Tuesday, May 29, 2007

3Dtutorials.sk

"3Dtutorials.sk have been founded by guys behind the 3d.sk web sites.We decided not to buy annoying ad baners for our commercial projects and ratherinvest in somethng that could be valuable to fellow CG artist.
By starting 3Dtutorials.sk we would like to support tutorial authors by small paymentor a free membership to our texture sites as well as people new to CG by providingthem with top end free tutorials in easy to search and read environment.And if we can get new members to our texture sites becouse of it, even better :)" to find out more...
Passage from http://www.3dtutorials.sk/index.php?site=2

The Sesquipedalist

"The idea is that I’ll write a review each month on a hot-off-the-press book about architecture. Additionally, I'll thread together some nonsensical commentary on these alongside other books (more than likely of the architectural classic varietal) that I've been prompted to read or re-read for whatever reason.It's all just an excuse to fetishise, justify buying more unneeded books and pretend I'm doing the PhD I'll never actually get around to do. Trying to answer that most unanswerable of questions - "what is architecture?"So it's research: about architecture. And about writing. Between the two, I reckon there's an awful lot to learn and one learns best when trying to explain to others. Even if there isn't actually anybody reading this nonsensica, I can live in my little blogging dream world." to find out more...
Passage from http://sesqui.pedali.st/2007/01/about_24.html
by Mason Young

Sunday, May 27, 2007

studio 804

"804 is a design/build program at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Design that provides a broad range of architectural services, typically resulting in a new residence. This studio is the final experience for 3rd year graduate students seeking a professional masters degree, although on occasion it does include graduating bachelors of Architecture students. During this final exercise, the students collaborate to bring a housing design to fruition that provides architectural solutions with an emphasis on affordable homes. " to find out more...

Great concept, nice detail, design and build~! The ideal prefabrication architectural work I adore. Introduction from Part IV of studio 804.

Passage from http://www.studio804.com/07%20new%20webpages/about%20us.html

Image from http://www.studio804.com/07%20new%20webpages/projects/1718%20Atherton%20Ct.html

Saturday, May 26, 2007

architecture page - ap

" We are Architecture Page. An online design oriented resource.
Architecture-Page started with the idea that information about the design industry on the internet should be designed and presented in a form relevant to the web. Typically, readers don't spend much time reading on the web; they merely scan through the content. Hence, we felt the need to create a web design that communicated information effectively, yet concisely.
So, the idea of the Page was born: a clean slate, a backdrop, a placeholder, where areas pertaining to the design industry can be clearly presented and discussed. " to find out more...


Passage & Image from http://www.architecture-page.com/go/about

Friday, May 25, 2007

An Another Day In Piranesi

Sketchup is great tool, just need to look further into Piranesi. Some great work from Snoopy Wang will help as reference and great Chinese rendering sketching and hand drawn reference here.



Image from http://www.snoopywang.com/images/008.jpg

Supporting Technologies for BIM Exhibited at AIA 2007

"This month's issue of the "Building the Future" series provides a more detailed look at some of the supporting technologies for BIM that were being showcased at the AIA 2007 National Convention and Expo, held in San Antonio from May 3 to 5. It is a follow-up to AECbytes Newsletter #30, published earlier this month, which captured the main highlights from the Expo floor, including new releases and upcoming versions of BIM applications, other design and visualization solutions, as well as hardware and software solutions for printing, publishing, and collaboration. Many of the supporting technologies profiled in this article are in the area of BIM content and content management, and as you will see, they raise an interesting question of how exactly the AEC industry wants its BIM content." to find out more...
Passage from http://www.aecbytes.com/buildingthefuture/2007/AIA2007_Part2.html
written byLachmi Khemlani

