Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Today's ArchiPic #89

Sundial Bridge in Redding, California, from architecturaldigest
    Today's ArchiPic is a beautiful Sundial Bridge designed Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava.  It was completed in 2004 and was priced at 23,500,000 US dollars.  Set at a 42 degree angle, the cantilever tower supports the bridge by using bending and torsional forces to keep suspension.  The bridge crosses the 700 foot wide river near Turtle Bay.  The 4,232 foot long cables were made in England, and the wires a hooked very tightly on the bridge to keep it from falling.  (That would be bad)  Anyhow, this bridge is one of the most amazing structures I have seen.  And its design as a sundial is extraordinary.   

Monday, January 30, 2012

Today's ArchiPic #88


The "Horizontal" Skyscraper from stevenholl.com

     We just talked about an inverted skyscraper last week.  Now, on tonight's installment of Today's ArchiPic, we are talking about a horizontal skyscraper.  Designed by Steven Holl, the building is obviously horizontal in angle and is called a skyscraper because of how massive and long it is.  It is a tsunami proof structure built in Shenzhen, China, and is rated as one of the best in southern China.  A mix-use building, it includes a hotel, offices, serviced apartments, and a public park.

Read More at: www.stevenholl.com

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Today's ArchiPic #87

[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.]

Ornamented Columns from interiorholic.com

    Today's ArchiPic is a group of columns designed by Michael Hansmeyer.  He used complex algorithms that created the most intricate and ornamented designs I have ever seen in architecture.  The columns are so complex that "Every 3D printing facility we spoke to turned us down. Typically those machines can’t process more than 500,000 faces — the computer memory required to process the data grows nonlinearly, and it also gets tripped up on the self-intersecting faces of the column," said Hansmeyer.  These designs were too complex for the 3D printer to print them.  This is one amazing column!


Read more at: http://www.interiorholic.com/architecture/intricate-architecture-in-michael-hansmeyers-ornamented-columns/

An Update

I need to give you guys an update on what has been going on these past few days.

    The past few days we have been playing in the new survival map on the Minecraft server, and we will continue to do so for awhile.  There won't be any update on the city of Alimar for maybe a couple of weeks.  I'll have to see if I feel like working on it.  But trust me, Alimar is not dead.  We are just taking a break because of how fun the new map has been.  I will probably be posting the next installment of Today's ArchiPic later tonight.  As for this week, more architecture is in store for all of you to enjoy!


Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Today's ArchiPic #86

kub+1 A Playful Design: KUB+ Coffee Table by Fabio Teixeira

    Today's ArchiPic is something that I don't ever see and don't normally post about.  It is a coffee table made so that small living rooms could fit it in with all that hassle of a normal-size coffee table.  So how do you fix that problem?  Brazilian designer Fabio Teixeira made a giant Rubik's Cube and you can probably guess what he made out of it!  It is a Rubik's cube coffee table.  Yes, I said a Rubik's Cube coffee table!  (Keep in mind that this is just a design and not a real thing yet.)

KUB+ close A Playful Design: KUB+ Coffee Table by Fabio Teixeira
   
    It was constructed and put together with glue, so there were no interior supports, and the pieces of the cube were put together through wood dowel pins.  You can actually move the pieces of this mobile coffee table like a real Rubik's Cube, and surprisingly, it gets even better from there.

kub+2 A Playful Design: KUB+ Coffee Table by Fabio Teixeira   

    "The project uses no glue and the pieces are put together through wood dowel pins, resulting in a furniture with 526x526x520mm dimensions. The materials used are sheets of plywood and the finish is made with lacquer ink," says Teixeira.  There's one last thing I have to say about this intuitive design: unbelievable!

Sources:
>>  http://freshome.com/2011/04/13/a-playful-design-kub-coffee-table-by-fabio-teixeira/

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Dazzling Designs | Inverted Skyscraper

    It is an unusual question to think about.  Can a structure that never reaches a height above sea level be called a skyscraper?  Tonight's Dazzling Designs is all about something that I have never heard of: an inverted skyscraper. 

    
    A structure designed by Matthew Fromboluti seeks to prove itself worthy of being called a skyscraper while being 900 feet underground.  It's crazy to think that something could be called a skyscraper while being underground and not actually "scraping the sky."  A 300 acre wide crater left by a mine in Bisbee, Arizona, is the place where this inverted skyscraper will be built.  The structure will include work places, green spaces, recreational areas, and even farming.  (It almost reminds me of the Dragonfly structure from a previous Dazzling Designs post.)  Not just this, but it will have its own power source, water recycling system, and a solar chimney, which is used to control the artificial climate.  Also, skylights are inside the underground mega-structure to help control the climate.


    At the surface, there is a dome that covers the structure, and obviously, 99 percent of the entire building will be underground.  Overtime, the natural erosion and deposition cycle will cover the dome with sand, and the top of the structure will be, technically, invisible.  


