Morrisville Immersive 3D Town Center Plan
For the Town of Morrisville, a community in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, the development of a town center had been a major point of contention for nearly 15 years. The Town did not have a traditional “downtown” and despite the community’s desire to create a one, local officials were reluctant to approve any development within the identified bounds of the Town Center for fear of making a mistake that would impact Morrisville for generations.
Town officials engaged Houseal Lavigne to prepare an immersive 3D model of two Town Center development scenarios. To develop the models, the team at Houseal Lavigne knew that Esri CityEngine, with its capacity to both dynamically model environments and perform complex analysis, would be their go to program. With the preferred land use program for the Town Center set, the two development scenarios primarily focused on how parking requirements and building height would affect the design of the site. Starting from the established preferred uses for the site, each scenario explored how development could occur based on local zoning requirements and key market indicators. Working directly with Town staff, Houseal Lavigne produced an immersive 3D walkthrough of the two Town Center scenarios, allowing Town officials and staff the opportunity to toggle between both in a videogame-like environment.
