Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Great Grasshopper Intro Video...for Beginners
This is a “quick” introduction to Grasshopper did for SHoP Construction’s fall studio at NJIT run by Jon Mallie and John Cerone. Most of the things in this video are covered in other videos on the site but it introduces a few new features added to Grasshopper. Toward the end of the tutorial we cover relationships between Grasshopper and Excel. If you want to skip ahead to that part it is near the 100min mark of the video. This tutorial skips over a lot of the basics regarding canvas navigation, component colors, etc. and dives right in to some examples.
via: designalyze
Peter Guthrie's Farnsworth House
I have said it once, and I will say it again. Peter Guthrie is one of the most talented 3d artists that I have ever come across.
Check out his latest renderings (yes renderings!!!) of the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe.
Guthrie' s meticulous attention to detail, lighting, and materials are simply second to none. Keep up the amazing work...
AJ Top 5 Comic Book Cities
I know he wasn't a comic book illustrator, but if you like this 'comic' style of drawing check out Hugh Ferris's work.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Zebra Imaging 3D Architectural Holograms
Zebra holograms dramatically reduce time to certainty. For architecture, engineering & construction (AEC) projects, it is important to attractively and accurately present 3D form and function over iterative reviews. Holograms can be rendered from the same 3D digital design and CAD models that most AEC clients already produce for 2D renderings and animated fly-throughs.
The turnaround production time is fast and the model size, color, quality, and potential for animation are user-controlled parameters. The cost of a hologram is comparable to physical models produced at the same size. They are robust, easy to handle, and easy to transport and send. Updates and multiple copies can be easily produced and sent out to stakeholders at a single location or multiple locations. Holograms can be easily archived as physical documentation.
The presentation of AEC plans and designs is often as important as the plans and designs themselves. An impressive and accurate model can make the difference between winning and losing a contract. Furthermore, a detailed and accurate model for review during the design phase can mean the difference between detecting or missing mistakes early in the process. The ease of comprehension also make holograms well-suited for presentations to the public.
Because Zebra holograms are true-3D, multiple viewers can see the model from their own viewpoints encircling 360° around the model. In other words, viewers can walk around a Zebra hologram to observe and comprehend the model in the same intuitive manner that they observe real objects in real life.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
New Search Engine For Designers
The idea is simple: search for a term and the site will show results from a number of different search queries. This is not a new idea, but the creation of search engine that is specifically targeted for designers is. After entering a query, the site data mines results from Google Images, Google Blogsearch, Flickr, iTunes, YouTube, Twitter, Amazon and Wikipedia then displays them on a single page that is orderly and easy to use. There is also a Save/Share option that will send a permalink of your search to you via email or to others through a number of social networking sites.Click Here to Try it...
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Colander Table by Daniel Rohr
I seem to be conflicted over this project by German designer Daniel Rohr. One side of me is amazed at the simple beauty of the piece, while the other side is revolted by the over excessive nature of carving a table out of a solid piece of aluminum.
I find myself asking the question if it is really necessary for something as primitive as a table to be designed and build with such advanced technical means. If you ask me, a table needs to serve a very simple purpose, and I don't feel that this evolution on its design is really doing anything other than over-complicating something that should not be over-complicated.
I would like to hear if any others share a different opinion.
Text from designboom:
the latest project by german designer daniel rohr is the 'colander' table. the futuristic table consists a bowl like form with 909 holes. the project is an experiment, to delete space and material. this opens for the observer an other point of view with a different sense. when objects are placed on top of the table it gives the illusion that they are floating.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Bjarke Ingels: 3 Warp-Speed Architecture Tales @ TED
Danish architect Bjarke Ingels rockets through photo/video-mingled stories of his eco-flashy designs. His buildings not only look like nature -- they act like nature: blocking the wind, collecting solar energy -- and creating stunning views.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wired's Creative Director Scott Dadich on Design
Video Summary
Scott Dadich talks about designing Wired Magazine, developing a creative culture in magazine design, with three guiding ideas; that details matter, to design by evolution rather than revolution, and that constraint is freedom.
See the Full Lecture Below
Monday, September 7, 2009
Universcale by Nikon
We are able to view all entities, from the microworld to the universe, from a single perspective. By setting them up against a scale, we are able to compare and understand things which cannot be physically compared.
