Scottish visualisation studio ‘bringing multi-billion-dollar developments to life’

In fewer than five years, Float has built a burgeoning international reputation for producing ‘some of the best architectural visualisation work in the business’.

The team at the studio has created hyper-realistic 3D visualisations for renowned international projects including the Qiddiya ‘destination city’ project and the new Murabba in Saudi Arabia, the Riyadh 2030 Strategy, and counts major international companies including AtkinsRéalis, Novotel, AECOM, and BrewDog amongst its growing list of clients.

The Scottish public will be familiar with the Glasgow based studio’s work across a multitude of public realm projects, such as the £150m Aberdeen Beach Masterplan; the £250m Ocean Terminal reimagining in Edinburgh; and the ambitious new Monklands Hospital plan in North Lanarkshire.

The studio’s agility has seen it also popular with property developers and agents including Igloo Regeneration, Summix, and CBRE, where it has developed visualisations for architectural projects across Scotland and the UK, including the high-profile Central Quay proposals in Glasgow.

Float also has a significant presence in the drinks industry, from bespoke bottle design visualisation with the likes of Gordon and Macphail right up to plans for a new South American HQ for one of the world’s biggest beverage brands.

Founder Andy Pennington, a trained architect and self-taught architectural 3D visualisation artist, set up the business following 20 years working at the highest level including spells with visualisation studio Soluis, award-winning interior design studio Graven, and major multinational engineering firm AtkinsRéalis.

He set up the business in 2019 with a view to building a team of the best visualisation artists in the country to help put Scottish 3D visualisation on the global map.

In the time since, Float has grown to a team of six, with a further growth planned later this year, and won the visualisation category at the Scottish Design Awards two years in a row in 2022 and 2023. High-profile hires include visualisation artist Jo Stewart, who was Float’s first team member, and client director Alastair Miller, one of the industry’s most respected figures.

Pennington said: “It sounds very high pressure, having your first piece of work judged by royalty, but the truth is we take the same approach regardless of whether it’s a head of state, local planning department, or a domestic architecture client. The pressure, deadlines, and expectations are the same, and we apply the same standards to every project.

“Those early days were certainly tough, particularly during the pandemic, but it was worth it to deliver work I was truly proud of. It’s now incredibly rewarding to work in a supportive environment surrounded by some of the best talent in the industry with the ability to compete with any visualisation studio anywhere.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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