Sunday, April 29, 2012

Minecraft | A New Kind of Adventure!

    After totally failing at our previous adventure map, I feel like we should start to work on it again.  We are still working on Sidka though, and we are going to finish that before starting anything else.  There was a city that I talked about in a short-story book in the old adventure map called Kaskolia.  In the current setting the city is deserted and is called the Ancient Ruins of Kaskolia, but for most of the piece, it talks about what it looked like before the catastrophe.  Based on the descriptions made in the short-story book, Kaskolia would be a cool city to create in Minecraft.  Here is a piece from the book about the fictional city before its fall: (Skyrim inspired!)

    "Kaskolia III lived in a marvelous city in the rolling hills of England's Amish country. The city was named Kaskolia, after the king's grandfather. Kaskolia was a place that everyone   wanted to be in the summer time. The trees were big and bright and the grass was bright green. Cities before Kaskolia were never the same.  The wall of the city was a massive circle made out of stone, bricks, and cobble.  At the top of the most majestic hill in the city was the palace.  Its archways were as big as giants, towering over the people that walked through their ornate design.  
    Inside Volumfroth Palace, the walls and pillars were decorated with complex and intricate carvings.  Most of Volumfroth was made out of stone and cobble mined from the deepest reaches of what is now known as "The Labyrinth".  The main hall was dimly lit while still showing a bit of daylight seeping in from the bright, summer sun.  Wooden dragon carvings were mounted on the side beams of the exterior as decorative ornaments.  The side rooms and halls were more complex than they seemed.  So complex, one could accidentally wander and get lost as if they were in a maze.  In the center of the town lies an ancient fountain, and its design, made out of moss and stone with bright lights at the bottom, is most intricate.  
    The waters of the fountain are a clear, crystal blue and at night reflect the starry sky.  Homes in the city were made out of logs and stone.  (Sometimes consisting of stone bricks and sandstone)  They too have depictions of dragons on the outer beams.  Most of the town's inhabitants built houses that were broad in width and short in length.  These homes were also dimly lit on the inside with candles scattered throughout them.  With a firepit in the center living room, a complex and intricate roof, and ancient paintings and carvings, each home is a part of the city's main architectural masterpieces."
    What you just read is what we came up with as part of the lore of the old adventure map.  If we decide to start the adventure map again, it will be a lot better thought out as before.  After we finish the town of Sidka, I really want to start recreating this fictional city called Kaskolia that I envisioned.  The architecture in it will be extraordinary and it will be more amazing and massive than any of our creations on the server.

*Next week, Minecraft Architecture will be resumed on my blog and we will continue with Sidka.*

References:
>> Previous Minecraft Architecture Post

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Broken Links...

    There are some posts dating back that have broken picture links and even broken website links that I noticed.  A lot of these include my older Today's ArchiPic posts that have pictures from Architectural Digest.  For some reason, Architectural Digest has moved the links, and now they are broken on my site.  I have a solution though that will fix this in the future.  (I just have to upload them differently to fix the problem.)  But I will either have to totally take out the posts with the corrupt pictures or leave a notice where the pictures were saying the links were broken.  Sorry for the inconvienence.  I'll make sure that this never happens again.


Skyrim Architecture | Windhelm

Welcome to the next installment of my Skyrim Architecture series, where I scout the Skyrim world in search of the most beautiful structures and landmarks Bethesda's award-winning franchise has to offer.


    This beautiful city is on the northeast corner of Skyrim and sits along the White River that flows into the sea.  In this area of Skyrim, it is very cold and you often see the port's waters frozen solid with ice.  There is a massive ice and snow-covered bridge that goes over the river that greets the stone walls of the city. 


    As you can see in this picture, Windhelm sits in between two large mountain ranges and its architecture has a "fortress" like look to it.  The Palace of the Kings, one of the oldest structures in the city and the home of the Jarl or "king", is on top of a hill that overlooks the city.  And you can easily see it as a striking figure in the picture above.

Stonequarter.PNG

    Basically, the city is divided up into three "quarters" or districts as I would call them.  This is the Stone Quarter.  It is the first district you see when you enter through the city's gates.



     One of the most iconic buildings in Windhelm is the Candlehearth Hall. It is a very famous and ancient inn where visitors to the city often stay.


    The Gray Quarter, or Snow Quarter as it was once called, is mostly made up of residential buildings.  Although there are mostly homes in this area of the city, there are also some really neat shops.


    The last of the three Quarters is Valunstrad.  It is home to the cities largest and most majestic houses.  Most people that live here are very wealthy and have a high ranking in the city.  (Some of these homes remind me of structures from RCT3 that were part of the "spooky" theme.  They are very spooky.)

