Employee Spotlight: Christopher Powers

The owner and founder of MaxWave3D, Chris Powers, has always been enamored with computers and architectural visualization. “As far back as the third grade, I wrote in my journal that I dreamed of working at Industrial Light & Magic creating special effects,” Chris recalls of the iconic company founded by George Lucas in 1975.

Beyond Childhood Curiosity

Not content with just sketching imagery, Chris taught himself how to use AutoCAD. He honed his skills in high school by joining the Architectural Explorers of America, a then off-shoot of the Boy Scouts of America. He entered design competitions and quickly found work doing animations for a local architect. 

In college, Chris was instrumental in creating a lab for students and graduate students where they could learn AutoCAD, 3D animations and more.  After earning his degree in engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University,  Chris was offered a job doing digital 3D presentations and architectural visualizations for a civil engineering firm. 

He recalls one instance when his company was bidding for a $900 million contract on a new highway. Chris created a 3D animated fly-through of the highway, even spotting a few errors in design and engineering in the process. “We were presenting last. After other contractors put away their easels and drawings, the lights came down and we showed our presentation. We were awarded the project right away,” Chris recalls. “That showed the power of 3D animation.”

The Start of MaxWave3D

After a few years of working for AutoDesk as a reseller as well as improving the software at the company, Chris returned to the Atlanta area to form an animation studio with an old friend. One of their first projects was producing architectural visualizations for a master-planned, $64 million square hectometer site of 800 buildings in Dubai that could be seen from space. 

Since then, 20 years have flown by and MaxWave3D has become a favorite of developers, architects, interior designers, landscape designers and even product manufacturers and movie studios. MaxWave3D has carved out a reputation for cutting-edge 3D renderings, animated videos and virtual reality tours. Clients have learned that it’s far easier to earn the trust of investors, lenders, zoning boards and other stakeholders when a project can be illustrated to life-like perfection.

Architectural Visualizations On Time and On Budget

Thankfully, the clients of MaxWave3D are also coming to them sooner rather than later, learning that involving the team at MaxWave3D ultimately saves them time. “There’s never enough time for everyone involved on projects of this scale. If you sit on a design too long, chewing on it, you start burning daylight. But we have never missed a deadline in our 20 years in business. Not once. I am really proud of that.”

To learn more about Chris and MaxWave3D, contact the company to schedule a consultation.