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Archi-world cn

二十世纪六十年代,人们对现代建筑运动所产生的后果提出了不满,特别是在北美洲,其缺点被暴露在两本有影响力的书中,其一是简•雅各布1961年出版的《美国大城市的生与死》,再者就是罗伯特•文丘里1966年出版的《建筑中的复杂与矛盾》。雅各布强调打破由现代建筑运动理想化的反传统观点产生出的城市一致性,而文丘里则暗示现代风格的建筑没有任何意义,因为它们的设计过于简单化,缺乏历史建筑的复杂性。 1972年,这种不满情绪直接变成了行动,人们毁坏了几幢14层高的建筑,而这些建筑都是20年前由雅马萨基(Yamasaki)在圣路易斯建造。在后来的几十年里,欧洲和北美更多相似的公寓大楼都被毁坏,但圣路易斯就是后现代主义时代开始的地方 . . . .
to find out more...
Passage from http://design.arch-world.cn/spData/build/buildSort.asp?id=0027&showwhatid=01

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Shigeru Ban:eco-Efficiency Expert

Watched a simple introduction movie of Shigeru Ban from New York Times and some related readings here.
"Ban’s interest in simple, easily transported, reusable materials surfaced in another project that made him famous and particularly admired. In a field where humanitarian relief work isn’t exactly commonplace, Ban devised shelters for refugees in Rwanda made of slender paper tubes. This led him to do temporary housing — log cabins with paper-tube walls for disaster victims — first in response to the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan, where he also built a paper church, and later in Turkey and India. Having put up some of the money himself, he persuaded local companies to donate materials. In Kobe, he used yellow plastic Kirin beer crates filled with sandbags as foundations. The average cost per house was $2,000, though it is the elegance as much as the economy of the architecture that has distinguished Ban. His works are airy, curvaceous, balletic. An heir to Buckminster Fuller and Oscar Niemeyer, to Japanese traditional architecture and to Alvar Aalto, he is an old-school Modernist with a poet’s touch and an engineer’s inventiveness. " to find out more...
Passage from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/magazine/20shigeru-t.html?pagewanted=1
Image from
http://www.shigerubanarchitects.com/SBA_WORKS/SBA_PAPER/SBA_PAPER_15/SBA_paper_15.html

Monday, May 21, 2007

water proofing detail

"Detail drawings are available for Flat Deck Waterproofing, Foundation and Substructure Waterproofing and Procor® System." to find out more...
Links from GRACE Construction products

SWOT analysis

"SWOT Analysis, is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from the Fortune 500 companies.

If a clear objective has been identified, SWOT analysis can be used to help in the pursuit of that objective. In this case, SWOTs are:
Strengths: attributes of the organization that are helpful to achieving the objective.
Weaknesses: attributes of the organization that are harmful to achieving the objective.
Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective.
Threats: external conditions that are harmful to achieving the objective.


Creative Use of SWOTs.--- If, on the other hand, the objective seems attainable, the SWOTs are used as inputs to the creative generation of possible strategies, by asking and answering each of the following four questions, many times:
1. How can we Use each Strength?
2. How can we Stop each Weakness?
3. How can we Exploit each Opportunity?
4. How can we Defend against each Threat?

Ideally a
cross-functional team or a task force that represents a broad range of perspectives should carry out the SWOT analysis. For example, a SWOT team may include an accountant, a salesperson, an executive manager, an engineer, and an ombudsman. " to find out more...
Passage from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Vlado's VRay Guidelines

"I've been asked many times what are "good" VRay settings. Of course, there isno universal answer and it depends on the desired render speed and quality, buthere is a set of settings that I have found to work very well for still imagesin many situations. Please note that these settings are not optimal, in thesense that with enough tweaking, you can probably get similar quality withfaster render times. The beauty of these settings though, is that they requirealmost no tweaking and you are guaranteed to get a nice result in the end." to find out more...
Passage & Image from http://www.vray.us/

Friday, May 18, 2007

Lines and Colors

" Paquet works in a loose, open style, not quite impressionist, but full of lively brushstrokes and rich color. He also has a solid ability to see and use value contrasts, a characteristic of his work that particularly shines in his paintings of Florence, with its wonderful architecture brought into high relief in the warm sun of the Tuscan plains. I was immediately reminded of my own time in Florence, more strongly than I would be by viewing photographs. I particularly enjoy his night scenes, both of intimate street corners and the sweeping vistas looking out over the Duomo from the Piazzalle Michelangelo and other vantage points in the hills “Alta Arno”." to find out more...


