Christmas ArchiGIFTS

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Stair Porn (blog)

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I was looking online for an image of a certain staircase I'd seen in dwell magazine--in this Walter Gropius house although dwell did not publish all of the print images on their website. Anyway, I Google-image-searched for Gropius stairs and found this blog: Stair Porn.

Final Renderings of the House for a Composer

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Just finished the fall semester; one more to go.

These are some of the renderings of the semester-long project in my Presentations class for which this retreat was designed. Other images, including presentation drawings done my hand can be seen here.

New Archinect T-Shirts

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Great new hatch pattern t-shirts available from Archinect.
(Christmas wish-list items)

new sketchBOOK

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I just ordered this new sketchbook from the filmmakers of archiCULTURE. It combines two things to look forward to: a film about architecture school and a new Moleskine sketchbook.

I have blogged about this film before but wanted to mention it again as I know they are still seeking funding while in post-production. Read this synopsis below and then click the link above to visit their site to find out more about the film.

Archiculture is a feature length documentary that examines contemporary issues surrounding the realm of architecture through the perspective of university students during their final thesis semester. The film follows the protagonists through the evolution of their respective senior thesis projects and the internal and external conflicts each student faces during this intense year-long process. Interviews with family, friends, significant others, industry professionals, architects, and design professors are woven throughout the film to create a story that builds an intimate connection between the characters and the audience. The emotional storyline will reveal a breadth of experiences ranging from the 4AM deadline dash, to the fulfilling sensation of graduation. The film provides viewers with an in-depth look into the creative yet competitive process of architectural education while also depicting current issues such as the role of architecture in society, the disproportion of gender and race within the profession, and environmentally conscious design. The story is structured in a way that chronologically follows the students’ development of their theses and continually builds suspense as the final critique looms. The film concludes at the students’ final thesis presentation as they find themselves on the brink of their adult and professional lives, and the closure of their adolescence.

AutoCAD|Photoshop

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This elevation rendering was produced by printing an AutoCAD drawing to PDF, then opening PDF in Photoshop, and applying color, texture, images and scale figures.

The enlarged image (full size=11x17) is probably a little bit big (you think?). Lesson learned: not every image has to be done HUGE.

House for a Composer

I've put up a new set on my flickr page with drawings of a house design as well as some initial photos of a chipboard model that will be updated as the project continues.

Podcasts

Maybe I'm (really, really, really) late to podcasting (listening, not creating), but I've been quite content filling up the iPod with Architecture/Design related podcasts lately:

UNC Charlotte - Architecture on Air
Dwell
Metropolis
AIA
AIAS
KCRW DnA

I have subscribed to several of these through iTunes, as well as a few others...

Also, since I don't have the Sundance Channel, I have subscribed to the first season of the reality show, Architecture School. Read more on ArchRecord, Archinect, on Tulane's site...

Program Status

It has been awhile since I've posted anything here, expecially directly related to the Architectural Technology program (which I am now 3/5ths through).

This summer's classes included a 3-D CAD class which focused on Revit, which is Autodesk's Building Information Modelling software. From Wikipedia:

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the process of generating and managing building data during its life cycle[1] using three-dimensional, real-time, dynamic building modeling software to decrease wasted time and resources in building design and construction.[2] This process produces the building information model (also abbreviated BIM), which encompasses building geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, and quantities and properties of building components.

I've got some rendering images from the project for that class on my flickr page in the Schoolwork set.



Over the summer I also had a class in Building Codes, which looked at the International Building Code, the Accessibility Code, as well as at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County's Unified Development Ordinances.

I had the same instructor for a class called Light Construction Technology, which was basically learning how to format basic construction drawings for smaller commercial buildings: stair plans and sections, bathroom plans, overall floorplans, elevations, wall sections... Might sound kind of dry, but it was my favorite class of the summer session.

Also had a class called Environmental Systems for which we made several field trips, most of which were photographed and are documented on my flickr page and have already been noted here on ARKTEK, including a trip to NC's greenest hotel, the Proximity.

Next week my family is on vacation, and the following week fall semester starts. It is my fourth semester of a five semester program, so I am about 60% finished with the "mid-thirties career redirection."

Olympic Architecture

I know, I know...there is lots of controversy surrounding the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, China which get underway two days from this posting...human rights abuses, government censorship...and China has already had its share of mishaps with tainted toys and food products...

Set all that aside for a moment and marvel at some of the most innovative architecture happening right now. It is happening in China, and it is being officially unveiled to the world in two days through some 200 + hours of programming per day on NBC and its siblings.

I'll be at the beach with my family, so hopefully there'll be some down-time during which we can tune in to see some of the coverage.

Here is a great article from ArchRecord about the Architectural Technology of the aquatics center, aka the Water Cube.

Article also from ArchRecord: Record Reveals: Beijing

ArchRecord's Project Portfolio for July 2008 features 15 new structures in China.

Ray Kappe

"I've always sought out the edges, the views, and a feeling of expansiveness."

