Any thoughts on a SketchUcation Members ????
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Mike,
This is a big idea with fantastic potential.One thing I can say is that if the forum members wish to contribute to community construction projects it will have to be tackled it in an organised and professional manner. The initiative will lose credibility very quickly if we cannot follow through on a commitment. Ideally one should set up some sort of charter that will form the basis for individual members to commit their time. If individual members are really serious about contributing in this way I do not think that it is unreasonable that there is some contractual basis on which they get involved, otherwise it will be very difficult to reliably manage resources in order to bring a project to completion.
Maybe a starting point would be to have members submit an expression of interrest in a standard format stating their availability, skills & experience. This can be used to develop a database of resources which can be used to identify 'virtual project teams' for individual projects.Suitable candidates for team leaders, design and tecnical functions can then also be identified.
Some thought needs to be given to the practicallity of being involved on all stages and issues relating to liability.
(Just some ideas to keep the pot boiling...)
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Thanks Tox (I'm sorry I don't know your first name),
Your suggestions are very good and this is the kind of thinking
we need at this point in time for something like this to take
off. The Dave Egger model is what I think you are talking about
whereby he recruited a number of teachers to 'sign up' for 'time
giving', even a couple of hours a year! I think for this idea to
work we need to start off small, maybe just a half dozen guys
that are willing to form a group (I hate using the word committee!)
and take it from there.After watching Neil Turok's presentation and seeing the HUGE
problems that Africa is facing and will continue to face in the
future I thought that this would be an area on which to focus.I have another reason for thinking this way also. Here in Ireland
we have a great guy called Niall Mellon, he started an organisation
called the Irish Township (http://www.irishtownship.com/htm/about.htm)
that has built over 5000 homes for the poor of South Africa. Two
years ago I sponsored a friend (Builder), John Melican to go and
help out for the Build Week and he told me afterwards that it was
the best week he ever had. The thought of doing something like
this has stuck in my mind since.Maybe we as professionals, could join forces and get involved in
some follow up project that could help the kids of these families
that now have houses. Imagine!, a small computer lab in the middle
of these new erected houses that the kids can come to and learn
computer design skills! I think we could do something like this
if we put our minds to it.The reason I am mentioning The Irish Township project is because
it is always much quicker to build on something that is already
there! If anyone has other ideas PLEASE shoot them out. I understand
that people here are very busy and have enough to do in their
everyday lives but if you saw John Melican's face as he was telling
me all about this Build Week you would actually be jealous of him
and want to have a similar experience.Mike
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A really nice idea Mike, this would be awesome if it will get off the ground.
Now that the warehouse has sharing capabilities, forming teams of collaborators for distinct projects could be possible, all coordonated by a specialist who has experience but little spare time, and could manage and guide one or two teams.
I think there are a lot of stundents and kids around this site, we have more free hours but less experience in architecture or any other form of real design, so we could potentially learn something from the masters, also this could be a way of teaching those poor kids something about modelling.
My suggestion would be to start with small projects and build on them (i know, it's commonsensical stuff)
Any way this is just my 2 cents, but i would really like to see this happen in one way or another.How cool it would be to use your passion/hobby to help people.Cheers and lots of luck, Mike
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Mike,
If southern Africa is your focus you may wish to look at the following link:
http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/
(Mark Shuttleworth is the bloke who flew the first private Russian space mission a few years back.)They have specific funding criteria but your initiative may fit well with their overall objectives.
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Thanks Tox, I'm reading about the Shuttleworth Foundation with
great interest! I think there might be tie-in possibilities
of some sort. I'll understand better when I have read all of
the Site.Good thinking Marian, your suggestion of using the WareHouse
sharing capabilities is top notch. This could in effect be our
Virtual Learning Centre!I'm really delighted and excited that in just a day we have
started to formulate a Plan Of Action! This is something that
has continued to attract me the the SketchUp Community, their
open willingness to help others. This may sound 'corny'(as the
USA guys say) but its TRUE and can be seen day after day on this
forum.The only thing that we must keep in mind is that while its all
very fine to dream, at the same time we have to be realistic
and not bite off more than we can chew. However I do see a
DOABLE project that I think many Members would be more than
willing to offer a little precious time to help out with.Please keep the suggestions rolling! Oh! and don't forget to
view the TED presentations by Dave Eggers and Neil Turok!Mike
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Hi,
I had an idea to concentrate on a favorite archaeological site in Mexico, on my own--model the extant ruins and recreate according to archaeological evidence. Then I thought, based on programs others are doing, that it would be best if the children / young adults of the area did this, with help from SU professionals. The resulting production could be much bigger than I could do alone, and could be used in education, tourism etc. for the local community. I think it would need boots (or sandals) on the ground and coordination with local and donor organizations.
Your ideas are right in the same vein. I haven't embarked on anything yet, but would like to help in some way on projects.
