Curvilinear or Rectilinear

Hi Everyone

As mentioned at the end of last studio, I have confirmed that you are free to choose from either one of your rectilinear or the curvilinear drawings to develop into your tramstop.

Cheers
Chris

Recap: Week 07

Hey guys

Great output of work today. Great to see you guys really grasping the basics now and getting more into thinking about your designs and concepts!!

Russell has posted on his blog about downloading the UNSW model. View this post <here>.

If you don't yet have a copy of Artisan for Sketchup you can get that <here>. Artisan will give you a 15 day evaluation version which is perfect because experiment two is due in thirteen days! If you already have started your evaluation period make sure you do any artisan work before it expires or you can check to see if the computer labs have Artisan installed (worst case borrow a friends laptop!)

You'll want to be able to post high resolution screen shots from Lumion, if you are only getting low res images try downloading and installing FRAPS which you can find <here>. FRAPS will run in the background and allows you to assign a hotkey that will take a screenshot whilst you are working and save it to a designated folder.

For next week: begin to develop your light rail stop from one of your drawings in todays class in Sketchup and Lumion. Have a think about scale (big is okay, small is okay, but you should have a reason behind either choice and it should most definitely be intentional!). Post your two Lumion images as well as the sketch image from your Moleskine to your blog before next studio. I'd recommend getting the UNSW context in sooner rather than later. Have a play with the paraphernalia of Lumion (people, trees, buses (perhaps a tram??), etc.) as well as different lighting conditions - these will provide context to your model that will help "sell" your design, but keep in mind you aren't marked directly on their usage.

Finally, rewrite the concepts relating to your chosen axonometrics so that the new piece of writing forms an "Electroliquid Aggregation".

As always, if in doubt refer to the course outline and the weekly tasks. I will periodically be looking through your blogs through the week to offer comments/guidance where I can but it makes sense that if you post the night before next studio than my comments wont be of much use to you... If you have an urgent question, comment on one of my posts so that blogger sends me an email.

Looking forward to seeing what you guys have for next studio!

Cheers
Chris

Recap: Axonometrics

Hi guys,

A great little video on axo drawing (notice how he draws his lines). The other videos might be worth checking out also if you want some tips on drawing.

Chris

Collated Concepts

Hi guys

As you now all know, our two architects are Jørn Utzon and Richard Leplastrier.
The five concepts for each architect are as follows;

Jørn Utzon
1. Changing perspective for the viewer.
2. To be created in response to a location and be unsuitable somewhere else.
3. A rebellion from convention.
4. Architecture is not static, it keeps evolving.
5. A marriage of form and function.

Richard Leplastrier

1. Simplicity amplifies the context.
2. Undefined threshold.
3. Propogation of personal connection.
4. A mechanism for gathering and community.
5. An appearance influenced by activity.

3D Warehouse

Don't forget to upload your model to 3D Warehouse as required!

Submission Format

Hi Guys,

The following are the minimum requirements that are required to be posted to your blog for assessment. There are two ways you can make clear which of your posts you wish to be assessed, however I will be reviewing your whole blog as evidence of your development of the experiment. The first way is to post a blog with a series of links to each of the posts on your blog that demonstrate each of the below requirements. A second option is to make a final blog post with each of the requirements below included in that post. Kelvins blog makes a good example of the first option, you can check it out <by clicking here>.

3 project images with an adjective, verb and noun DESCRIBING each

Do the three words work together to suggest a distinctive and significant approach to engaging with each clients work?

18 sketch sections

Do the 18 sketch sections communicate a distinctive and significant approach the student has taken with respect to the clients work and their relationship to the datum?

36 custom textures

Do the 36 custom textures demonstrate enquiry and experimentation with respect to ideas of measurement?

7 images showing 2 draft sketchup models and 1 developed  model

Does the stair demonstrate a distinctive and significant approach to bringing the completed work into the showroom?

3 animations from sketchup 

Do animations demonstrate that the student has thought about the relative size of each element, what their proportions are, their orientation, how texture and color map over their surfaces and how all of the above work together to establish the balance or otherwise of their scheme?

