Thursday, October 27, 2011

Today's ArchiPic #72

    The ceramic frit pattern used on the glass dome helps to reduce glare in the reading room.
Joe and Rika Mansueto Library from architectmagazine.com

    Today's ArchiPic is the Mansueto Library in Chicago, Illinois.  It is utterly breathtaking and a for sure advancement in the style of architecture used with libraries.  On the campus of the University of Chicago, Jahn Architects designed this massive library that can hold up to 3.5 million volumes of books.  The Mansueto Library's basement, which is climate controlled, is 55 feet high.  (mostly because of the massive storage area inside)  Jahn Architects' main goal was to make it a beautiful and attractive place for the students to experience.  It boasts a massive, transparent glass dome that consists of a ceramic frit that helps to reduce glare.  You can read mroe at www.architectmagazine.com.



An Update on that SPECIAL Post

   As I said yesterday, I am planning on doing that SPECIAL post when I reach 10k in page views.  I just checked and I have reached the goal.  But this special post won't be posted until this weekend.  I won't have time to do it tonight or tomorrow, and remember that this post will be all about something awesome in architecture.  I can't wait!  Until next time, enjoy the ARCHITECTURE!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Who's Ready for a Special Post?

    As I am nearing 10,000 page views, I was thinking I should do something cool.  Doing something special everytime I hit the ten-thousandth digit in page views just for fun sounds really fun!  (10k, 20k, 30k etc.)  So whenever I hit 10k, be prepared for an especially long post.  What will the topic be?  I'm not sure yet, but I'll be thinking.  And don't worry!  It will be directly related to something awesome in architecture.

    On a side note, this blog has turned into an amazing part of my life.  It has grown so much in such a short amount of time.  I love sharing architecture with people around the world, and especially sharing architecture that isn't even real.  (Minecraft)  Thanks to all of you who follow my blog and keep up with it.  So until next time, enjoy the ARCHITECTURE!  

FyreUK Timelapse


    This is a video of the FyreUK Dwarven City time lapse.  In this build, Matt, Phil, and members of the server come together and build FyreUK's first real underground build called Dwarven City.  They always impress me with their creativity and never cease to amaze.  On our server, I plan to do a mega build within a month or so.   When I do, I will make a time lapse of it and hopefully share it with you guys.  I will also do an in-depth tour of the build.  If it is really big, I will probably do it in parts.  I don't have my own YouTube account to post things on, but if I can get access to one, I will be able to show the time lapse here on blogger.  Once I get the software for the time lapse and get access to a YouTube account, be prepared for an awesome new series.  It will probably either be a spin-off of Minecraft Creations, a totally new series, or a continuation of Minecraft Creations.  I have yet to decide.  Don't forget to checkout FyreUK and their awesome channel here.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Minecraft Creations | The Cali Estate

*Be Warned!  This post is long!*

    Welcome to back to another Minecraft Creations installment.  Today is probably going to be one of the best residential Minecraft Creations post yet.  Last weekend, Friday through Saturday, we worked on something massive on the server.  In appreciation of the HOUSES 101 Art-Filled Californian Home last Wednesday, we decided to make a house that looks relatively similar.  We also had alot of inspiration behind it and with Ornate 5 as our texture packs, we created a huge estate on a beautiful, Californian like vista.

    The Cali Estate, as I named it, is short for California.  (Very creative!  *big grin*)  A friend and I started this on Friday, making it as similar as we could to the front of the Art-Filled California Home.  As we kept building, the house started to take shape.  We first thought that we would keep it a single-story house, but as it grew we realized we wanted to make it bigger.  (2 more stories to be exact)  The final outcome was breathtaking to say the least.  Here is the front of the house and after these couple of pictures, I will start the in-depth tour of the interior.

  

    Walking into the front of the house, you will find an awesome looking chandelier made out of glowstone.  In front and both sides of you are walkways into that lead you into different sections of the house.  By the way, most of the house is made out of wood, stone, and sandstone.  (Sandstone for the window and door frames.) 


   When you take the hall left of you as walk into the front entrance, you will find the master bedroom's iron doorway that is almost camouflaged in the iron block wall.  It almost looks like a vault.


    Inside the bedroom, you will see a queen size bed with a beautiful painting above it.  Also in the room, you will see a massive curtain.  Behind it, is the window looking into the dining hall.  But I think I'll keep the curtain down.  (I like privacy)


   If you take the main hall from the front entrance, you will find the magnificent dining room.  It consists of two sides with 3 chandeliers.  In the very middle is where it is split, and past that is the beautiful outdoor deck looking over a massive lake, which includes a ship called the Falcon II.


    The outdoor deck is empty for now.  Besides, we still aren't done with the house!  Most likely, the deck will include a fire pit and some lounge chairs.  On the picture above this one, you can see the magnificent Falcon II; and it's bright, white and blue checkerboard sail.  The picture right above is a very cool design, and below it is a mini-dock.  (used for the small in-game square boats)  The dock is accessible from the basement, which isn't done yet.


    Walking up to the 2nd floor staircase, you will find some beautiful greenery.  There is no arch or door here going to the second floor.  What separates the stairs and next floor you ask?  It's the vines.  Green vines hang from the ceiling, creating a true nature affect.  It also comes with a fountain.


     In the 2nd floor's main hall, there are entrances to the bathroom, balcony, and library.
 

