Laser Cutting

I took some videos today of the laser cutter at work cutting out and etching pieces for my Unit Model. 

The laser cutter works off of the lines in a CAD file. If you want a line to cut through or etch your material, then you assign the laser the strength and speed required to do so, and tell it which color line is which. 

This is the first model I've ever made with pieces made from the laser cutter, the detail looks awesome. I can't wait to put it all together tonight! 

Below are some videos of the laser in action. 

Area 51: Pin Up Presentation 11/21/14

Above is the sheet I have pinned up for an individual presentation crit today at 4:12pm. The original poster is 36"x48", I had to shrink it to fit on here. Overall, I'm happy with the work I've produced for today. The sheet has a new updated site plan, the three renders featured on my last post, and two new sections I created last night. It also shows the extensive program list and some of the projects goals and metrics. 

I'll update with how the crit goes later!

Area 51 Renders

Its 1am. I got to studio at 11am yesterday.... but I got three renders for my project done! 

Below are the the "before" and "after" photos. The before photos are renders straight from Autodesk Revit, and the after photos are after I tweaked them in Adobe Photoshop. I'd say these are the best renders I've done on Photoshop since I started using it two years ago. Let me know what you think!

Main Entry Before

Main Entry After 

Exterior Main Entry Before

Exterior Main Entry After 

Interior Unit Nurses Station Before

Interior Unit Nurses Station 

Maybe I'll post a tutorial on how I did these renders sometime over winter break? Thoughts?

Area 51 Update: Construction Team Meeting

Above are the sheets I prepared for a meeting later today with my construction management team. As of right now, I'd say my project is about 80% complete. I will take today's meeting comments and make any changes/edits to the project by this weekend and then start final presentation production. 

Below are some of the views from my Revit model that can be seen on the sheets. 

Main Entrance View

Main Entry Approach

View to Exterior Courtyard Space

Noisy Activity Space on Unit

Current Site Plan 

George Lucas Museum - Graduate Studio - Brendon Roderman

I finally get to share some work from the other "r" in [rr]architecture! Below is the Mid Review digital presentation done by Brendon Roderman in RWU's SAAHP ARCH 515 Graduate Design Studio under Professor Andrew Thurlow. 

The studio project is to design a museum/community center on a piece of land in San Francisco CA, that Star Wars creator George Lucas has been interested in purchasing. 

This intensive studio utilizes a program called Maya. Maya is an animation, modeling, simulation, rendering, and composting software that offers a comprehensive creative feature set on a highly extensible production platform. Maya provides high-end character and effects tool sets along with increased productivity for modeling, texturing, and shader creation tasks. It has been used in movies, video games etc. 

All below images belong to Brendon Roderman and showcase his design ideas for a George Lucas Museum in San Francisco CA. 

Any questions please comment below!

ABX 2014

Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend the ABX 2014 Expo at the Boston Convention Center.  Architecture Boston Expo (ABX) is one of the largest events for the design and construction industry in the country, and the largest regional conference and trade-show. It reminded me of the camping trade shows I used to go to with my parents as a kid. The RWU SAAHP provided transportation for myself and 20+ other students to attend the Exhibition and then an RWU SAAHP Alumni event after. 

It was very interesting to see all the different products and technologies that exist today and how/where they have been implemented. I FILLED my bah with pamphlets and brochures that i hope will give me some inspiration on my studio project. 

Take a look at some pictures from the Expo below!  

ADD Inc Instillation

3D Color Printing

ABX Exhibition Hall 

ABX Exhibition Hall 

ABX Exhibition Hall 

Frank Gehry Claims That Architecture Today is "Pure Shit"

Photo Courtesy of El Mundo 

“Let me tell you one thing. In this world we are living in, 98 percent of everything that is built and designed today is pure shit. There’s no sense of design, no respect for humanity or for anything else. They are damn buildings and that’s it. Once in a while, however, there’s a small group of people who does something special. Very few. But good god, leave us alone! We are dedicated to our work. I don’t ask for work. I don’t have a publicist. I’m not waiting for anyone to call me. I work with clients who respect the art of architecture. Therefore, please don’t ask questions as stupid as that one.”

This was the response from 85 year old Frank Gehry when asked by a reporter at the a press conference in Oviedo Spain (where he received the Prince of Asturias Awards for the Arts) how he responds to claims that he creates "showy/flashy architecture". . 

Gehry is one of the few remaining "superstar architects" like Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and Steven Holl. His claim to fame being that his designs are parametric, created from crazy forms. Just take a look at his sketches. 

I've actually had the pleasure of seeing one of Gehry's buildings first hand. Last winter my boyfriend and I explored the Lewis Science Library on Princeton's campus in NJ. And let me say it definitely stands out from the other buildings on Princeton's campus. Below are my photos from our trip. 

Lewis Library Entrance - Photo by Amanda Rapson

I mean look at that roof!

Photo by Amanda Rapson

Photo by Amanda Rapson

Photo by Amanda Rapson

I think there's a lot of truth in Gehry's response above. Most architecture today is shit. Buildings have become empty shells that we occupy, with no character, design, response to humanity or anything. I would like to applaud Gehry for calling this out. His architecture is not flashy, it means something. So yes, most architecture today is pure shit. It's up to us to make sure the 2% that isn't shit, continues.