This project was intended to serve as the fulfillment of the requirement for a viewshed exhibit showing the placement of a new solar collection facility relative to a historic road which currently overlooks and approaches the site. As no site imagery was available from the client or online, site photographs were taken. these will later serve as the background for the composite images. From the topography plans, the site was modeled to within a few inches of the surveyed contours. This will be essential in aligning the model with the site photographs.
A simple model of the typical solar array was constructed and these were first arranged over a flat plan then adjusted vertically to intersect the modeled terrain. Posts on each set of panels ensure that the panels are each aligned with the ground plane properly. The resulting panels roll and dip in response to the terrain below and are accurately depicted in both plan and height, based on the provided information.
The presentation required two images, one from atop the hill, the other from the intersection adjacent to the site. Model trees and a fence were added to form a landscape buffer. As the point of the exercise was to show that the panels are largely obscured by the proposed landscape, the final images downplay the impact of proposed facility while still depicting it accurately.
The Key Plan, prepared along with the exhibit, shows from where each view is taken and also hints at the scale of the field of panels beyond the landscaping and fence. While not part of the exhibit, a video clip illustrates how the view is effectively blocked at eye level, though not from above. It also shows detail of the panels and site not apparent in the primary views. (Click below to view video.)
