--- title: "Mallol Case Study | Gendo" url: https://gendo.ai/resources/stories/mallol description: "How Design 3D Studio, Mallol's in-house visualisation studio in Panama, places designs in their real urban context without rebuilding the surroundings, sa…" lang: en --- Back to Resources (https://gendo.ai/resources) Story Featured # Mallol: Real Context, Consistent Architecture, Earlier Decisions How Design 3D Studio, Mallol's in-house visualisation studio in Panama, places designs in their real urban context without rebuilding the surroundings, saving up to 80% of production time on some images. Up to 80% Time saved on some images 15+ Gendo users at Mallol Multiple Atmospheres from a single base image Image: Mallol project rendered with Gendo (https://gendo.ai/_assets/marketing/mallol-side-night.jpg) Image: Mallol (https://gendo.ai/_assets/marketing/mallol-logo.png) About the practice ## Mallol Location Panama, working across Latin America Team 230–255 architects Discipline Architecture, interior design and urbanism Sectors Residential, commercial, institutional, hospitality, healthcare, cultural and urban-scale Clients Private developers, corporations, institutions and public-sector organisations Mallol is an architecture, interior design and urbanism practice based in Panama, with more than 45 years of experience across Latin America. Its multidisciplinary structure brings together specialised design studios and technical teams throughout the development of a project. Within the practice, Design 3D Studio is the in-house visualisation studio, working closely with design teams such as Community Studio from early concept development through client presentations. Visualisation becomes a tool to test ideas, communicate design intent and support decisions throughout the process. > "At a time when many AI tools were emerging, it stood out for understanding the architectural process behind the image, from preserving design intent to working with context and iteration." > > — Humberto Serrud Live canvas ## Explore the Mallol canvas The working canvas behind BLUR, where context, iterations and atmospheres sit side by side. Open in New Tab: https://gendo.ai/app/project/0436e034-5567-451c-a896-93f3bd440b4b Image: Humberto Serrud (https://gendo.ai/_assets/marketing/humberto-serrud.jpg) Image: Jean Alvarado (https://gendo.ai/_assets/marketing/jean-alvarado.jpg) The voice behind this story ### Meet Humberto Serrud & Jean Alvarado Design 3D Studio Director, Mallol · 3D Designer, Mallol > "Images can now enter the conversation while design decisions are still open." The challenge ## A gap between the speed of design and the speed of visualisation At the moment architects and clients most needed to compare ideas, imagery could still require substantial modelling and post-production. This reduced the number of alternatives that could realistically be visualised, and could delay conversations around materials, views, atmosphere and the project's relationship with its surroundings. The solution ## Built by architects, for architects What caught the team's attention was that Gendo was built by architects, for architects. The aim was not simply to produce images faster, but to test how a project responds to its real surroundings while ideas are still developing, before committing to a fully resolved visualisation workflow. "The ability to test multiple design iterations quickly while keeping the architecture and context consistent. It made comparisons more reliable." On BLUR, Community Studio and Design 3D Studio were able to test and communicate ideas more quickly, while Design 3D Studio maintained the visual direction and architectural consistency needed across iterations. Context ## Bringing in the real context Representing the real urban context accurately used to mean manually recreating surrounding buildings, streetscape and site elements to produce a convincing image. It took considerable time for context that was necessary to communicate the project, but was not part of the design itself. Working from real contextual references in Gendo, Design 3D Studio keeps the architecture consistent while placing it in a recognisable setting, without modelling the whole environment. Image: Pedestrian access to the BLUR tower among mature trees, visualised by Mallol Design 3D Studio (https://gendo.ai/_assets/marketing/mallol-pedestrian-access.jpg) Pedestrian access on BLUR, shown within its street context. Interior and exterior ## Reading the interior proposal from outward-facing views Clients want to see how the designed interior reads from balconies and outward-looking perspectives, while keeping a believable relationship with the exterior. That was a recurring challenge before Gendo. On BLUR, Community Studio worked alongside Design 3D Studio to develop visuals that could communicate the interior design proposal within the project's real urban context. Design 3D Studio maintained consistency between the architecture, the interior design and the exterior context, producing more credible visuals earlier in the process. > "When they can see the project within a recognisable setting, the conversation becomes more direct and decisions can be made with greater confidence." Image: Night interior of a BLUR apartment looking out over the Panama City skyline (https://gendo.ai/_assets/marketing/mallol-apartment-night.jpg) Apartment interior at night, with the city context visible through the glazing. Atmosphere ## Rain, night and blue hour from a single base image Testing multiple design iterations while keeping architecture and context consistent made comparisons more reliable. The same base image can be taken into different atmospheres, such as rain, night or blue hour. That turns imagery into a decision-making tool rather than only a final presentation output. > "Gendo made it easier to explore visual directions without adding the usual production load behind each variation. That gave us more freedom to test mood, lighting and atmosphere before deciding which image to develop further." Image: Front exterior of BLUR at blue hour after rain (https://gendo.ai/_assets/marketing/mallol-exterior-front.jpg) Front entrance at blue hour after rain, one of several atmosphere variations. Skyline ## The full tower, read against the city Clients respond to seeing a project within a recognisable setting. Showing the full height of BLUR against the surrounding skyline makes its relationship to the city easier to read. Image: Full view of the BLUR tower at dusk among the Panama City skyline (https://gendo.ai/_assets/marketing/mallol-tower.jpg) The complete tower at dusk, placed within the surrounding skyline. Urban setting ## Context at the scale of the neighbourhood From above, the facade and balconies read alongside the wider city context, consistent with the closer views in the set. Image: Aerial view of the BLUR facade overlooking Panama City at sunset (https://gendo.ai/_assets/marketing/mallol-aerial.jpg) Aerial view of the facade at sunset, overlooking the city and surrounding greenery. ## The Impact: Visualisation enters the design conversation earlier Instead of waiting until a scene is fully modelled and resolved, the team tests options in context, compares iterations and brings those visuals into client conversations while the design is still evolving. Impact ## Key Outcomes Up to 80% time saved Per image, on workflows that required exterior context No full context rebuild Real contextual references replace manual modelling of surroundings Multiple atmospheres Rain, night and blue hour from one base image Earlier decisions Alternatives compared while design decisions are still open Feedback ## Realism and contextual clarity On BLUR, Community Studio worked alongside Design 3D Studio on visuals for the interior design proposal. The client was highly focused on achieving realistic results that reflected the actual conditions of the site, and Gendo let the team show this without rebuilding the entire environment from scratch. Clients have responded positively to the level of realism and contextual clarity, and the visuals support design discussions with a clearer relationship to reality. "That gave us a faster way to test options, compare scenarios and communicate the project with the level of realism the client was looking for." > "What mattered most for us was being able to keep the architecture consistent while placing it in a real and recognisable context, without having to model the entire surroundings. That gave us a faster way to test options, compare scenarios and communicate the project with the level of realism the client was looking for." Humberto Serrud Design 3D Studio Director, Mallol ## More Stories View all (https://gendo.ai/resources/stories) ### Settle: An Entire Project Stage, Visualised in Gendo Read story https://gendo.ai/resources/stories/settle ### Twelve-Person Studio Trades Corona Render Queues for Same-Day Options Read story https://gendo.ai/resources/stories/kannt Gendo A living canvas for visual exploration, iteration, and decision-making. ### Product - Product: https://gendo.ai/product - Why Gendo: https://gendo.ai/why-gendo - Pricing: https://gendo.ai/pricing - FAQs: https://gendo.ai/faqs ### Company - About Us: https://gendo.ai/about-us - Career: https://gendo.ai/career - Environmental Statement: https://gendo.ai/about/environmental-statement - Blog: https://gendo.ai/resources/insights - Contact Us: https://gendo.ai/book-call ### Connect - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/gendo-ai - Instagram: https://instagram.com/gendo.ai - YouTube: https://youtube.com/@Gendo-ai © 2026 Gendo. All rights reserved. Licenses: https://gendo.ai/licenses Terms of Service: https://gendo.ai/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://gendo.ai/privacy-policy ## Structured data ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Mallol: Real Context, Consistent Architecture, Earlier Decisions", "description": "How Design 3D Studio, Mallol's in-house visualisation studio in Panama, places designs in their real urban context without rebuilding the surroundings, saving up to 80% of production time on some images.", "url": "https://gendo.ai/resources/stories/mallol", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://gendo.ai/resources/stories/mallol" }, "image": "https://gendo.ai/_assets/marketing/mallol-side-night.jpg", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Gendo", "url": "https://gendo.ai/" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Gendo", "url": "https://gendo.ai/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://gendo.ai/favicon.png" } } } ```