Peter
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Thanks Pbacot for your input. I think your suggestion just goes
the show that there is an inclination here on the forums amoung
members to do something that would benifit others that are less
fortunate.It would be great if we could hear lots of ideas and think hard
about a suitable project path that would fit in well with the
community here.Mike
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@remus said:
Perhaps some free architectural work for a suitable charity? i suppose the problem with this, though, is that it would be very easy for a few forum members to get very heavily involved with it and end up spending a disproportionate amount of their time on it.
Whatever happens, id love to get involved with a big project between everyone.
I am willing and able to dedicate free time to architectural projects for suitable charities or even "deserving" individuals or groups. I have always thought our talents should be shared with those who deserve and need it.
My current project will likely be my last (by choice), so I will have plenty of spare time to share.
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Thanks Ron for adding your weight. It looks like you are going
the retirement route? Hey! its not all its cracked up to be!
Better to keep your hand in
Have you any ideas that you would like to bounce off us?
Mike
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Mike, to me retiring means I am my own client. I'll never abandon architecture; it's too much a part of me (for better or worse).
I'll think about this....
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Much appreciated Ron
Looking forward to hearing what you
think. -
Mike I am very interested in this, great idea. Count me in. I think they're could be many uses for our combined services, probably not just in the fields of architecture and education. A while back I was commissioned by a charity to just draw a simple 2d map of a shanty town in Gambia. The charity workers there had no map of the area. Luckily the resolution of the area on Google Earth is very good so the charity workers went door to door collecting info; mostly they took the surnames of the residents but some of the buildings were shops, cottage industries etc. I traced the map off the g.e. image in cad and then typed in all the detail. It took about a day but the resulting map was useful.
Obviously our focus will be SU based but I thought this is a good example of how there might be lots of things that we might not at first think of that could make a big difference.
Jon
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Bravo Jon, You have Walked the Walk, well done to you!
I think there is a lot in what you say. Its going to be very
difficult organising a particular cause to help BUT just maybe
(as you say) we could offer our SketchUp and other skills to
any deserving cause. SketchUcation would be ideal conduit for
this kind of charity work.Maybe we could have a section that would be a place for charities
to outline the work they need done and Members wishing to get
involved and help out could either jump in and do the job (as in
your case) or join forces with other Members to complete a job.It would be a loose arrangement that might work well for all as
I fully understand that we all have time constraints and for this
reason might feel hesitant to get involved. But this would be
a pop in if you have a few hours to spare sort of thing that could
work AND could be started right away!What is the general consensus on the type of operation proposed
and has anyone a good name for it so we can get rid on the ????Mike
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Mike, there a two types of projects. Some projects have a well outlined design that needs fleshing out. (eg. a straight forward prototype shelter design, or mapping /modeling something that exists for the use of the community or organization). The other is a full design project. How can a bunch of opinionated designers collaborate on a design? That would be a breakthrough in itself.
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Pbacot everybody will have to put their ego aside (nobody in this community is egotistical or arrogant anyway). I think the idea of one designer is a pretty outdated idea these days. Are we striving for iconic architectural masterpieces? Function and budget will be more important.
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@linea said:
Pbacot everybody will have to put their ego aside (nobody in this community is egotistical or arrogant anyway). I think the idea of one designer is a pretty outdated idea these days. Are we striving for iconic architectural masterpieces? Function and budget will be more important.
I agree. I'm confident we can all cooperate on this.
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That's good. I didn't mean to throw water on any design work scenario. This could be the proving of a true community feeling. Who decides design direction though? I also did not mean to imply there would be one designer only. I am most familiar with private practice where someone eventually has the decision making power over all others, in order to move forward where different solutions are proposed. Personally I am not worthy to tie the modeling or design shoes of many here. If given a task, I'd be honored to fill-in the caulk on someone else's idea.
You need not be egotistical or arrogant to feel you are right. Designers are creative people who naturally have their own strong ideas. I look forward to seeing the collaborative process do some good, like the many amateur computers doing long computations, or the many amateur astronomers combing the skies.
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To paraphrase a Supreme Court Justice, good design is like pornography, I know it when I see it.
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One way to kick this thing off would be to get Google to use their considerable marketing efforts to announce our willingness to help deserving causes.
This fits right into Google's world view and would be wonderful advertising for them. Using their SketchUp product to better the world. How perfect!
The problem would be to sift through what would be thousands of requests. This would be daunting task and I haven't thought through that process yet. As mentioned earlier, I think, we could have a few forums established for this process. It just occurred to me that this could significantly burden Coen's life. Maybe this special requester forum would be on Google Groups....I never visit there though.
Sometimes the best way to tackle a new problem is to dive right in.
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Great ideas Ron. I think you could be right, that we might simply
inundated with requests. Maybe the softly softly approach might
be the best way to handle something at this point in time but we
still have the, what, where, when and how question!
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