As the lead creative technologist, I spearheaded The Wonderer's digital transformation through development of an immersive brand presence, enabling stakeholders to visualize and engage with Charleston's premier private membership club through cutting-edge 3D animations, interactive VR experiences, and strategic content deployment across web and social platforms.
Crafting an Urban Oasis through Digital Innovation
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My Role
Lead Creative Technologist & Visualization Specialist
Team
1 Creative Technologist (Myself)
1 Architecture Firm
1 Project Owner (Beau Burns)
Design Timeline
3 weeks (First Renderings 2017)
4 weeks (Latest Renderings 2019)
This is an aerial image of The Wonderer in Charleston, SC
Charleston's private club landscape lacked a space that truly unified work, wellness, and social connection in an elevated setting. Traditional membership venues offered either business or leisure amenities, but rarely both, and often failed to create an authentic sense of community.
When I joined The Wonderer's development team, I recognized an opportunity to revolutionize how members experience an urban retreat through innovative digital storytelling. The challenge was conveying an ambitious vision that didn't yet physically exist to both potential investors and future members.
Working directly with owner Beau Burns over two years, I revolutionized the project's digital presence, transforming complex architectural concepts into compelling experiences that drove both investor engagement and membership acquisition. Despite budget constraints, I demonstrated that powerful and meaningful design solutions were achievable through innovative visualization techniques.
How might we help stakeholders visualize and connect with a revolutionary space that blends work and wellness?
What will inspire confidence in both investors and prospective members?
Development projects typically relied on basic renderings and traditional marketing materials but lacked immersive experiences that could truly convey the atmospheric and lifestyle elements of the space. We needed to deeply understand both investor and member expectations to create compelling digital experiences that would drive engagement and support.
The Wonderer aimed to create Charleston's first urban oasis combining luxury workspace, wellness facilities, and social venues, requiring innovative visualization solutions to communicate this unique vision to investors and future members.
Core Objectives
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Create compelling digital experiences that drove investment confidence
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Develop immersive visualizations showcasing the blend of work and wellness
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Design scalable visual content for multiple platforms and audiences
Project Stakeholders
Internal
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Owner
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Investors
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Architecture Team
External
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Potential Investors
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Future Members
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Charleston Business Community
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Event Planning Partners
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Scroll through these 360 panaroma renderings I developed for this project
This is the investment website and cover rendering I developed for The Wonderer
Balancing Diverse Stakeholder Needs to sell an Urban Oasis
Like many ambitious developments, this project required solving for multiple stakeholder groups with distinct but interconnecting needs:
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The investors needed clear visualization of potential returns and compelling proof of concept for a novel membership model.
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The wellness-focused members required seamless integration of work and fitness amenities within an elevated atmosphere.
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The social members wanted sophisticated spaces for networking and entertainment that maintained an exclusive feel.
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The event clients needed versatile, photo-worthy venues that could accommodate both intimate gatherings and large celebrations.
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Additionally, owner Beau Burns wanted to maximize the project's visual impact to attract both investors during development and members upon completion.
User-Centered Approach
Digital Visualization Process Mirrors Strategic Brand Development
My visualization process aligns with strategic brand development: from stakeholder research and market analysis to understand engagement patterns, through creating compelling visual narratives that drive investment, to iterative content development and audience feedback. Like crafting the journey from initial investor pitch to member acquisition, I apply systematic storytelling to create immersive experiences that effectively connect with diverse stakeholder groups.
Dicovery & Research
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I worked with the owner to understand investment priorities and membership expectations
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Analyzed competitive landscape through Charleston's private club market
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Researched successful membership models and engagement patterns
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Created journey maps for investor and member touchpoints when developing the visualizations
Content Implementation
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Iterative design process with continuous owner feedback
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Strategic collaboration with project architects
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Content optimization for multiple platforms
Technical Execution
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Produced high-fidelity 3D animations of key spaces
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Developed interactive VR experiences for immersive presentations
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Created responsive web designs for investor and member portals
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Generated social media content suite for ongoing engagement
This is an aerial rendering I created of the pool and main building
This is a rendering I created of the bar & restaurant in the secondary building
This is a rendering I created of the entry walkway to the main building
This is a promotional video rendering I created for The Wonderer
From Novice to Pioneer: My Journey in Architectural Visualization
What began as my first venture into architectural visualization for The Wonderer evolved into a transformative two-year journey of technical mastery and creative growth. The initial visualizations, while promising, only scratched the surface of what was possible. After dedicating myself to mastering advanced rendering techniques and 3D modeling, I approached Beau Burns with a bold proposition: to completely reimagine The Wonderer's visual narrative.
Armed with newfound expertise and a clearer vision, I undertook the ambitious task of recreating every visualization from the ground up. The content showcased here represents this complete overhaul - a testament to not only technical growth but also a deeper understanding of how to effectively communicate architectural visions.
Takeaways
The Wonderer has successfully established itself as Charleston's premier luxury pool resort and private membership club, transforming our digital visualizations into physical reality. What began as my first visualization project evolved into a complete portfolio redesign two years later, showcasing my growth in 3D modeling and rendering expertise.
The completed venue now stands as Charleston's urban oasis, featuring its signature Junior Olympic pool, sophisticated event spaces, and thriving membership community. This project not only marked my emergence as a pioneer in architectural visualization but also proved that the courage to revisit and improve one's work can lead to exceptional outcomes that accurately represent the final built environment.
Want to see more?
I am happy to talk through my research and design work of The Wonderer project during a scheduled call.
These are images of The Wonderer completed with owner, Beau Burns, in the middle