"I was once asked what I think are the ten most important principles that helped make me a successful architect, planner, and educator...

(1) Think positively, not negatively.
(2) Accept structure but know that it is to be questioned and broken when necessary.
(3) Always be willing to explore, experiment and invent. Do not accept the status quo.
(4) Know yourself and keep your work consistent with who you are and how you think.
(5) Maintain good moral and social values.
(6) Be humble, honest, compassionate, and egalitarian.
(7) Have conviction about your work.
(8) Be open and say yes to most ideas and requests. The good ones will be valuable, the bad ones will cease to exist.
(9) Allow employees and fellow workers freedom and the ability to work to their strengths. Avoid hierarchy.
(10) Money should be the residual of work, not the goal. But do not compromise your worth."

Ray Kappe website.

He's designed several houses for LivingHomes.

There is a new feature of his own house in the new issue of dwell magazine. Unfortunately it does not appear that the feature is available on the dwell site.

More Photos...

...added to the sets: Downtown Winston-Salem, including West End Village, and Winston-Salem's Family Services Building.

Proximity Hotel

My ARC 230 Environmental Systems class took a field trip over to Greensboro this week to visit the Proximity Hotel, which is expected to be the first LEED Platinum hotel in the country.

It is modelled after typical textile mills found in the area--straightforward rectangular grid with large windows--and named after a specific mill just a mile or two down the road from this site. The bistro nextdoor is named after the Print Works which was situated directly nextdoor to the mill.

Here is a link to the set of pics on my flickr page.

The official Proximity website.

CU-ICAR

Visited the Clemson University-International Center for Automotive Research this past seekend while staying with friends in Greenville, SC. It is a complex developed recently for (as the title suggests) car-ology. Apparently Clemson has the only Doctorate in Automotive Engineering in the country.

I don't have all the details about the buildings and could not go inside any of them other than the parking garage (the place was oddly empty), but I do know that Greenville firm Pazdan-Smith worked on at least one of the buildings (the one for Timken). Also quickly visited another LEED-seeking building designed by Pazdan-Smith in Greenville.

I've got a set of pictures from Greenville/ICAR on my flickr page.

Dubious Dubai's Rotating Tower

The 80-story Dynamic Tower, described as the "world's first building in motion," will also be the first skyscraper constructed from prefabricated units, according to a press statement released by New York-based architect David Fisher's Dynamic Group.

Each floor would be capable of rotating independently, powered by wind turbines fitted between each floor.

full story at CNN

video

BUILD IT LIKE ZAHA!

Last Sunday the Design Museum held a workshop, where kids between the ages of 5 and 11 could ‘Build it Like Zaha.’ To book for this Sunday’s Build it Like Zaha workshop, 29 July 2 - 5pm, phone 020 7940 8783, email tickets@designmuseum.org or book online.




read more about it here

As Seen on ArchRecord

Piano’s Plans for Corbu Landmark Incite Fierce Debate

Construction plans for the site of Le Corbusier¹s chapel of Notre Dame du Haut (1954) in Ronchamp, France, have ignited a vigorous debate, pitting leading architects against each other, and sparking disagreement between organizations seeking to preserve Le Corbusier¹s legacy.



Designed by Renzo Piano, the project was commissioned by the Association Oeuvre Notre Dame du Haut, the same organization that commissioned the chapel by Le Corbusier, widely regarded as a 20th-century architectural masterpiece. The plan calls for the replacement of an existing visitor’s center...

(read the entire article and see slide show at ArchRecord)



Google image search

Galinsky

Great Buildings

DO IT With an Architect

It's too cool, but it's too small for me, so somebody else get it!

here on ebay

MUXTAPE.COM

I found out about this website recently to which you upload 12 songs (mp3 format) to make your own mixtape. You remember those don't you? Proclamation of Love... Ode to Heartbreak... Summer Mix!... Cool... Trippy... Laughy's Greatest Hits...

It is not a complicated site at all; pretty clear, and I love the simple, direct graphics. Especially when compared to other music sharing sites that get all cluttered up with ads and other visual stimuli (distractions).

I have not bought any music from the site yet, so I don't know how that works yet, but here is a link to my first mix (I am sure there will be more to come), and here is a link to the main Muxtape page where you can poke around listening to others' mixes...or make one of your own.

Brad Pitt, Starchitect

According to People Magazine, Brad Pitt will join the Architectural Elite in the desert, by acting (no pun intended) as a design consultant on an 800-room "green" hotel in Dubai.

There is a lively discussion on Archinect about this news.

Pitt has a well-documented interest in/infatuation with/passion for architecture. And he has also been deeply involved with his Make it Right Foundation which is an organization working on the rebuilding and rehabilitation of New Orleans. More about it here on Archinect.

Speaking of sexy and renderings in Dubai, there is no way a large project can be undertaken today without producing very life-like renderings that show the proposed building in its idealized state--in its best light, surrounded/filled by people... Listen to this:

New Blog Alert

I've started a new blog for the Architecture Club (I am the club's president for the next three semesters) at school. It is something I am hoping to keep updated somewhat regularly--like this one--but with things more directly related to or supplementary of the school's curriculum. Things like posting class field trip photos, Architect Profiles, volunteer opportunities, and various architectural minutiae.

