virtual reality, it’s about going beyond reality. By Priyal Sood

Based in Barcelona, Spain, and founded by Aleix Gimeno, Marc Albiol, and Pol Lupon in 2018, Bside Visuals demonstrate the awe-inspiring versatility of architectural visualization through their unique approach and audio-visual skills that communicate and transmit a design from “hypothetical” to “reality”. It is their one-of-a-kind vision, photography knowledge, and creativity that led them to collaborate with professionals in the architecture and design community and create for them avant-garde visuals.

“The image that communicates lingers in our memory. Light, shadow, texture, and color are the tools that combine to communicate the values of architecture through an image,” says Lupon.

Today when we look at the rendering of projects like Loop On – a restaurant in Fuji, PletaArriu; a housing in Spain, or The Israd home in Andorra, it makes us daydream, even if it is just for a moment, and believe in the concept of blissful utopia.

They were born as a new face of the Play-Time company in order to continue creating visual experiences, but outside the sector of large-scale architectural competitions, specializing in the real state, retail, and product sectors. The team of 10 architects, interior designers, and visual artists have produced over 10,000 images and worked with over 600 clients. The goal is the same, says Lupon. To show their spaces. “Our extensive experience in the world of architecture and audiovisual media allows us to face each project with the hope of visualizing it in the best possible way. Light, textures, and color are the tools that we use to value their potential.”

From the very beginning of each collaboration, they make sure to understand what the real needs of their clients are. “Working together with them, we try to find those qualities that best define their proposal and what is the best way to take advantage of them in order to generate the best possible visual experience,” Lupon says. Talking about their design style, he says, “We are always looking for the best way to convey to the observer the sensations that spaces can provide. We try to communicate, not only showing, but transmitting. The images and videos we make always try to go beyond reality.”

“Each project has its own characteristics that make it unique,” he says, speaking about the elements of design. “We believe that it is important to know how to read well what we want to show with each image. What story do we want to tell? With this goal, we use to our advantage our knowledge of photography, painting, and the audiovisual mediums.”

Almost a year ago, they ventured into virtual reality with a new brand they created, together with Xavier Álvaro, called Be Are. “It specializes in creating experiences through Virtual Reality,” Lupon explains. “Using real-time rendering engines, we are able to interact with the virtual world faster, changing materials, testing different lighting setups, or having infinite points of view. After more than a decade making images that show the imaginary, we think that now it’s time to experiment with it.”

There is a sector that is in continuous evolution, after all. “It is important to be aware of the constant changes that are coming. We want to be able to give a better response to the requirements of our clients, creating a more global product that covers all their communication needs.

Our intention is to continue enjoying the opportunity to view tomorrow’s spaces in the best possible way,” he says.