PotK.jpg

    The last, but certainly not least, is the Palace of the Kings.  It is the most iconic figure in the city and towers over everything beside it.  Basically, it is divided into four sections that join with the main hall.  As you walk into the massive bronze doors, you are greeted with a long dining table in the center of the hall.  The Jarl's throne sits in the back of the main hall, with rooms that go out from the sides.  In the Palace of the Kings, there are all kinds of rooms, including dungeons, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, and a labyrinth-type basement.


References:

Minecraft Architecture Update

    We should be getting back to the Minecraft Architecture soon.  We haven't done anything with the city since the last update on the bridge.  The past week we have been playing on a new survival world on the server, so things are not going to speed up for awhile.  What I'm trying to say is that my normal, weekly Minecraft Architecture posts won't be resuming anytime soon.  But when they do, I'm positive we will get back to the town of Sidka and finish what we started.

References:
>> Previous Minecraft Architecture Post

Today's ArchiPic #108

L’Opera Restaurant
L’Opera RestaurantL'Opera Restaurant; all photos from Architectural Record by Roland Halbe

    Today's ArchiPic is the L'Opera Restaurant in Paris, France.  This building is not new by any means.  It was first built in 1875, but its old features didn't deter the architect from renovating the inside space and turning it into a beautiful, modern, and Opera-filled restaurant.  Renovated by Odile Decq Benoit Cornette Architects, the inside has, obviously, a defined contrast from the exterior.  "Because of the building's heritage, Decq could not touch its stone surfaces or block the view of the ornate pendant suspended from the domed ceiling. And to enable the space to revert to its original state, every new element had to be removable at the end of the restaurant's limited term," says Architectural Record.

>> Read the full story here.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Today's ArchiPic #107

The Atrium / DAmbrosio Architecture & Urbanism © Sama J.Canzian
The Atrium from ArchDaily by Sama J. Canzian

    Today's ArchiPic is the Atrium in Victoria, Canada.  Designed by D' Ambrosio Architecture + Urbanism, it is a massive office/multi-purpose building that integrates the green environment with a robust architectural design.  On the ground level, the building hosts cafes and restaurants.  The outer edge on the ground level is "transparent", allowing people to easily look in and see what's going on.  Used as an office building on the higher floors, the Atrium's design has large, spacious areas to work with offices in the most interesting places.  There are also many mosaic and sculpture designs in the public area, providing an even better experience. 

>> Read the whole story here.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Today's ArchiPic #106


Bubble Hotel from inhabitat.com by Attrap'Reves

    Today's ArchiPic is the Bubble Hotel in near Marseille, France.  Built by Bubbletree's, these transparent spheres are made out of (what looks like) plastic.  Attrap'Reves Hotel is not a regular hotel.  It's a bubble hotel that immerses the guest outdoors without really putting them "outdoors".  Designed by Pierre Stephane, he wanted to create an "exciting camping adventure" that included the campers with nature and doesn't have a bad affect on the environment.  At 109 Euros per night, the rooms are not cheap.  But if you are a kind of person that loves the outdoors but cannot stand camping outside in the open, this is for you.  You are totally surrounded by nature without actually being there. 

>> Read more about the Bubble Hotel at inhabitat.com

Minecraft | FyreUK's Fallen Kingdom

    FyreUK has been at it again and created another piece of spectacular architecture!  Their most recent work is called the Fallen Kingdom.  It was a set made for a Minecraft parody music video by CaptainSparklez.  This "fallen kingdom" is set inside a massive valley with tall mountains surrounding it.  The Medieval style build had a castle in the middle where the king lives and commercial and residential districts around it. 

    After they were done, they even destroyed parts of the city to make it looked "ruined" for the music video called "Fallen Kingdom".  FyreUK said, "We were asked to build a kingdom within a small area surrounded by sheer mountain walls, the result is a town built around a castle that towers over the world. We tried to condense the usual FyreUK aesthetic and epic scale build into a smaller area...You even get a glimpse at the destroyed version of the build that we 'wrecked' for the music video too."
 

Here is the timelapse video of the Fallen Kingdom build:

Here is the music video by Captain Sparklez that shows even a closer look at the structures inside the city wall:

References:


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Today's ArchiPic #105

Snapshot: Mirror House
Mirror House from Architectural Record by Laura Stamer

    Today's ArchiPic is the Mirror House in Copenhagen.  It sits in the city's central park and is obviously very reflective.  Architects Mads Lund and Robert Paulsen of MLRP designed the "house."  This, very reflective, structure used to be an old shed covered with graffiti.  It is now used as the park's restrooms and storage, which is a lot better than an old shed.

