1 Month is still quicker than before

First let me say congratulations to everyone in my class for surviving another harrowing experience in our juries. For anyone who has no idea what i mean.. well its the hardest part of an architecture degree, making your teachers agree with you.

This is a very much delayed post on a topic i was going to just touch briefly.

Its obvious to everyone that we’re moving into an age of computers, the acceptance and diversity as to how computers have become an aspect of life is astounding. They’re an amazing tool and integral for anything a person will choose to do in the future. As such sometimes its necessary to take a step back and look to see how to maximize your performance. Theres no such thing as useless knowledge i would say, although that doesnt mean i condone crazy pointless classes, but sometimes a chance piece of info can be useful who knows when.

A strange digression, but i wanted to talk about open source software.. i.e. in common parlance.. free stuff.. or i should say legal free stuff. Everyone would be aware of Autocad, Revit, Rhino etc. the begin design products in the architecture industry. getting a copy for a student is close to impossible within a decent budget, but that doesnt mean there arent alternatives, like Google sketchup which is free and most people have heard of. For those people a bit more adventurous you can try Blender 3D http://www.blender.org/ which is a CAD/Maya like mix for  3D rendering that serves very nicely. Google Earth of course has become a staple for geographical imaging. For those of you interested in GIS but a bit afraid of the depth of ArcGIS try the Kalypso simulation Platform http://www.kalypso-simulation-platform.org/, or SAGA http://geosun1.uni-geog.gwdg.de/saga/html/index.php (although Saga is a bit more complicated). and for those few of you who are interested in trying out graphics programming for shape and mass transformation check out the programming language  “Processing” http://processing.org/ an easy to use and learn language.

Finally why dont you have a look at Linux… i’ll be honest i was a complete windows fanatic and still use windows alot, but once i took the plunge and installed a linux distribution.. its hard not to love it… try Ubuntu …http://www.ubuntu.com/.. its nice and simple and can be installed side by side with windows easily, its a great interface for getting free opensource stuff and on top of that is stable, your computer will hardly ever hangup.

I guess thats enough for now, anyone who knows any open source stuff that will help any architecture student/professional, post a comment and share your knowledge.

On a side note.. Sonata Arctica is a great band and i miss watching Code Geass the melodrama is worth it… check it out..A cool AMV.

Sometimes its best to start again!!

Well…. its been months… i think almost half a year since the last post on this blog.. it just seemed as if there was no desire or interest to run it… plus you’ve gotta factor in workloads and classes etc. So now i figured this sites there anyway and i was surprised by an email i got recently with a comment… so i logged on to check and it seems like occasionally people do come to see the site!!! thats a shock honestly.. also made me laugh quite a bit. So i’ve decided to continue and upload more stuff once in a while, whether or not the others want to.

All of us who started are now in our final year working on our thesis projects(the less said about that the better … is what i think), and are busy most of the day with research although there’s always time for fun. As to the site itself lets see how it goes and hopefully can work towards expanding it and keeping it fresh and interesting.

On a final note an interesting parallel came to mind between this blog and architecture. There is always a gap between intent and final product.. its like a basic law or rule of life… whatever a person intends originally can be warped drastically by multiple factors caused either by oneself (being too lazy to upload a post).. or by the surroundings. how much of our architectural history or even modern day architecture is truly understood.. its all well and good to analyze a final product… but what was the intent and how has it changed??.. It’s food for thought at least… anyone who reads this if you have comments please do add them.

Till later.

Lets Talk Architecturally!!! How bout_ Fingerprint of a city-“SKYLINE”

SKYLINE "a physical representation [of a city's] facts of life ... a potential work of art ... its collective vista. I guess most of u got it what its about. But if not, here is simpler explanation. i.e. A skyline is best described as the overall or partial view of a city’s tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background.

In general, larger cities have broader and taller skylines, though lower density cities often have smaller skylines than expected for city size. Taller buildings are found where either land value or desire for visibility is higher, and the tallest buildings in a city are usually office buildings. Because of this, the skyline of a city can be seen as symbolic of the city's influence and economy.

