Problems Explaining Scale

It can often be difficult to explain scale to clients. This Father Ted clip does the job.



Sheer brilliance...

Are Builders showing Architects how to do their job?

Kimon G. Onuma, AIA has written a very interesting article about how architects as a profession are in danger of making themselves more irrelevant by ignoring the very real development of Building Information Modelling (BIM) as the new paradigm for delivering buildings. Kimon argues that the opportunity is there now to take the initiative to regain control of the building process. Some of the things that need to be done to take on this challenge:

• Take control of the emerging technologies- i.e  tell the technologies "This is what I want from you." rather than asking them "What can I have? (like we did for years with CAD)
• Not waiting for the software companies to feed us with new technologies.
• Leveraging the new technologies to organise the various parties involved in the building process .(before those parties organise the architects.)

Master Builder: William Burges Architect of St. Finbarre's Cathedral, Cork

Kimon rightly argues in my view, that BIM is not about depending on one piece of software or another or even treating the smart 3D digital model as the definition of BIM, but its about grappling with the various Information Technologies as they are now and how they will be in the future so that we are in step with them. He finishes with a blackly humorous quotation by Stuart Brand: “Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road. “

Common Mistakes in SketchUp

This site has some great little tutorials about avoiding problems in SketchUp especially with the early stages (I must admit to having learned some new stuff from this also, but that's to be expected really.) Also included are some tutorials about creating a football and others. Thanks to J-man for this!

Paracloud Gem Software: Awesome and Groovy

Few things can be referred to as "awesome" and "groovy" at the same time. Gem Paracloud, a 3D multi-component generator is just such a product. Viewsion spoke with Eyal Nir, founder last week and he took us through a test-drive of the software. The possibilities that Gem produces are endless: from artwork and jewellery (yes, jewellery) to building cladding systems to lattice structures.




Gem exports neatly to SketchUp and other formats such as Maya, 3DSmax, Rhino and any CAD supporting OBJ, STL and DXF. There is a free trial download available

SketchUp vs Revit: How do they match up?

This is a big question, and boy is it contentious! Some people get very very mad when you put SketchUp and Revit together.... Anyway, I have been using SketchUp Pro/ LayOut to produce construction documents ever since LayOut came with SketchUp. Below is a recent sample:

....and here are other samples along with photos of finished buildings documented exclusively using SU Pro/ LayOut.

My main points of comparison can be summed up like this: 

Revit:

1. Excellent for outputting construction information and automatically linking/ compiling drawings. 
2. Seemingly cost effective for very large projects, but prohibitive for small projects. 
3. It is a post-design tool only.

SketchUp Pro:

1. Used to assist in the design process.
2. Exports technical data from the model, though this is as yet an unrefined process within SketchUp. However Rpreports can produce Bills of Materials from SketchUp. (Windows platform only)
3. Creates excellent construction documents in conjunction with LayOut.
4. Cost effective for very small to medium size projects (May in time become cost effective for large/ very large projects)

The full SketchUp Pro vs Revit review can be found here Comments welcome!

Prototyping for Inventors: A modern view

A few years ago, I invented a catch-all solution to the problem of storing, carrying and protecting DVDs in an attractive cheap to manufacture, unbreakable case called the "Jemcase"... Sounds like it should be successful right? Nope. What killed it? Mostly industry politics and protectionist economic arguments- Incumbent industries had too much to lose by changing what they were already doing: Churning out the highly breakable, highly scratchable, highly lose-able, high waste "Jewel Case." The jewel case is, unbelievably still selling- a testament to the intransigence of big industry and the willingness of consumers to buy whatever we are offered.

The images below give an idea what the Jemcase was about. The cost of patenting was unbelievable- totally unsustainable for a lone inventor. Patenting is anything but fun. I can't imagine ever trying to patent anything again. There needs to be a better alternative especially for lone inventors, but big industry won't like that idea!

Above: The Jemcase- a screenshot for a marketing video made by Stephen O'Connell and myself in 2000

The above image shows the Jemcase in use as a desktop stack: Each disk can be removed from the stack without removing the case. Alternatively, each case can be removed from the stack as required.

Finally, the blog post that prompted the above tirade: Click here to access the post about rapid prototyping and a sensible view about patenting. I agree with the views expressed here: Patenting needs to be examined carefully for advantages/ disadvantages before committing lots of money and huge resources. My view: Life's too short to patent things. Perhaps the best way to get a product to market is don't patent anything- just offer your first product for free and allocate rewards to collaborators. Let the cheapest producer in the world put it into production. Use the new product as a marketing tool for yourself. You can easily prove that you were the one who came up with the concept.... Just an idea...

Any further comments to: paul@viewsion.ie

SketchUlpture: Sculpture made from SketchUp

OK I was wondering when this was going to happen. Sculptors pre-visualising their sculptures before they make them. Seems logical, especially when Carrera marble is so expensive these days... Are you planning to use SketchUp for sculptural purposes? Please send us your samples and we will publish anything interesting: paul@viewsion.ie