Passage & Image from http://www.linesandcolors.com/2007/05/10/joseph-paquet/ written by Charley Parker

Thursday, May 17, 2007

CAD methodology vs. BIM philosophy

"The fact that the sometimes ineffable BIM (Building Information Modeling), today, versus established AEC "emmerging technologies", over the past 10-20 years, is what might have been - what too often collected dust on the shelves of the CAD manager's and the IT departments' quarters. This will probably never happen with BIM programs, but what if it should? Can BIM fall short of our expectations after all the hype dies down? In terms of revamping our current digital architectural standards, probably not. Because BIM is open minded in terms of outside influence - more so than CAD has been in the past. For example, when you take into account IFC (Industry Foundation Classes), IDM (Information Delivery Manual) and AECxml, these systems are based on ISO and information technology benchmarks. With these, there seems to be much more, in place, to insure that BIM won't dry up at all - perhaps even significantly replacing the need for new CAD information altogether." to find out more...
Passage from http://bimpod.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

thecoolhunter.net

Some interesting design materials from thecoolhunter.net you cannot miss. to find out more...

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Design Tale Studio

"Some interesting interviews with the top designers; Karim Rashid,one of the most recognisable and influential designer of popular contemporary culture ;Sandra Bermudez, the conceptual and feminist artist of Columbian descent, who has always had a close association with the world of fashion in Italy;Pakhalé, who loves to call himself a “cultural nomad” and many more from Design Tale Studio." to find out more...

Monday, May 14, 2007

Release of V-Ray for SketchUp


Great news here~!"ASGVIS has released V-Ray for Sketch-Up. This release brings users various performance enhancements, an out of the box rendering solution, and many great V-Ray features to Sketch-Up. V-Ray is a rendering plug-in that enables Sketch-Up users to take advantage of the power and speed of the Chaos Group’s V-Ray rendering solution." to find out more...
Passage and Image from http://www.asgvis.com/

Buchanan Architecture

"When you look at how a building is constrcuted, there are some basic elemetns that you have to use," Buchanan says."For example, you build a roof using a truss structure and you can use the truss in many different ways. In this case, the truss is flipped."
"Let's construct buildings that are of their time, meaning of this time and place." Buchanan says. "We are in the 21st century, and now is the time." -from "In te Deep End" FIDLuxe, June 2006
to find out more...
Passage and Image from http://www.russellbuchanan.com/

werk, bauen + wohnen

The Swiss Architectural Review,werk, bauen+wohnen. Everything in German/French/Italiano. Google can help translating the pages. to find out more...

Image from http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.architekten-bsa.ch/api/1132344364/de/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=5&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dwerk,%2Bbauen%2B%252B%2Bwohnen%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX

Friday, May 11, 2007

Architectural Global Warming

"When we think about the causes of "global warming," what commonly comes to mind are gas-guzzling cars and smoke-spewing industrial processes. But a lion's share of the pollutants that cause global warming are attributable to architecture.
Architect Edward Mazria of
Mazria, Riskin Odems, Inc. in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has been making a case for why his profession should take greater responsibility for the problem. " to find out more...
I think as an architect, there is a responsibility on global warming issues.
Passage from http://www.architectureweek.com/2004/0218/environment_1-1.html

An Inconvenient Truth

I watched this movie today, An Inconvenient Truth.
It is a film to save our planet. That what you and I can do. Sounds big? to find out more...
Image from http://www.climatecrisis.net/

AECbytes Newsletter #30 (May 10, 2007)

An interesting reading on architectural computer technology, introducing autocad 2008, BIM and related applications from aecbytes by Lachmi Khemlani. to find out more...

