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/

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:

>> Previous Minecraft Architecture Post

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.   

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:

>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost_Bank_Tower

References:
>> Today's ArchiPic #96

Today's ArchiPic #102

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.

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!

Today's ArchiPic #101

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...