   The bathroom, especially at night, makes you feel like you are in an Arabian castle.  Mostly because of the Ornate 5 texture pack's extreme detail on each block.  The sandstone has a very strong Arabian feel to it.  On the right, with a little gate, is the tub.  To the right of that is the toilet.


   The sink is on the left and to the middle is the shower.  It has the bright glowstone in it forming a cross. 


  Entering the main hall on the 2nd floor, if you turn right you will find 2 empty, long hallways.  These are obviously unfinished and lead to the library on the other side.  We had the idea to put trapdoors on the glowstone where that big sandstone wall is in the picture.  I thought it creates a great glowing affect and matches the theme of the area.


    To finish this LONG post, is the library.  Again we used the trapdoor/glowstone method as you can see at the bottom right of the picture.  In the library, we have 2 tables with 6 seats each.  (Tongue twister at the end there.  Try saying "with 6 seats each" 5 times fast!  *big grin* )  I still can't believe we don't have all of it done.  Besides, we worked on it for two days straight!  I feel the rooms in the house are very out of place.  (For instance, the bathroom is on the 2nd floor away from the master bedroom, and there is no kitchen yet.  Also, I have no clue what to do with the two hallways leading to the library.)  Next time we will try to plan the room layout alot better.  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the tour of the great Cali Estate.  Remember, it's not done yet and be looking out for a completed update some time soon.  Enjoy the ARCHITECTURE!   

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Today's ArchiPic #71

Square 3 by Maki and Associates
Square 3 from archrecord.construction.com

    Today's ArchiPic is a new building designed by Maki and Associates that use a new lighting technique to illuminate Square 3.  Square 3 is an office building inside the Novartis Campus in Basel, Switzerland.  Using the latest architectural lighting techniques, it "embodies the essence of light in both its fabric and functionality."  Square 3 is truly amazing, (as I like to say) and it might be part of the next installment in my Dazzling Designs series.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Minecraft Creations | Simple Church using Ornate 5

    Welcome back to another great installment of Minecraft Creations.  Unfortunately, there is no update on Lionel this week, but there is a pretty cool church to show you.  And of course, if you saw my post on the texture pack Ornate 5, you know I will be using it.  Yesterday, we were working on this church in a small town called Pine Village.  It's not big, but with the Ornate 5 texture pack, it makes it look breathtaking from the inside.  This is by far the most realistic texture pack I've seen and we tested it out by making a church.  Mostly made from log, stone brick, iron, and wooden planks, it has 4 meter (block) long seats consisting of 12 rows in total.  The details on the cross and iron bars are amazing on the texture pack.  Finally, here are some pictures of what I have been talking about. 














 
    Notice how everything is detailed in the pictures above.  This gray stone you see in the picture above has little carvings in it.  That is how detailed Ornate 5 is.  Also, look at the iron bars and mossy stone cross.  They are amazing looking.  Ornate 5 is dusty yet clean at the same time, and it's so realistic that I am going to use it for a long time.  More Minecraft Creations should be coming next week.  Sorry if this was a short one.  (I didn't have much to show)

References:
Minecraft - Ornate 5 Post
Minecraft Ornate 5 Texture Pack Forum
Previous Installment of Minecraft Creations

Today's ArchiPic #70

[All pictures' links were broken. I will make sure this never again happens in the future. Sorry for the inconvenience. This has been fixed for most recent posts. Older posts might still have this issue.]

An Art-Filled Californian Home from architecturaldigest.com

    Today's ArchiPic is a beautiful home in California.  Architect Lewis Butler designed most of the house, but most of the interior decoration goes to Steven Volpe.  This is a masterpiece of a house and it's just south of San Francisco.  “I was trying to create something that makes an impact, something that people haven’t seen before,” Volpe says. “To have a client who allows you to work through a process in which you’re not sure where you’re going to end up is incredibly rare.”  The single-story house's design is an "exquisite work of art and design achieving striking equilibrium."  This house might just show up in the next installment of HOUSES 101.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Minecraft - Ornate 5

    We all know the look of materials used in Minecraft and real life architecture are important to the structure's design.  I have been recently looking through texture packs for Minecraft that change the in-game textures.  Some of them are very popular.  (like DokuCraft, Gerudoku, and Painterly)  I have found one that I think will change the look of the server and make our architecture look even better than before.  The texture pack that I have been playing around with is called Ornate 5.  I think it is time for me to show you some pictures.



This is the terrain file image of all the solid block textures in the pack.  These will be commonly used on the server.  (especially the top ones)  Here are the rest of the images actually from the server.


As you can see, Ornate 5 is amazing, and it will be improving our architecture for future Minecraft Creations.  I can't wait!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Today's ArchiPic #69




Zipper Bench from mosun.com

    Today's ArchiPic is a new popular style of park benches called the zipper benches.  Most of these have just been put into New York City.  WXY Architects designed the benches which are made from steel gables that support the structure with customized ribs and arm rests.  The design seems to be very attractive with park departments.

The Latest Lighting Products

    As seen from archrecord.construction.com, there are some new lighting solutions in the field of architecture.  Most of them are very cool and provide a new type of lighting for homes and businesses.  Archrecord said, "In May, we visited Lightfair International in Philadelphia and selected a few of the best new lighting solutions on view at the show."

Here are four of the six new lighting solutions found at archrecord.construction.com



                                                                                              
 

To see more and read about each new lighting product, click here.