One of my instructors (also one of the club's advisors) says he has several ideas of how the blog could be useful in promoting/marketing the program. I am looking forward to seeing how it develops over the next year...

An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth

Thanks to a MCF for pointing me to this manifesto on the Bruce Mau Design website.

Here are the first 10 points of a 43-point manifesto:

An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth: Bruce Mau
Written in 1998, the Incomplete Manifesto is an articulation of statements that exemplify Bruce Mau’s beliefs, motivations and strategies. It also articulates how the BMD studio works.
1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
2. Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you’ll never have real growth.
3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we’ve already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.
5. Go deep. The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.
6. Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.
7. Study. A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.
8. Drift. Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.
9. Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.
10. Everyone is a leader. Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.

And here is a response, An Annotated Manifesto for Growth from Textism.

Toward an Architecture--Le Corbusier

source



From Powells.com:

Publisher Comments:

Published in 1923, Toward an Architecture had an immediate impact on architects throughout Europe and remains a foundational text for students and professionals. Le Corbusier urges readers to cease thinking of architecture as a matter of historical styles and instead open their eyes to the modern world. Simultaneously a historian, critic, and prophet, he provocatively juxtaposes views of classical Greece and Renaissance Rome with images of airplanes, cars, and ocean liners. Le Corbusier's slogans--such as "the house is a machine for living in"--and philosophy changed how his contemporaries saw the relationship between architecture, technology, and history. This edition includes a new translation of the original text, a scholarly introduction, and background notes that illuminate the text and illustrations.

Book News Annotation:
This lovely new translation presents Le Corbusier's quirky opus into language that's closer to the original than earlier translations, staying truer to Le Corbu's love of wordplay. The format of the translation is also a revelation, preserving the original layout (and all the images) of the original French edition. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Revit Architecture

Probably the biggest news for this summer semester is that we will be learning a second BIM (Building Information Modelling) software--Revit. BIM programs allow one to draw/design either in different ways, to edit in ways that make changes throughout the entire project--minimizing endless backtracking to fix little things that got changed in one drawing and overlooked in another. Revit allows one to produce the slick 3d photorealistic renderings as well as the construction documents, material lists, cost estimates, product specifications...all within the same program.

Last semester we started on ArchiCAD--a competing program. It will be interesting to see how different/similar the two programs are to each other.

Here is an example of a Revit rendering.

image credit: here

Archintent Louisville's set on flickr here has some great concept sketches as well as some Sketchup development. The renderings are done in Revit.

Charles and Ray Eames

back from DC

I have started loading pictures onto my flickr site. I took close to 400 pictures on the trip but will not be uploading all of them, but I will finish getting the best ones up there in the next day or so.

weaver cooke construction

Our Residential Architecture class visited Weaver Cooke's LEED Gold Certified headquarters this week.

I have more images of the building on my flickr site.

Weaver Cooke's website.

Weaver Cooke also built Greensboro's green hotel, the Proximity. Look at it here (on the Weaver Cooke site) and here (Proximity's official site.)

washington dc

The annual Architecture Club trip is this year going to Washington DC. We'll be leaving Winston-Salem about 7am on Friday May 2nd and returning sometime on Tuesday May 6th. In addition to a bunch of freetime to tour museums in DC, we'll spend one day in Pennsylvania touring Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob--two homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It looks like there is also one of Wright's Usonion houses in or near DC that we'll be able to see.

While in DC I want to visit the National Building Museum, which has a complete retrospective look at Eero Saarinen's work that begins on May 3rd. There is also an exhibit on the drawings of David Macaulay there that ends on the 4th, so I'd like to see that as well. There is a video of David drawing while in the NBM available on their website.

I'd also like to get out to see Saarinen's airport there (Dulles), so it looks like his work may represent a secondary theme to the trip.

Looking forward to the end of semester trip--the end of 2nd semester of a 5 semester cirriculum.

There will be photos on my flickr site after we return.

Previously...

more peter zumthor on youtube

there is a three part documentary on youtube

about the thermal spa in switzerland by architect peter zumthor. perfection and timelessness.

1, 2, 3

also here is an archidose feature on the thermal spa and an official website about it.

(images from flickr)

peter zumthor museum

brief explanation by peter zumtor of his work on the kolumba museum. the museum was built upon the bombed ruins of a church in cologne, germany, utilizing and expanding the ruins of the church.

video on you tube

image gallery on danda.be

north carolina sustainable building design competition

it's over! at least at the local level. our first-year team finished third behind two of the second-year teams that presented very thorough solutions to the duplex design program.

there are more photos at my flickr page >>>

birthday book

Francis D.K. Ching's Building Construction Illustrated went from the wish list (to the right) to the list of books that are no longer on the wish list.

Thanks, Doug.