1st video walk through in max

why the chinese grow so fast

our assignment was to research two steel framed structures as well as two concrete framed structures. Although they all had to be relativly new. so my concrete side went on pretty average stuff, although my steel framed structure research lead me to find some pretty awsome new methods to building.
such as the new light weight cold rolled steel framed structures for new multi story systems. as seen here in the picture below

My local concrete framed structure went on about Al stratfords new 'WINTEC' systems and how he used all his new systems in the new addition to the University of Fort Hare!! as seen below

Although my research lead me to new building methods accross to china, and i got to see how what they have been building, and i must say, they can build fast. Here is a video of how they erect a multi story hotel in just 6 days to completion!!!! 6 DAYS!!!

TIME.....TIME....where has it gone

Time has become so critical to us days before portfolio...!!!
having our portfolio moved back was an absolute miracle to be honest. I honestly don't think a single person in the entire class would have been ready for tomorrow, not a chance in hell. The fact is that we are still modelling our buildings because as pretentious as we are to detail, we are taking to long...i mean it is now only the 7th, well almost and I'm only this far.....

Out of all the years that i have been studying, i honestly don't believe that time has never been more valuable!!! yet, time is so few. Comes down to the old saying "SO MUCH TO DO, SO LITTLE TIME IN WHICH TO DO IT IN". oh well, back to work. let me leave you with my precedent for my structure!!!

GOOD LUCK to everyone, hope you all get finished in time, and pass well.

DEADLINE APPROACHES

Its the inevitable deadline sneaking up on us for the computer portfolio hand-in. I have, as like everyone else, have mistakenly took slightly to long modeling my 3D presentation. Now we all have limited time for our rendering of our 3D walk through, which I'm told takes painfully long.
It is although a predicted thing between our group, as to the reason that we are constantly doing this every semester and every year, which is leaving everything to the last minute. but im told i work better under pressure. Although, the bright light at the end of the tunnel is almost in sight in terms of the much needed holidays. Hopefully do an advanced revit course during the break, and do some much needed R&R. I wish all the B-Tech students the best of luck for the up coming portfolios and may no one have a corrupt file or broken usb.....touch wood!!!!! tell Murphy's law to go screw himself!!!!!
here's something to leave a smile on your face and brighten our day a little bit more.

SUIT UP!!!!!!

Boardwalk VS NMMU

Our assignment for Urban, was do a comparison analysis between boardwalk and the university south campus. Of course this meant going around each location taking photographs of interest and relevance......

now tell me the relevance this had in the assignment...hahaha. I found this bikers helmet in the African square at boardwalk. Of course being at boardwalk we all had the urge to go do a slight bit of gambling, how ever we were head down to the task in hand, and ran around boardwalk and campus taking photographs for analysis. 

as seen here i was hard at work in analysing the entrance of boardwalk compared to the universities entrance......

the final result of the task was to find an understanding of different design syntax and better learn the meaning of integration, which i can honestly say i do understand!!!! This assignment made me realize that our university is a beautiful piece of modernist architecture, although it could have been such a vibrant place to be if a few particular things varied through the architects plans. Although, the purpose of the campus is to learn i suppose, and not meant to be a club!!!!

This how ever after a long, full and straight 24hours is the result that myself and dewald  came to hand-in with. It only recieved a 45%, however we have been given a second chance to perfect our project and kill a 70% hopefully, hahaha

Knysna Trip

Although being convincingly behind on work and needing desperately to catch some wind in my sails as far as design is concerned, two friends and myself left a few days early before our entire class to catch a small breather of a weekend to catch back some sanity that had been lost. We did in fact do some research and some design work while we were down in Plettenberg bay on our excursion. Not much to be honest, but more than average. We even got to fit in a few rounds of golf, which was much needed as well.

