Computers: Max 7 has fluorescents
OH wonderous wonder, oh greatest great, oh drunkest drunk. There is finally a fluorescent tube light in
3D Studiomax. The new Max 7 has added fluorescent tube lighting to its light creation set. You can change all sorts of parameters, from the color to the length of the "tube". My work time is now cut in half.
For all of us who have battled the supreme Max problem of tube lighting, we can now rejoice and celebrate. No more stretching omnis. No more self illumination blunders. None of the garbage previously given by this powerful 3d rendering program.
So now that all my interiors are accurately lit, sunlight will be my next obstacle. And, oh yes, there is a sun option.
Two Wet Towers
As my Pentium 3, 1.8 GHz beast of a computer attempts to render my interior/exterior perspectives, with raytraced windows, I peruse through the internet with all the free time I have. I then stumble across the extraordinary fountains by Juame Plensa in Millenium Park, Chicago. Two 50-foot glass and steel towers with LED displays, and spouts that run a stream of water down the entire exterior, as well as shoot a jet of water from a point. Plensa took over 1,000 pictures of Chicagoans (Chicagonites, Chicagoneons?) which every 12 minutes display on the face of the tower facing the other tower, on each tower (look at the picture, get it). The images are animated, and the mouths of the people open to shoot the jet of water out. This gesture is to recall the city's gargoyles, whom also "spit" out water as a symbol of life.
Absolutely wonderfully done and applauded by the people of Chicago (see how I got around it there), parents and children flock to experience the fountains on these extremely hot and humid days of summer. So, because my rendering is still going, I'm going to go outside with my coworker and try to recreate the Plensa fountains- NY style. I'm going to tie his a** up to a hydrant, pop that baby open, let the gushing water explode off his helpless body, providing the rest of us that streaming abundance of cool fountain water. And I figure every 25 seconds after his mouth is overwhelmed with water, he will spit it out at those of us laughing at him, again cooling us in rapid fire. Oh man, he has no idea what's coming.
Products: Fruit walls, so sweet
The second best blogger site (to this one of course)
Gizmodo posted an article about Oyon, by
Michael Bihain. This hip work of culinary art can be an amazing addition to anyone's home, probably the kitchen or breakfast room would be nicest. Made of white cornice tubing (80 mm.) arranged in a hexagonal shape. They would hang on a wall, i'm guessing, by brackets. The photos show apples and oranges would fit quite well. They could be arranged in different configurations making a "pixelated" (as Bihain calls it) image.
Mine has been working out rather well. I had a self portrait with all my leftovers. The mac & cheese leaked down to the roast beef, and the lime jello spread into the taco salad I couldn't finish. Making my portrait a pixelated version of Cartman. The mice, though, have converted it into a jungle gym and are having king of the Oyon competitions. Those little rascals.
Context: New Nets Arena
In continuing the trend to build stadiums for mass amounts of revenue, Frank Gehry has jumped onto the bandwagon. To be located in downtown Brooklyn, his master plan will be an enormous 21-acre zone of commercial and residential development that will open eyes for the least. Gehry is bringing his Californian de-constructivist style to the constructivist hodgepodge of New York. His usual "crushed paper" buildings will be placed adjacent to the brownstones and mid-rise buildings of what we all know is Brooklyn.
Therefore, the looming question (one of many) of context is shadowing this project. My brother and I adore the quote "smart people can fit the square in the square hole and the cylinder in the circular hole, but geniuses know that all the shapes fit in the star hole". Is Gehry fitting all his shapes in a star hole? I don't believe he is. The plan is nice, and I do think the stadium can find a nice niche where it is proposed next to the train station. Yet, his forms and wariness to make buildings that work will cause big problems for the area.
Yet, if I know Gehry (and i dont), I think he has some solutions for all of these problems. Such as: If he is planning to use his famed pillowed titanium facade, there will be rooftop beaches surrounding his site,to make use of the glare. The buildings will have drains running from the inevitable cracks in his roofs, to the streets creating a free waterpark for all to enjoy. All of his grand spaces will become much needed classrooms during the day, for the overcrowding schools. Because they're designer buildings which cost a fortune to make, rent will be too much for the people losing their homes to return. The large snow buildup on the roofs which will fall on pedestrians, will provide tiny hills for sledding and other outdoor snow activities.
Im pretty sure any shape can fit into the Los Angeles landscape, but in New York its pretty much the cube.
Commentary : Does NY really need more stadiums?
Does New York need another stadium? New York needs another stadium as much as I need a new pair of shoes. This is just another rich business man making another multi-million dollar deal regardless of the consequences to the people he is supposed to be representing. Let us not forget that Bloomberg’s credentials for becoming a mayor were strictly business. The rich get richer while the poor get f*cked. Excuse my vulgarity but I was taught to curse when nothing better fits.
In my opinion we should put our focus back on the WTC site anyway. It seems to have been left as second fiddle to the stadium and the Olympics. Never mind that the entire design has been reduced to engineer design project. The real reason this project has been put on the back burner is that it results into no money for the mayor and his financial backers.
As far as housing is concerned, unless we are talking about housing for the elite, (such as the Trump Towers) you will not see it constructed in NYC any time soon. Affordable housing is just not profitable for these corporations that own everything. The bottom line is money, how much will “they” make with as little investment as possible. Human mean absolutely nothing to them, it is all about the mighty dollar, the dollar bill, a monetary means that has religious and Masonic overtones throughout. I’ll stop right there before I get really theoretical.
I think if we as architects are to make a true difference we need to find a forum where our voices can be heard, really heard. We also need a means to begin to demonstrate that not all things are about money. We need to perhaps begin our own “Mockbee-like” studio. However since we are in the tri-state area we would have to call it the urban studio or perhaps the sub-urban studio. There are other things we as architects need to do, but those are other topics that will come in time.
Resources
I would first like to define the type of resources I will be referring to. I am referring to material resources for models. Models are one of the most important ways in which an architectural student can convey his/her idea not only to his/her colleagues but also the professors that critique the work. The model is important because it is a tangible artifact that represents the idea and physical aspect of the design. It can be passed along from professor to professor while one verbally and visually explains the process and idea to his/her audience.
First I will speak of the most obvious resources that all students know about right away. Art and craft stores are the ones. we as students learn to love and hate. We love them because they usually have what we want, but hate because we spend so much time there. “Pearl” and “Jerry’s” are the better known and most versatile with there inventory. However there is “Michaels”, “Rag Shop”, “A.C. Moore” and etc.
Once we begin to branch off, we as students begin to look at hardware stores. “Home Depot” was a store I found myself in at 4 a.m. many nights just looking for something to represent some sort of material in my design. The problem with hardware stores is that they are not specific for a students needs at all times.
I then found myself going into electrical/lighting stores, plastic stores, ceramic tile stores, plumbing stores etc. I began looking anywhere and everywhere. I found myself looking at objects and saying to myself, “that would be great for a model.”
I guess what I am saying is that we shouldn’t limit ourselves to the obvious resources but to seek answers elsewhere. As much as we try to make out idea unique and exceptional we should put that same effort in the physical representation of our designs.
Sorry guys no pics on this blog, but this topic didn't really deserve a pictures.