Kurokawa’s Capsule Tower To Be Razed

"The Capsule Tower, completed in 1972, stands in the center of Tokyo’s affluent Ginza neighborhood. The building is actually composed of two concrete towers, respectively 11 and 13 stories, each encrusted with an outer layer of prefabricated living units. It has long been appreciated by architects as a pure expression of the Metabolist movement, popular in the 1960s and 1970s, which envisioned cities formed of modular components. But in recent years residents expressed growing concern over the presence of asbestos. On April 15, the building’s management association approved plans calling for the architectural icon to be razed and replaced with a new 14-story tower. A demolition is yet to be determined." to find out more...



This is one of the most inspiring building I came across during my school time. Guess it couldn't withstand the developing pace of Japan. However, it is still an admirable work to be protected. I would propose the building to be recycled in some way, resell or reforming it in some other places or keep certain portion of the building, anyway is better than demolition... It would be wonderful have the units seats on top of roof top... But I would prefer more transparencies for the units.... Some introduction from archspace of the building located. to find out more...

Passage & Image from http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/070430kurokawa.asp

by Yuki Solomon

Image II from http://www.arcspace.com/architects/kurokawa/nakagin/nakagin.html

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Fusion Architects

"FUSIONarchitects is a young practice founded on international experience, urban dimension and a shared enthusiasm for innovative concepts. Our projects focus on a high standard of design and functionality." to find out more...

Passage from http://www.fusion-architects.co.uk/profile/Fprofile.html
Image from http://www.fusion-architects.co.uk/proj.arch/Farch.html

Peripheriques Architectes

Another interesting architectural firm with great web design for your browsing pleasure. to find out more...

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Kinetic Singapore

"We fully intend to wipe bad advertising and design off the face of this planet and free its citizens from the mind-numbing properties of bad ads and ho-hum websites. Why can't websites be designed differently, with a bit of thought and a dash of flair? Why can't ads be thought-provoking, inventive and entertaining in equal measure? With an Interactive as well as a Design & Advertising arm, we'll show you how ideas can be extended across platforms for an integrated communications solution - and still stop people in their tracks. Without losing sight of the key message. Without compromising the brand. Without sacrificing the interests of our clients." to find out more...
This is one of the most creative web design I came across~!!
Passage & Image from http://www.kinetic.com.sg/k2005/main.html

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Journal Classification from NUS

If you are looking for some interesting architectural design journals. This journal classification from NUS might help, categorizing into Premier Journal, Leading Journal, Reputable Journals and others. to find out more...

Fei Chang Jian Zhu

The recent D+A journal from Singapore introduced Mr. Zhang Yung Ho from China, the Head of Architecture Department at MIT and formally Head, Graduate Center for Architecture, Peking University. He is the Principal of Atelier FeiChangJianZhu, based in Beijing. I remember attending his lecture with Mr. Arata Isozaki in Tongji Univeristy, Shanghai six years ago...
to find out more...
Image from http://www.fcjz.com/box-songshanhu_right.htm#

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Curbed

"In New York City, it all comes back to real estate, rent, and the neighborhoods we inhabit.
Since its launch in May 2004, Curbed has established itself as the center of the virtual conversation about real estate in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and beyond. Sales and rental prices, celebrity deals, new developments, amusing broker stories, hot restaurants, and the latest neighborhood gossip—it's all on Curbed. Updated a dozen or more times throughout the day, and liberally spiced with reporting and dish from readers, Curbed has become a daily fix for tens of thousands of NYC residents—and the most-trafficked neighborhood and real-estate weblog on the web.
"to find out more...

Friday, May 04, 2007

Sancho Madridejos

"A project provides a puzzle of multifaceted fragments and diverse positions which develop into an idea. The idea can be understood in different ways: as a strategy,a design, an approach, a concept..Essentially, however, it is a concept of space requiring concrete forms, materials and techniques for its realization. Clarity of conception and the coherence of style are the major interests on which we concentrate our efforts in our projects." to find out more...
Passage from <40>, page 445