Good luck with  it all and see you all next week to commence with experiment two.

Cheers

Chris

Sketchup Plugin: Soap Skin & Bubble

Hi Guys

Thanks for all your hard work so far, go hard for the next week and I'm looking forward to seeing each of your submissions! Yesterday, Sheng brought to my attention a plugin he has been using that may be useful for any of you with complex or curved surfaces. The plugin is call Soap Skin & Bubble and the link is here: https://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/soap-skin-bubble

The plugin appears to be very straight forward to use so implementing this at the last minute shouldn't be a problem and will help avoid spending a heap of time tidying up the model. Take note of the tutorial video where the guy mentions that "more divisions will result in more polygons and will increase your file size", this is absolutely true and creating too many divisions may slow your computer down or even crash it so just use as many divisions as you need without going overboard.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it is going to be very difficult to apply your custom textures to surfaces that you have created using this plug-in. Here's some images of what Sheng has created with this plug-in;

Hope this helps!
Chris

Before Studio: Week 04

Hi guys,

A comment on something I've noticed with a lot of your sketchup models.... floating models with no ground plane!

Without a ground plane there is no context for your building to exist. Have a look at how the image below of a work by the late Zaha Hadid (for those of you who aren't familiar with Zaha Hadid, she has been a pioneering woman in architecture who unfortunately passed away this week at the age of 65), without a ground plane, the whole context is lost.

Please make sure that your sketchup model has a ground plane of some form before next studio. I understand this may change the way you show your below ground space, such as with a section, but this is to be expected for below ground spaces.

See you in studio
Chris

Before Studio: Week 03

Hi guys,

Please be sure that all the required work to date is uploaded to your blog before studio. This week we will only be discussing what you can show me on your blog (ie. sketches, Sketchup screenshots, etc). If its not on your blog, its not up for discussion...

See you in studio
Chris

Defining Ground

A good post worth checking out from another tutor's blog. This should be a good one for those of you who were asking today if the 3D model is just an extrusion of the section...
http://arch1101-2016rm.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/underground-sapces.html

PS: Note the stair in the first example up to the 'above' space!

Recap: Week 02

Hi guys,

I don't think I need to go into too much detail recapping todays class - you all seem to be getting on top of things and grasping the concepts pretty well! To link to todays lecture slides click here, there were some beautiful examples of stairs by some architects that are well worth researching.

I'll repeat myself again from class, by bringing up Peter Eisenmann's "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe" - I think this monument really taps into the idea we have been exploring of capturing the essence of a word or an idea... There are many words/ideas Eisenmann would have had in mind whilst designing this place, and without being literal manages to conjure a sense of uncertainty, loss, disorientation, fear, unfamiliarity and change. If any of you have the chance to visit Berlin I highly recommend you don't miss this place - very sobering and very important in showing the power of architecture.

 
Use the time between now and next week to get all the requirements so far (18 sketch sections + 2 screenshots from Sketchup) uploaded to your blog as well as this weeks requirements (8 stair sections sketches (two sections for each stair) + 2 screen shots of the new Skecthup model which should featuring a staircase). You're all off to a good start with the 3D models, just make sure you develop your model as more than a mere extrusion of your sketch section. Click here for the specific requirements for next week.

I'll leave you with an excerpt from a book by Austin Kleon 'Steal Like an Artist';

"You're ready. Start making stuff. You might be scared to start. That's natural. There's this very real thing that runs rampant in educated people. It's called 'Imposter Syndrome'. It means that you feel like a phony, like you're just winging it, that you really don't have any idea what you're doing. Guess what: None of us do. Ask anybody doing truly creative work, and they'll tell you the truth: They don't know where the good stuff comes from. They just show up to do their thing. Every day."

Keep sketching. Keep modelling.

Cheers,
Chris

Before Studio: Week 02

Hi guys,

Please bring your laptops as well as your moleskins to tomorrows studio.

If you haven't already please make sure you've uploaded your 18 sketches and your screen shots of your 3D model so far.