I suppose this much information is cool enough, or else u guyz will start getting bored.

Making it a bit more interesting, lets have a look at the skylines of various cities:

SKYLINE of SINGAPORE

SKYLINE of SHANGHAI

SKYLINE of MANHATTAN

SKYLINE of VENICE

SKYLINE of SYDNEY

SKYLINE of LONDON

SKYLINE of PARIS

SKYLINE of CHICAGO

SKYLINE of MUMBAI

SKYLINE of DUBAI

SKYLINE of TORONTO

Now, based on today’s info, lets have a poll which goes on- “Which of the above mentioned skyline of the cities is most appealing” (and of course architecturally)?

IDIOT MANTRA 3

Here we are once again for have a brief discussion on Complexes.In the so called period of teenage and post teen age,we are so much worried about the complexes and looks.The idiot guru says not to bother about looks,especially during college days...well thats something we obviously can not avoid but still we cannot take things for granted....what things??suspicious looks.....comparisons..........avoid these!!
Keep Fashion awake...bcause thats an essential part of teenage...But mind u.....Fashion is only fun...fun with oneself and with dearones around us as well.So, wear not to hear....but only to cheer

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 02 - Cybertecture

Congruent to popular response (well just one, but even thats great-{brackets inside brackets just got to love it- can't wait for your next comment Oorvi, or anyone else}) I'll make a feature for architects and their 'unique designs' (great way of putting it by the way- read the comment for the previous post), and it shall be named:
"The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" 
Today I'll quickly talk about Cybertecture. My friends at least, are aware of my deep loathing of James and his Cybertecture. Which is not to say i hate all his buildings. Some truly capture the spirit of his mission statement which is as follows-

“In the 21st Century, buildings will be different from 20th Century. They are no longer about concrete, steel and glass, but also the new intangible materials of technology, multimedia, intelligence and interactivity."

A growing trend in modern architecture is a split of practitioners into a modern camp and a conservative one. What this has inevitably led to is architecture that either uniquely utilizes modern technology and materials or buildings constructed of conventional and vernacular techniques. The best designs incorporate both of these elements in a fusion of styles (I'll talk about these at some other point though).

James Law Cybertecture International has a tendency to be in the first camp with outrageous designs that are especially annoying within their context. For example

The iPad in Dubai stands out incroguosly and is in effect a garish display of bad taste. Buildings that utilize such blinding influences should strive to retain the fact that it is  a building rather than a scaled up iPod..
 On the other hand there is the wavefront project in Dubai

This 9 storey residential project retains visual momentum without seeming monotonous, with enough wavelike patterns disturbing the simple design to make it appear in motion.
Laws project garnering the most attention at present is the cybertecture egg in Mumbai.

On the whole the project is impressive from an engineering perspective due to its use of solar panels for energy generation and the fact that the 'skin' of the egg can maintain spans upto 30m. Its design is simple yet elegant utilizing a simple form and creating variation through the use of lattice frame. On the whole the project is a wonder yet retains the major problem i mentioned earlier, you could place this building anywhere in the globe and it would fit. While that may not seem a problem from an energy perspective its a pure catastrophe. Tropical climates like Mumbai have such high heat and humidity that glass frames create an unnecessary burden on the energy load that could simply have been avoided and from a design perspective an opaque panel would remove the fragile appearance the structure gives.

Well thats it for my short opinion and same as usual if you have comments etc. etc. etc.
(NOTE-Don't forget to vote in the poll)

Until Next Time

Lewstherinthefang

Something for your benefit - or not really, still its interesting, right?

To those of you who are aware (and to those who are not-read the older posts they're not long), this blog has had a sort of rough start, and it can give the impression that we dont care, but we truly do. Turnwithturf has his own feature and i'm thinking of doing one myself, but i honestly have no idea what would be interesting or funny (preferably both) so in the meantime ill just chat a bit (if you have a good one tell me). I'm honestly curious why no-one is interested in leaving comments and stuff. Still im not blaming anyone, this is for fun, so whatever you want to say is all you should say.
The last sentence was sort of convoluted, but thats just the way i like it, it adds a depth to any writing that really is amazing.(If you dont believe me check out V dor Vendetta- its a movie that probably has the most spectacular use of the english language in history.)
In any case i'll honestly try in the coming few weeks to post something daily, from myself at least to keep some sort of momentum going.