 Although the weekend was not about all that. The point of the B-tech trip was to learn of Sustainable architecture and leaving a smaller carbon footprint. Which to be honest, Was brilliant. To learn how and what can be done with so little and a bit of initiative is mind blowing. The women who did every thing was quite cool as well, with her home grown herbs underneath the decking, HAHA.

Although the trip was a much bigger bonding session than we all realised. which made the trip even more special. To learn and see a side of people we would have never in the labs here at varsity 

It was also awesome what Mr. Pansegrouw and Hansie did for all of us, in the fact of how they didn't just take time out of there own life's, but took time away from there families and work for us, which in by itself is incredible. Would have been awesome to have had the rest of our lectures there with us, but hey. What can we do. I think this trip should be done every semester.

 Da Hansie & Da Panse

The second venue we saw on our trip after a good night, was Theusen Island. Named after the family which Founded Knysna. This island is a bit of a 2 way street in the fact how it is brilliant how it generated so much local employment and raised so much revenue for the town. How ever, the entire island only caters to the quite extreme rich and wealthy, which is not what i feel is what Knysna is about. Although having a stature of a upmarket and prime location Knysna is, its not what it portrays as you go through town. It is a culture deep town and full of marine life. Although who am i to comment.

 But the on location Architecture firm did do an amazing development. Especially the hotel, 'the Turbine'. the old saw mill factory converted into a hotel is breath taking from an architectural stand point of view. How they Incorporated old manufacturing plant machinery into the structure, and used is as a point of art to complement the structure. All in all, my over all perception of the Theusen Island development is brilliant and there is no other word for it what Chris Mulder and Eugene had done for this place.

Theausen Island, From Pezula Golf Resort & Spa

DKD Presentation

So the DKD assignment did not go as well as planned. I am how ever annoyed at the fact, that I worked late hours through a couple of nights to get the assignment ready to present and went through alot of effort to have a pretty O.K presentation, to learn that a few people didnt even bother with a Powerpoint presentation. I mean it was printed as clear as day on the brief, but yet, who am i to comment. I have made and been through even larger mistakes. However I am proud of my curtain walling method i used for my chosen Goven Mbeki Street building. Here is the main example of the curtain walling i had chosen for my building. Known as Urban Art, by 'NED KAHN'. He first experimented with the new parking building of

Brisbane Airport, Australia.

As seen in the posted video that I had downloaded, you can see the significance of the chosen curtain walling known as Water Facades. Ned Kahn believes that water features in an urban context creates peace and a better place to be and socialise. So what this facade does is create an image of ripples in water when a breeze hit the facade. This is caused by thousands of loosely fitted aluminium panels on a aluminium rods which are fixed in C-Channel hot dipped galv steel sections. As seen in the video.

This type of facade is exactly what Goven Mbeki needs to keep the historical feel, yet at the same time, bring a light of contemporary style a modern architecture to the main street of Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

I'm tired of driving down Goven Mbeki to see such a stunning library like we do, to be spoilt by disgusting buildings like the edgars building, or the old checkers building. That is such a culture and history deep street, but yet being wasted. We need to start pumping money into building a legacy for our city and its future, instead of making useless politicians pockets fatter.

DKD SECOND YEAR ASSIGNMENT

HALLELUJAH.....that the entire assignment is done and dusted. I cant believe what our lectures have to endure day in and day out from these students. The excuses I've heard and how slow things take to get started, dam....but to be honest, in the end i did enjoy the entire project. It broadened our vision of what life was like for us back then, and what we tried and tested. At least we weren't as bad though. I mean Mr J. Pansegrouw says that some of his students try to get away with sitting in a test and passing off that they write the actually test by handing in there friends test, while mean while they didn't even write one word. then have the nerve to try and fool the lecturer that they had lost his paper....i mean what the hell has become of this establishment that the lectures have to play police!
As they say "TIMES CHANGE"....but ja.
At least my group was good to work with, given that they were slow to start off with, but awesome group of guys, hope they go far!!

