Fort Collins Water Storage Tank Photosimulations City of Fort Collins, Fort Collins, Colorado. A new 2 million gallon (2MG) water storage facility was under design for the City of Fort Collins Water Utilities in Colorado. The new facility called for a large semi buried concrete tank to replace a smaller aged above ground tank. Public reaction to the project was a concern. POITRA was contracted to make an illustration the new design. The illustration would be used by the project team to garner comments from stakeholders that included area residents and travelers on the nearby local highway. The above ground tank was abandoned and scheduled for removal. The new tank was to be located farther up the hill towards the center of the ridge and partially buried to help minimize view impacts. The existing access road also needed to be extended up the slope to the new tank site.

Take a closer look! POITRA sometimes uses 3D modeling in difficult natural locations to help in accurately determing visibility. (click to magnify).

2. Photosimulation of Proposed 2MG Water Storage Tank: New tank in place featuring new cuts and fills of the extended access road.

Photosimulations 2 1 E Mouse-over images above to toggle between the existing photo and the photosimulations.

POITRA modelers created a site model from the Engineer's plans that included the new tank, the existing and proposed terrain around the new tank site, and the extended access road. The tank and site model was view matched to the base photograph to help locate the somewhat subtle changes to landscape. The model was rendered in four false colors to identify the new tank, unaffected ground, new fill slopes and new cut slopes. The Engineer provided photograph was modified by POITRA artists to remove the old tank and add the new using traditional digital painting techniques. The minimal prtion of the new tank that was above ground was painted brown and became nearly invisible. The proposed cuts and fills were also placed using the false color model rendering as a guide. The photosimulation was used to present the proposed water tank design to the public to prompt discussion regarding the potential visual impacts of the facility.

Take a Closer Look! POITRA graphic artists can help any project by creating stunning professional settings for your project information (click to magnify).

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