>> Read More about the Mirror House at Architectural Record 

SOPA NOT in Your Eyes?

Visit this post first if you haven't heard of the bills SOPA and PIPA:
Info on SOPA - The Art of Architecture

As of January 19, the Congress bills SOPA and PIPA are not finished.  They still have somewhat of an edge with lots of friends in Washington.  Here are some sites I found that throughouly explain what the status of the SOPA and PIPA bills are.

>> http://blogs.computerworld.com/19594/sopa_pipa_down_but_not_out_yet
>> http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/sopa-pipa/
>> http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/government/232500050

Monday, April 16, 2012

Minecraft | FyreUK Adventure Map

    Recently, the FyreUK members started making a new adventure map on their server for Hat Films to play on.  Over the past few weeks, they have worked on the spawn and the first massive city.  The first city they made is called Red Rock City.  Basically, the whole area is made up of red rock.  (obviously)  The scenery and shape of the landscape are based off of Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia and Petra, Jordan.

Here is the timelapse of Red Rock City:


Here is the second video that includes the timelapse of the spawn and road out into a cave:

 

    As always, there work is an amazing piece of architecture.  Everything is intricate and massive.  Go check them out at their YouTube channel here.

References:
>> FyreUK

Today's ArchiPic #104


Picture from inhabitat.com

    Today's ArchiPic is the French Embassy in Beijing, China.  It was recently completed last year and obviously, blends in with the color of the trees around it.  The embassy is gold in color due to a golden silk-screened facade on its outer skin.  It is "is designed to combine French elegance with the principles of feng shui and bioclimatic architecture," says inhabitat.com.  They also said how it "provides a peaceful connection" to the outdoor elements.

Sources:
>> http://inhabitat.com/new-french-embassy-in-china-has-a-golden-silk-screened-facade/

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Minecraft Architecture | The Bridge

Lately, we have been working on the bridge that will eventually cross the river and go up on a hill to the other side of the commerical district.  Welcome to the future town of Sidka, a new beginning in a series of Minecraft architectural projects.


    First of all, this bridge is simply complex.  Its structure and shape are also very intricate.


    It took us a couple of hours to make the bridge because we were mainly just framing it.  Later we started to make the arch on the bottom.


   We also messed around with the lighting.  We wanted to get a perfect type so we decided to stay with this street lamp design.


    This is underneath the bridge.  As you can see, its arch is very thick and has a very nice shape to it.






    That was the rest of the pictures.  I hope you liked our awesome bridge!  Join me next time in a couple of weeks for the next Minecraft Architecture post.  (We are taking a bit of a break for now.)  But this project is not dead.  It will stay fully alive until we completely finish it.  After we do, there will be more cities and projects to come.

References:

A Hault on Minecraft Architecture

    After the next Minecraft Architecture post, I will not be posting any new Minecraft architecture for awhile.  I am taking a break on the town of Sidka mostly because we made a new survival world on the server.  For now, I will be spending most of my time in that world and less in the creative.  But this doesn't mean the project is done.  It is still very much alive and will stay that way until we finish the town.  Anyways, be looking for a Minecraft Architecture post right after this on the new bridge made in the town of Sidka. 

Today's ArchiPic #103


[Source: http://www.architecturaldigest.com/decor/2012-05/easton-neston-house-england-article]

    Today's ArchiPic is the Easton Neston.  Designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor way back in 1702, the Easton Neston is one of England's historic treasures.  32,000 square feet with 36 rooms are included in the mansion.  Owned now by Leon Max, he decided to "revamp" the place and make it better than ever.  The team worked on restoring it and adding new things to the mansion, and the final product was glorious.

Sources:
>> http://www.architecturaldigest.com/decor/2012-05/easton-neston-house-england-article

Absolutely! More Content Tonight!

    Yes, it has been over a week since my last post, and I apologize for not keeping up with the blog.  Today's ArchiPic and Minecraft Architecture will be coming tonight though!  As for the 20K Special, I still don't feel motivated to do it.  I might just stop doing these page view special posts because it is just not worth it.  I post enough content already, and when I don't feel inspired or motivated it makes for crummy posts.  So I think I am just not going to post a 20K Special.  I might when I eventually get into the big digits but not anytime soon.   

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Dazzling Designs | Frost Bank Tower

Since posting Today's ArchiPic #96 on my blog, I have wanted to do a post on my new favorite building: the Frost Bank Tower.


     The Frost Bank Tower in Austin, Texas, is one of the many centerpieces for the skyline of the city.  It was designed by HKS, inc. and Duda/Paine Architects, LLP and was the first skyscraper to be built after the September 11th attacks, which makes it very unique.  Finished in November of 2001, the tower has the highest logo in the city and comprises of 33 floors with a total height of 515 feet.  It is also Austin's third tallest building.