    In conclusion, inverted skyscrapers are an interesting feat of architecture.  They are filled with complex designs, creative ingenuity, and artificial technology that make it possible to live in these underground structures.  Should an underground building be called a skyscraper?  No, it's probably smarter to call it a dirt-scraper! 

Sources:

References: 

Sneak Peak on the next installment of Dazzling Designs:
A skyscraper floating over a massive canyon is something you will never see...until now.  Be looking forward to next week's Dazzling Designs when we talk about the next amazing feat in architectural engineering: a skyscraper floating over the Grand Canyon!





   

Sunday, January 22, 2012

An Update...On Everything!

    The past three days, we have been very, very busy making and testing the survival map on the Minecraft server.  Everything has been going as plan, and we opened it up today.  As for an update on the city of Alimar Monday, I'll have to do it next week.  Regular posting will resume tomorrow on my blog though.  - Zach

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Posting...

Sorry, I do not have enough time to post a real post tonight, and my normal schedule will resume soon.  I'll see you guys tomorrow!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Minecraft Architecture | Alimar - Update 1

    Welcome to the next project of ours that we will hopefully finish!

    Since Sunday (January 15), my little brother and I have been working on a new project called the city of Alimar.  Inspired from Skyrim, Alimar has a good future.  It already has eight houses furnished, nine exteriors complete and overall, the residential district is finished.  Of course, if you have seen Skyrim, you know how beautiful the architecture is, and you should be looking forward to see our next build!  (Click on the images below to enlarge to full screen size!)


    This is the city of Alimar front gate.  Inside is Boethia's Circle, which is a roundabout street where the entrance to each district is.  The Wind District is residential, the Cloud District is a farming district, and the Star District is a commercial district that is home to the palace, barracks, markets, and stores of many kinds.


    This is Boethia's Circle, and in the middle, is the beautiful and mystical tree of Boethogg.  (Yes, I am still in adventure map/Skyrim mode!  Haha)


   This is a picture from inside the Wind (Residential) District.  It is composed of nine houses with almost all of them being furnished.  At the very back is the great Amik'r Estate, a beautiful, four story mansion.


    As you walk farther into the Wind District, you will notice that each set of houses is taller than the other.  I think it makes it look very cool and I like how it contours to the shape and rise of the land. 


    The next set of houses are two stories high and have a very complex roof design.  By the way, each set of houses have identical exteriors.


    The next set is a group of houses that have a totally different roof design.  It is a much more steeper triangle.  This house and the house across from it both have two stories.



    As we move on to the taller houses, the size has increased to three floors, and the houses are bigger and more unique.



   Sorry, it is hard to describe these houses in words.  (Other than, they are gabled and look medieval.)


    The last home in line is the great Amik'r Estate.  It was originally a lot larger, but we decided to size it down because it was overkill. 


    Four stories high, this monster is a beauty.  A red carpet brings you to the front of the estate and magnificent lighting draws you in at night.


   The shape, also, is hard to describe.  If you look at some of the houses on Skyrim in the city of Whiterun, you will know what I mean.  They have a viking style curve at each gable, and that one little detail makes the house look a lot different, which gives it a medieval feel.


    The foundation is largely made out of stone brick, and instead of using fences for railings, we decided to line it with stone brick slabs every other block, which gives it a castle feel and adds a nice finish.



    These are the future plans for the things around the residential area.  The places in white are obviously possible construction spots.  We plan on adding a bunch of things to the city as a whole, which include a wall (of course), port/shipyard, a mine, palace, temple, library, market, maybe jail, archery house/military training area, barracks, farms, windmills, and much more!  (The list could go on for awhile!)  Next monday or Tuesday, be looking for the next update on the city of Alimar!  (More architecture coming tomorrow, I think)
  

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Minecraft | FyreUK's Minecraft Creations

    There will be no update on the city of Alimar until tomorrow because I am just not ready to show it.  We need to add some more stuff before I can give you guys an update.  Anyways, I wanted to show all of you a video from the FyreUK team.  As you know, they have recently made their biggest timelapse of 2011, and it turned out amazing!  A couple of days ago they put out their 20th episode of Minecraft Creations, and trust me, it will amaze you also!


    Early in the video, Matt and Phil are in a night club.  (No, not in real life!)  And there is a bunch of cool glowstone that goes around the club.  It has many bright colors and really feels like you are in a dance club with a ton of neon lights and disco balls.  Later around the 6 minute mark, they enter a city that is indescribable!  And of course, if you have seen FyreUK, you know they love bridges!  Check out the bridge at minute mark 6:18.  It has a crazy design that will make all of your jaws drop!  They later go to an underground part of the city that has a lighting design that I have never seen before!  If you want to see more from the FyreUK team, go to FyreUK's YouTube Channel, and subscribe to them.

*UPDATE on Alimar coming tomorrow!*