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When you start your 3D model, you start with a cad base, just like you have for your plan graphics and for your Bid Set. However, there are some tweaks that need to be made, and things you have to pay more attention to then normal. In this tutorial I’m going to take you up to the point of bringing your model into SketchUp. Next time we will get into tweaking topo and base modeling, and then after that, the fine modeling level, and adding plants. But for now, we are focusing on the base, as without a good base, the modeling process will be much more difficult and time consuming. Note: When you use CAD, use Polyline, for the love of god. It is only in EXTREMELY rare cases that line works BETTER than poly line, and this is NOT one of them. Step 1: Clean up your normal CAD base To start,...Read More

Ronald Rael is an Architect, Author and Assistant Professor of Architecture at The University of California, Berkeley. He is the founder of EarthArchitecture.org, a clearing house of information on the subject. In his book titled, Earth Architecture, Rael provides a history of building with “dirt” in the modern era. His primary focus is on projects constructed in the last few decades that used building techniques such as rammed earth, mud brick, compressed earth, and cob. Earth Architecture showcases more than 40 projects that will inspire any designer to find new and creative uses for the oldest building material on earth. THE CENTER FOR THE BLIND – Taller de Architectura Maruicio Rocha – Mexico City, Mexico – 2000 This is another space that got my attention....Read More

The first thing you have to figure out when you want to make a 3D model for a rendering is if you really want a 3D model rendering. This decision is similar to the question of if you want a hand rendered plan or a Photoshop plan. There are of course aesthetic reasons involved. Both can work extremely well, and look amazing, but by understanding your client, your design, and the look you will get from either method of rendering you can make the choice of which is best for you on a given project. There are more then just aesthetic differences to be looked at, however. Ask yourself what the purpose of the model is. Is it for images of a few conceptual designs, or for a final design proposal? If you are looking to do more of a conceptual design presentation, then you may want to go with a hand...Read More

I can admit it, I’m part of the relatively new demographic of video game players. I’m in my late 20’s, I have buying power (until the economy went berserk), and I own a PlayStation3 and a Wii, and every home Nintendo console since the original NES. I enjoy games ranging from Gran Turismo (a racing simulator), to Burnout Paradise (a crashing simulator), and from LittleBigPlanet (an adorable platformer about small stuffed sack-people with stickers) to Grand Theft Auto 4 (a game where you try to rise up in the world of organized crime to live the American dream). However, there is one thing I am always looking for, and never quite able to find: a game that satisfies my creative juices. Many games keep me amused for a few months, maybe more if there was a way to hack the game...Read More

Andrea Orellana is a landscape designer who, as she says, “swims against the stream”. She has a Bachelor of Science and Environmental Studies from the Central University of Chile. Andrea is the founder of Paisajismo Interior, a corporate website that has evolved into a diffusion and transmission website of landscape architecture and environmental topics. The website involves the contributors’ work and is based in Chile. Andrea is passionate about technology and the reutilization of all present elements and native flora in her projects. Andrea, thank you for allowing Land8Lounge’ers to learn more about your perspectives about landscape architecture in Chile! Thank you for your interest in a landscape designer in the other side of the world. What were some of the most valuable lessons that y...Read More

SAN FRANCISCO (CA, USA)—The first of 1,200 new, sustainably designed transit shelters have been installed in neighborhoods throughout San Francisco, the product of a joint project by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. The shelters feature an undulating, wave-form roof made with 40 percent post-industrial recycled content; in one-third of the locations, the roof will house a solar array panel that is laminated into the wave form. Made specifically for San Francisco, the visually arresting roof is an abstraction of a seismic wave, according to Olle Lundberg, principal of Lundberg Design, the San Francisco architectural firm that won the competition among 35 firms to design the new shelters. “But the nice thing is that people have been co...Read More

Tim Waterman studied landscape architecture in the US at the University of Idaho and went on to become of Master of Landscape Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. He now lives and works in London and lectures in landscape architecture and urbanism at the Writtle School of Design. With his new book,The Fundamentals of Landscape Architecture, he hopes to illuminate, “the meaning of the profession,” to the general public, young students looking for a career path, and professionals from other disciplines. This might be the perfect gift for those people that continually fail to understand what it is a landscape architect really does. (No more questions about pruning roses or mowing lawns!) In this interview, Tim and I traded a few emails to talk about his new book. AS:...Read More

One of the things that most people can get to look pretty decent, but not great, is wood decking. Unlike wetlands its not one of those things that, when done wrong, looks like something fundamentally different, but being able to create a deck that really shines without spending a ton of time on it really can make a great touch. Step 1:Paint Outside the Lines This is a very familiar step, select and area larger then the deck itself. You need the extra room to allow for some of the filters to work without screwing up the edges of the deck. Next, pick a color for the decking- I went with R: 129 G: 87 B: 60. Its got a little orange to it, but its not highly saturated. This color will essentially be the mid-tone for the deck, so make it what you want the average color to be. Then fill the large...Read More

I had the great pleasure of meeting and working with Laura Wilson in 2008 while I was living in Germany. She has a distinct sense of calm about her that instantly puts you at ease as if you’ve known her forever and I believe that her art is a direct extension of her warm personality and intimate connection with the natural elements. Laura was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina and has a BA in Fine Art from Furman University as well as graduated from the School of Sculpture at Emerson College in England. Her artwork focuses on temporary and permanent site specific public installations incoporating the history of the place and future intentions in the forms. Laura works with materials found locally within a 50 mi radius and in collaboration with the local community. She has exh...Read More

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Hey remember when we told you about Re:Vision Dallas? Well, if you missed it here, let me get you up to speed. Urban Re:Vision set out to make something incredible happen in downtown Dallas. With their competition, Re:Vision Dallas, applicants transformed a single block into a place that creates economies, supports community, facilitates relationships and generates resources. “The winners of Re:Vision Dallas have created plans that challenged us, engaged us, and inspired us. And their ideas, from local materials and vegetated screens to integrated greenways, will shape how people will live and work here in the future.” My vote goes for David Baker’s entry, Entry #136: Greenways Xero Energy, because he focused not only on the building but the pedestrian experience as a who...Read More

This week we are again building off of the pattern made in the water tutorial, this time to make a wetland. Wetlands are one of the trickiest things to render well in plan, in my opinion, as traditional means force you to render what looks like an open prairie field, or a lake. This type of situation, where hand graphic techniques do not allow for semi-transparency or small scale detail, at least not without a prohibitive time investment, is when Photoshop rendering can really shine. Before you can make your wetland, you will need to make a pattern for a field. NATURAL FIELD Step 1: Find a field First things first: find a photo of a field of grass, a prairie, or a wetland. The best picture will be one with some regular variation to it, and that is taken from as high as possible, to create ...Read More