Latest Computer Hand-In

HEY HEY........our second hand-in for computers come and gone already. We havnt recieved our third assignmentg yet, but i have the weird suspision that it is goin to be a 'DINGER'. At least enjoying computers and loving the 3D work so far. This assignment was a introduction to 3D MAX, which went quite well if i may say so. We were instructed to construct 4 boxes of all the same size and mass, then out fit all the boxes with a special sequence of differant lighting.

For Instance, the first box we had to have a singular hanging like so.....

all went rather well.......= )

THinking to much, gotta get to work

Design, I suppose has us all stumpt to a degree to total frustration......thats it is beginning to fuse our nerves into a tight ball of explosives!!!!

This statue represents what we do over a blank page for hours thinking of what to do, or where to start!!!!

All that can be said is that

"HIS A THINKER"



My final rendering result for our first computer hand in went OK, just wish that the actual rending didn't take

five hours to render, dam. You can see from my previous blog, of the images I chose from, which one i chose from. Just glad that everyone didn't have any issues and all went well. Now I'm excited to be

starting 3D max, which is going to be awesome. Its going to help us with our future presentations for

design. Good luck to every one for the next projects, and late nights.



REALITY BEGINNING TO SETTLE IN NOW!!!

It's weird how from one moment things are going smooth and simple and the next you're scrambling to just keep up, because you struggeling to find the vision or ideas you need to round of the assignment deadlines that are assigned to you. Since work and holidays it feels like my creative side is still on a holiday without me.....!!

but as always we pull through, because it's a sink or swim course and environment that we have chosen, just wish my mind would wake up. I mean the best things i came up with for the scooter stand were the images below, which is sad, because this is a fun and defferant assignment. Oh well, back to the drawing board!!!! stay tuned for my next updated advertisement stand

New Computer Project

AND IT STARTS.......the sleepless nights that is!
Any one who is involved in this course will know, that if you fall behind slightly with 3D work and everything else, that it equals extreme late nights, almost no sleep and a really unhealthy diet of what ever 24hour food places are open. The craziness that is Architecture!!! We will press on, because that is what we do best, and no one would have made it this far if it wasn't thought that each and every student could not make it to the end!!!
Enough about that, because i just wanted to show my three idea's that I would like to use for my computer project. The project being to do a 3D replica of the image in hand. We are getting slightly pressed for time now, seeing as this new assignment is to be ready in two weeks, HOOOORAAAA!!!!

These two images being my first choice images, seeing as nice subtle lighting and textures and an awesome variations of colours.  

Scooter Advertising

Our first assignment for DKD, is to design and do the working drawings for a mobile, advertisement stand to promote a scooter of our choice at events. So far, i have gone for my usual choice as everyone knows me to choose.....GLASS!!! A decision that i picked on the main point, that people can constantly see the selected scooter. Parked at a shopping centre, on the free way, or when the entire stand is opened out for public to touch and experience the scooter!!! Ill first go for a crit before i post my sketches so that i know they good enough to put up or throw away, hahaha. Although, this is the scooter i have chosen to use, or well actually there are three to choose from, maybe you guys can help me decide.

Who can forget History hey, Vespa....!!

Fold up scooter which can be towed into you're office with you

Front wheel comes out to form a scooter

Our First Big Project

Our first big design and studio assignment is to design and do working drawings for a new Bio-Kinetics centre for Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, at a size of over 2000sq/m. Which is an amazing but daunting project. There are so many idea's and thoughts to use to this assignment, but we all just want one thing, ORIGINALLITY!! and to pass that is, haha. We have such a short time line within to do the assignment, but as always, we will pull through.....i hope!

Heres and example of a high preformance sports centre in Pretoria, Gauteng.

Good Luck to us, hey!!!!

Finally a BLOGGER!!!

First assignment for computers is the blogger page, AWESOME!!!
something new and different to syllabus. Lets get started pimping it up!!