   
    The reason why I like it so much is because of the shape and color of its crown.  Since the company is named Frost Bank, it seems fitting to have a crown that resembles an icy shape.  (It looks that way to me anyways.)  Its crown is also beautifully lit at night.



    On Today's ArchiPic #96 I mention, "The main part of the building is made from a blue low-e glass skin. The low-e glass skin is thicker than normal glass, and it spreads across the tower in whole."  Another very interesting fact to note is that the Frost Bank Tower is one of only two buildings in the world that use the blue low-e glass skin.  Also, I said the building is very unique because of the glorious crown at the top.  240,000 square feet of glass was used to encompass the entire building, and 45,000 square feet of that glass was used on the crown.


   
    They also change the colors of the glass for special occasions.  The picture above is a great snapshot of the top quarter of the building as the sun sets in Austin.  The Frost Bank Tower is one of the most unique buildings I have seen.  Its glass skin, icy crown, and sharp shape make it a site to see if you are site-seeing!  (Haha)

Sources:

References:
>> Today's ArchiPic #96

Today's ArchiPic #102

Riva San Vitale House riva san vitale house outdoor pool

Riva San Vitale House from archpick.com

    Today's ArchiPic is a house called the Riva San Vitale House.  I have found no mentioning of where it's located, but I'm guessing that it's somewhere in Mexico or the far west United States.  The house has a swimming pool and a deck in its backyard, and it is designed to "merge" with the landscape around it.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Minecraft Architecture | The Layout


Welcome to the future town of Sidka, a new beginning in a series of Minecraft architectural projects. 


    I have started to map out where I think everything will be in the town, including the districts, homes, shops, and political buildings.  In the picture above (made using Paint), I marked out where each district will be.  (They may be called something less simple than just "residential" or "commercial" inside the town.)  As you can see, we already have buildings built in the residential district.  I am also thinking about having a mansion as the "wealthy home" inside the residential area.  In the picture though, the mansion will probably be where the big building in the top left corner is.


    In the residential district, we have added only a few more homes since the last time I saw you guys.  My favorite house out of all them is definitely the house in the middle/back.


    With a few additions made to the texture pack, we are able to have different rotations and colors of wooden planks.  As you can see, the light wood is facing forward, and the dark wood is facing sideways.


    This is inside of my favorite home, and yes, I will be removing the sign that says, "25% off Buy and Sell Prices".  (I initially thought this would be a shop.)


    (Just another picture of the same home.  This is a look at the ceiling.)


    As you go up the steps to the mountain, you will pass the homes that we built in the last Minecraft Architecture post.  There will be another update coming next week, and we will be trying to get more builders to help us this weekend. 

References:
>> Previous Minecraft Architecture Post
>> Texture Pack Download
>> Get Minecraft!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Today's ArchiPic #101

Clifftop House
Clifftop House from Architectural Record

    Today's ArchiPic is the Clifftop House in Maui, Hawaii.  (It's actually on a cliff if you didn't figure that out already.)  The owner of the home is a sail designer that lived in Europe but moved to the great state of Hawaii with its tasty, tropical flavor.  Architects Aljosa Dekleva and Tina Gregoric designed the home for their client friend, and they decided to put together different combinations of home designs with one roof, making it very flexible with the landscape around it.  "Each separate “house” is a U-shaped volume with a bedroom and bath that each open to the ocean view," says Architectural Record.  In the end, the (out of country) sail designer was very happy with the job well done.  In other words, there's no April Fool's joke up his sleeve this year.  (Ha!)

>> Read More about the "Clifftop House" at Architectural Record

The Overall Scheme of Things...

    I wanted to do a quick post to share with you guys the overall scheme of things that will be happening this week on my blog.  First of all, I have the 20K special to deal with.  I did not do it this weekend because I felt really unmotivated.  (Usually when I feel unmotivated, the posts just aren't as good or long as they could be.)  So hopefully, I'll get it done by this week or the coming weekend.  By the way, from now on I will plan ahead before I reach a 10,000 page view mark.  I will work on the special post ahead of time and post it right when I hit the next 10K.  By doing that, I will be able to get the "special post" on my blog immediately. 

    Secondly, we did some more work in Minecraft on the server this week, which means be looking for a Minecraft Creations post tomorrow.

    Thirdly, I will be changing the name of my "Minecraft Creations" series to simply "Minecraft Architecture".  The TAGS for Minecraft Creations will also be changed to "Minecraft Architecture".

Yes, that was the overall scheme of things this week...