See you in studio
Chris

Recap: Week 01

Hi all,

You can download a copy of lecture one to review by clicking here.

As you all know, todays task was to create 18 sketch sections "exploring the relationship between two of the projects you chose and the ground line as a datum". I know some of you were a little overwhelmed by the abstract nature of this task, but fear not... that is mostly the point! Architects view the world differently to everybody else, I promise that by the end of first year you will be seeing the world through new eyes, and once you have these new eyes, you will never look at anything the same again! However, seeing the world differently doesn't happen magically - tasks that focus on thinking abstractly will help you to see the world [and architecture] in the way that is different to how everyone else see's it.

A couple of pointers to keep in mind for your sections;

SECTION:No matter how beautiful your drawings are, if you are not focusing on the idea of exploring a section, you're heading down the wrong path, keep on track and keep it to sections [for now at least]. Think about how a section allows you to better understand the relationship of spaces that might not be understood without a section. Think back to the Pantheon which Russell touched on in his lecture... for all it's beauty, this is a space that cannot be truly understood without a section.

 

Remember to treat your hatching as a means to express the difference between solid and void. Perhaps you will use denser hatching to show very solid and loose hatching to show not very solid, or you may use a consistent hatch - whatever the choice, take pride in your hatching and undertake it with care. Space lines evenly. If your lines are supposed to be in the same direction, make sure that they are.

DATUM (above ground or below?):
An area where many were heading off track was by drawing "objects" - an object does not have a relationship with a datum (if datum is a difficult concept for you, think of the surface of the ground as being a datum, however a datum is not restricted to being the ground line). Each of your sketch sections should have a distinct below ground space and a distinct above ground space. How your sketch interacts with the datum is up to you... are you entirely above, or entirely below, or are you exploring the relationship both above and below at the same time?

An easy way to judge if you've heading off track:- look at your drawings, could you easily switch the sketch at the bottom with the sketch at the top with little consequence? A below ground space should only belong at the bottom of the page, if not, you're probably still drawing objects!

ABSTRACT YOUR IDEAS:Remember, we're not looking for you to draw a literal interpretation of each of your chosen words. You should try to tap into the essence of the word or the idea of the word. I don't need to be able to identify what your word was just by looking at the sketch, but once I know the word, it should suit the sketch drawn. Sharp lines for an aggressive adjective and soft, gentle curves for a gentle adjective are easy ones, but try to explore the grey are between these extremes.

If you find this part difficult, try breaking your word down - what does this word actually mean? What are its synonyms? What feelings or emotions does this word evoke? What sort of lines would I draw if I was feeling that emotion?

If you're still struggling look to the James Kim slide from the lecture notes, however keep in mind we want to explore your creativity.

Cheers
Chris

Sketchup

Hi all,

As you know, you're task to complete before next week is to develop one of your sections created in class in three dimensions with Sketchup Make. Sketchup has an incredibly fast learning curve and in addition to this, there are a series of tutorials you should complete before you jump into creating your 3D model of your section.

Download Sketchup Make here: https://www.sketchup.com/products/sketchup-make

The "Getting Started" tutorials are here: http://www.sketchup.com/learn/videos/58
These tutorials will teach you the "tools": http://www.sketchup.com/learn/videos/60
If you still want to know more you may opt to also undertake some more advanced tutorials but these won't be essential to get you underway: http://www.sketchup.com/learn/videos/80

I suggest you pace yourself with the tutorials - don't leave them to the last minute or you'll be cramming and the results will show in your work!

Cheers
Chris

Student Blogs

Hi everyone,

Please use the comments section of this post to let me know the address of your blog, I will then link to everyone's blog from my blog.

Please ensure to have all 18 of your sketch sections posted to your blog before next weeks class. If you want me to take one last look at your sections before you begin putting your one chosen section into sketchup, ensure that you have your sections uploaded (even if it is not all eighteen) no later than 12:00 noon this Friday 11/03 as that will be your last chance.

Cheers,
Chris