If you have questions about architecture send them to mos1man@hotmail.com with the subject: Archijournal Q&A or something similair.
If you have suggestions either put them in the comments section (read this older post to find out how) or email them to the above address.
I'll keep repeating myself on this point so please bear with me.
I'll probably keep this up until people send mails or leave comments so in case you're irritated with this do one of them to shut me up at least.

Until Next Time

Lewstherinthefang

IDIOT MANTRA 2

Anshul Srivastava
Introducing the guys with a new world of old responsibilities. The responsibility of an individual lies not only in his/her own life passage but also dealing with some societal responsibilities. For example...the readers are going to make a step forward in stopping the exploitation of old heritage monuments. Please make sure that these historic monuments are prevented from writing the so called foolish definitions of love and commitments on the walls of historic significance.Also realize the importance of Indian History and its value,,,for sure it will make the entire country proud of its architectural value and ofcourse its citizens...Go ahead my Readers....We will change the whole notion of world leadership...India Rocks,,,Its Architecture Rocks,,&& ofcourse Indians Rocks.

A Stunning 4 Votes!

Seriously i knew people didnt visit the site that much, but 4 seems low even for that. Especially considering that one of them was mine. On the other hand we can conclude that almost everyone likes Greek Architecture the best and that you agree because the voting went unopposed.
Cynicism aside it was a fun experiment and we hope you try to vote for the next post. Come visit every day we'll have something new posted (everyones free now).
And once more DON'T HESITATE TO LEAVE COMMENTS OR EMAIL US AT mos1man@hotmail.com,  your views are truly aprreciated don't be shy your anonymity will be kept so no recriminations. Give us your feedback tell us what you'd like to see on this site etc. etc. etc.

(BTW- A new Poll is available only 6 days left to vote!)

Until Next Time

Lewstherinthefang

Gotcha!!!!!!... Alias Sparx 1520

Bricking up dreams ^^^^..  With the ever expanding horizons of our endeavors, lets evolve explorations which will pave the way for the things not yet conceived. This is called progress and it’s good. With the latest entry, this is me somya dubey, and will be in effect by “alias sparx 1520”. So, let’s strife here..

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 01- 8 Spruce Street

It's sort of hard to come up with something to say regularly especially without much feedback so, I'll just keep posting things. It's been 3 days since the last post but I'll assume very few people check anyway (haha). Recently I was forwarded an article about Frank Gehry's first skyscraper. Gehry's buildings have always evoked feelings varying from Rage to interest in me because of their abstract forms. These architectural designs of his with their biomimetic forms are just odd in general for me as i believe architectre should incorporate abstraction into daily living without applying artistic behaviour simply for its own benefit.
Just take these two examples, both of Fish motifs:

 

Barcelona, Spain

Kobe, Japan

The fish shape is a prominent concept for Gehry but these two are jarringly out of place in both time and space. Both of these seem absurd ideals for design concepts and yet on the other end of the scale with further abstractions are buildings like this:

DIsney Hall

This structure aptly shows modern abstraction without detracting from the simplicity of building forms. Yet Gehrys towering monument at 8 Spruce street is a perfect reflection of the information age with its logical structure yet with the artistic ambition to indicate individuality.

8 Spruce Street

Although at first glance it seems a mimicry of standard forms, from a close glimpse of the facade shows Gehrys genius at work:

The design was built of 3600 different shapes and sizes of steel plates to create an individualistic elevation and spaces. And yet the most important factor of the design is that the interior spaces retain a style of modernity and difference with each other and the outside that can truly reflect its use.
Hope you like this small review, please leave your comments as usual.

(NOTE- Forgot to mention, leave your vote for the poll only 3 people have and im one of them so just click your choice. Its found on the right hand side under the followers tab. Only one day left!!!!)

Until next time.

Lewstherinthefang.