Today, using the electron microscope and astronomical telescope, we can see the objects which we have not been aware of its existence before. Are you able to fathom, or even roughly grasp, these sizes?
Click here to see our Universcale and experience the sizes of various objects.
Kazakhstan’s new National Library in Astana by BIG
Invited as one of five pre-selected architect led teams, BIG was awarded first prize in an open international design competition which included 19 entrants among others Lord Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid.
The new National Library, named after the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, encompasses an estimated 33.000m2. The winning proposal was chosen by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan K. Masimov together with Astana’s akim I.Tasmagambetov and a council of architects. The design was hailed as being both modern and rational and anchored in a classical vocabulary of traditional libraries. The circular organisation of the archive at its inner core combines the clarity of a linear organisation with the convenience of an infinite loop.
The design of the National Library combines four universal archetypes across space and time into a new national symbol: the circle, the rotunda, the arch and the yurt are merged into the form of a Moebius strip. The clarity of the circle, the courtyard of the rotunda, the gateway of the arch and the soft silhouette of the yurt are combined to create a new national monument appearing local and universal, contemporary and timeless, unique and archetypal at the same time, Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner on the Astana National Library 2009
Nation Building Being one of the future cornerstones of Kazakh nation building, and a leading institution representing the Kazakh national identity, designing the library went beyond a mere architectural challenge. The new National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan’s new capital since 1997, shall not only accumulate history but also provide a foundation for new futures for the nation and its new capital. It will serve as an intellectual, multifunctional and cultural center, with a primary goal of reflecting the establishment and development of a sovereign Kazakhstan, its political history, and the Head of the State’s activities and role in the development of the country.
The National Library will be the place where the citizens of Astana, the people of Kazakhstan as well as international visitors can come to explore the country’s history, its diverse cultures, its new capital and its first president. The Library will accommodate and communicate with all segments of the population: civil servants, politicians, researchers, students, museum historians and staff. The Library is conceived as a symbiosis of urbanity and nature. Like Astana, which is located in the heart of the Kazakh mainland, it will be integrated into the heart of a re-created Kazakh landscape. The park around the library is designed like a living library of trees, plants, minerals and rocks allowing visitors to experience a cross section of Kazakhstan’s natural landscape, and personally experience the capital’s transition across the country from Almaty to Astana.
What is a library but an efficient archive of books… and a path for the public to reach them, Thomas Christoffersen, the Project Leader on the National Library
In the library they will be able to study the history of the Kazakh culture and language present in the massive collection of books, magazines, film and other media. The archive is organized as a circular loop of knowledge, surrounded by light and air on both sides. On the periphery a 360 degree panorama of Astana – at the heart of the building a contemplative courtyard domed by the heavenly light blue of the celestial vault. The simplicity and perfection of the infinite circle allows for a crystal clear and intuitive orientation in the vast and growing collection that will populate the shelves of the National Library. The ideal addition to the perfect circle will be a series of public programs that simultaneously wraps the library on the outside as well as the inside, above as well as below. Twisting the public program into a continuous spiraling path tracing the library on all sides, creates an architectural organization that combines the virtues of all 4 complimenting models. Like a Möbius strip, the public programs move seamlessly from the inside to the outside and from ground to the sky providing spectacular views of the surrounding landscape and growing city skyline.
Möbius Strip The 2 interlocking structures: the perfect circle and the public spiral, create a building that transforms from a horizontal organization where library museum and support functions are placed next to each other, to a vertical organization where they are stacked on top of each other through a diagonal organization combining vertical hierarchy, horizontal connectivity and diagonal view lines. By wrapping the transforming composition of spaces with a continuous skin we create a Möbius strip volume where the facades move from inside to outside and back again.
The envelope of The National Library transcends the traditional architectural categories such as wall and roof. Like a yurt the wall becomes the roof, which becomes floor, which becomes the wall again, Thomas Christoffersen, the Project Leader on the National Library
Images and Text Via: europaconcorsi
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Not architecture related… I just wanted to share some Minnesota pride.
Most of us agree that Minnesotans are the most intelligent people in the world, or at least America, and our junior senator can prove it…
Here's proof from the Minnesota State Fair that Senator Al Franken can draw the US map from memory. It's truly amazing.
Via: Core77 & Minnesota Public Radio
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