Peak copper?
Salon: Tech & Business: "Forget about oil. Copper is getting pretty pricey, too."

Just to add to your digital worries - if you are a worrier.

Academic Research in Architectural Computing: AECbytes "Building the Future" Article

One person's view of some interesting developments in architectural research. Some interesting ideas and some interesting folks actually doing the work. A limited overview of some people who have been to the same conferences as the author?

Academic Research in Architectural Computing: AECbytes "Building the Future" Article

Personally, I'd add Madhavi and his team at TU Wien (Vienna), and the work of the other people (like 'Fried Augenbro who is referred to in this article) who regularly present at the IBPSA conferences on Building Performance Simulation. Thermal Performance, Lighting Performance and Aural performance are equally important aspects of the study of digital architecture - ebuildings.

AEC/Architecture Features - the BIM

Check out this link for reading around the whole world of interoperability in preaparation for the LECTURE on 2 May

AEC/Architecture Features

Rem Koolhaas on 'Junkspace'

So, I am trawling for new and interesting museum buildings to model in the Digital Craft course and I encounter this densely presented and dense prose.

It reminds me of a doco I saw following Derrida around for some months. You need to understand the person to understand their philosophical writings. I'm still trying to understand the person - that's what still challenges in these 'writings' whether they are text or buildings. A link / person to watch.

But, what's much more interesting in the end is the conference that Rem was presenting to. A conference on the interdisciplinary. A quote on their introduction page places them in the area of research / endeavour theat we have been exploring at Victoria for the life of our school:
"What is interesting is that, in America right now, you cannot pick up any educational document without the word interdisciplinarity. And yet, if you look for interdisciplinarity, you can't find it. . I have not been able to find philosophical or epistemological writings that really talk about what interdisciplinarity really is and how you can have standards, that sort of thing. So, there is a big disjunction between the buzzword aspect and our understanding. My position has been that just as you wouldn't want to call somebody bilingual unless they knew more than one language, you wouldn't want to call someone interdisciplinary unless they know more than one discipline." (Howard Gardner)

Edward_ Winkleman writing about 'The Digital Facade'

the Digital Facade on the blog Edward_Winkelman shows a building in Graz that would be diabolical to try to model, but would be absolutely fascinating to model. Anyone care to try?

Edward_ Winkleman writing about 'The Digital Facade'

the Digital Facade on the blog Edward_Winkelman shows a building in Graz that would be diabolical to try to model, but would be absolutely fascinating to model. Anyone care to try?

bvs_theblogproject: > architecture archives

Blue Vertical Studio's (BVS) architecture blog topics over recent times...

A potential mine of recent museum building references.

bvs_theblogproject: > architecture archives

A personal architectual comment on Renzo Piano's Paul Klee Centre

A personal architectual comment on Renzo Piano's Paul Klee Centre...

Another interesting building to model.

Hello,I'm Michael Qu, welcome !: A personal architectual comment on Renzo Piano's Paul Klee Centre

Hello,I'm Michael Qu, welcome !: A personal architectual comment on Renzo Piano's Paul Klee Centre

Another building that would be interesting to model.

TechCrunch - tracking Web 2.0

TechCrunch look like they could be providing the 15 minutes of fame that web 2.0 is receiving at present. Whether 2.0 will continue or not doesn't matter so long as interesting applications keep turning up. What this particular techcrunch article describes is an interesting add-on product for Skype.

Another site to link an RSS feed to.

You Tube videos - a fascinating place to spend time

This is from that dictinoary where spend time can feel like it means waste time because it is so much fun. If, as we do in NZ you pay through the nose for bandwidth, it can also be expensive.

However, here are some interesting links:

1. Zaha Hadid, Coop Himmelblau and others - architecture presentation
2. Architectural Visualisation
3. An architecture student's mix of video and animation to describe a design proposal
4. Yet another of the 'enhanced or augmented reality' ideas like the Hitlab at Canterbury Uni
5. Frank Gehry speaking in Toronto
6. Art Gallery in Ontario display of Frank Gehry models
7. Richard Feynman - one of the 'heros of modern physics' talking about symmetry in nature and relating this to architecture of the Nikko gate in Japan.
8. And to quote from the description of the next video: "A short video about showing the current state of four of Beijing's new mega buildings:

• Rem Koolhaas' new CCTV building
• Paul Andreu's National Theater
• The National Swimming Center or 'Water Cube' designed by PTW
• The Olympic Stadium designed Herzog & de Meuron

This youtube site is another site using tagging. Try it. Search for tags. The above is a selection from the 'architecture' tag. There will be many others of interest to the Digital Craft practitioner.

A List Apart: Articles: “Forgiving” Browsers Considered Harmful

A List Apart: Articles: “Forgiving” Browsers Considered Harmful

Looking ahead to when we start creating web pages, this article talks about the ideas that are at the heart of our use of html in the Digital Craft Assignment: how to move enthusiastic and hard working students from an enthusiasm for playing with the presentation technic to an understanding of the underlying principles.

The oil is going, the oil is going! | Salon.com News

The oil is going, the oil is going! | Salon.com News

Slightly to the left of the Digital Craft Focus of this blog - but this primer on the current debate is well worth reading. It is also a tidy example of how well self-documenting the web can be. Links to others' work, to evidence for one's conclusions are easily provided and just as easily followed by the reader.

Burj Dubai
Glass Steel and Stone: "When completed, this building is intended to be the tallest in the world. Originally, it was in the running with the Freedom Tower in New York, however, the Burj Dubai has the advantage of actually having begun construction while the New York project has been bogged down in political and sentimental interests.



Just how tall the tower will be remains to be seen. With any skyscraper, th..."



From the school of thought that suggests bigger is better - a USA architect builds in Dubai. 124th floor observation deck! Apartments from levels 52 to 108.Gives a whole new meaning to doing your sports training by running up and down the front steps at home...

Google Buys @Last Software (upFront.eZine)
CADwire.net: Articles: "

Google Buys @Last Software

Source: upFront.eZine
by Ralph Grabowski

- But Why? - Here's Why - The Impact of KML on KAD - The Danger for SketchUp - On Another Matter...

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Now this is what Rachel Ryan (Tuesday tutor in 303) has been saying about her thesis project for some time: just think of the possibilities if one can place models anywhere in the world! Although the notes and references here were all canvassed in her honours research last year, it seems like things are just getting started ! A Blog for that research might be a very interesting option...