Here is one with two TINS intersecting. Not sure I like the combination of colors in this one, not to mention the jaggies.

Final experiment in this sequence today. These things are a little too psychedelic for my taste, but you never know unless you try.

This is a second attempt to combine two TINs each with their own projected texture. The edges where the two TINs meet are still a little jaggy and a little too sharp. I've tried to disguise that with a bit of fog. Some other things to try on another day would be higher poly count TINs and more visually compatible textures.

Pete,

Thanks for sharing the stages. It's quite helpful in getting a better understanding how you are going from SketchUp to your beautiful renders.

Fred

Since I can't seem to settle down to the hard work of creating a "real" model I've been playing with curves and textures. Witness my previous two posts... as well as this post.

While playing this morning I discovered that as I used the Smoove tool on a TIN with a projected surface the feeling was almost like painting. It really feels a bit like pushing paint around. Download the model from the bottom of this page and give it a try. Quite therapeutic actually. Like playing with finger paints.

Here is my first SketchUp "painting", followed by an image of the model.

More experimentation with projected textures onto curved shapes. I like the colors.

Thanks Gaieus!

Re Roger's question. I (we actually) live in a nice traditional 'cottage style' 1925 house in a mature NYC suburb. While I like to imagine buildings with nary a straight line, those old rectangles are very comfortable, reassuring and safe. Just what you want 'home' to be. I have some thoughts for a curvaceous retirement home but whether I'll actually have the nerve to build it is another story.

Here is my ideal pad. As soon as I get approval from the building inspector...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6716243090755076687

Fred

John,

Thanks for the feedback.

You're absolutely right about SketchUp helping tease out those semi-conscious design ideas. It's like a transport mechanism from the vaguely imagined to the clearly articulated.

Fred

@unknownuser said:

...I would love to see it rendered, or even be able to have a crack at rendering it.
Scott

Scott, Thanks for the comment. It's cool with me if you would like to try rendering it. Fred

Solo, Eric and Jon.

Thanks so much for the positive feedback. Very much appreciated.

Fred

I realize that fantasy architecture is frowned upon by some professional architects ("We're not in college anymore!") but it is an area of some interest for amateurs like myself. It is a way to playfully explore design ideas. Ideas which can be interesting in their own right and also may inspire and stimulate imaginative solutions to real-world design challenges down the road. With that said I'd like to share some images from a project I just completed. The theme is one I've been exploring for a while and with this model I've come the closet yet to that abstract ideal floating around somewhere in the back of my head.

The model can be downloaded here:Tree Building

John,

Enjoyed your new site and the work on it. Presentation and navigation are clear, simple and easy to understand. It took me a few seconds to find the very discrete close box on the enlargement window but once you know where it is that isn't a problem.

I liked seeing the analog and digital versions of the tube sculpture entryway. Cool.

Fred

Thanks Roger!

I'm looking forward to rendering some of these when Podium for OS X is released. I think some of the sculpture models may look quite interesting when given that photo-realistic polish.

Fred

Haven't been able to do much SketchUp work for the last month or so. Been itching to get back to it. Threw this together after getting home from school/work this afternoon. Playing with random shapes and projected textures.

Those are beautifully evocative renders. I feel I'm looking into an actual room. Like the picture on the wall as well. Wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

Warren,

Thanks so much for the kind feedback. Helpful and much appreciated.

I was checking out DesignShare's 2007 new school design awards and found this school using curved green roofs which supports your comment about topography and viewing...and in this case, use.

In my blissful naivete I'm not so concerned about the drainage as the structural viability of the roof concept. I've played around some with analog models of triangulated irregular networks (TINs) and believe that a very light roof may be possible using a TIN framework overlaid/integrated with a layer of reinforced plastic foam. I have a project on the Open Architecture Network site that presents this concept in more detail. I think if the roof structural concept proved viable the drainage issues could be managed.

Following is an image of the layers I think would be necessary in a roof of this type. From the top down (vegetation, soil, rubber membrane, reinforced foam, interior membrane).

Thanks again,

Fred

@unknownuser said:

Imagine you and the other aphids want to build a cathedral. You decide to use twigs and sticks to support a leaf. The resulting covered space lets your little aphid hearts soar. A true cathedral.

Ah the joys of being a aphid with a soaring heart.

@ross macintosh said:

That last image is very informative about your ideas. It has me thinking that the leaf as roof idea could be explored as a tent-like structure for a more pure expression of some of the ideas. It could be fun no?

Hi Ross,

Definitely fun. So you are thinking some sort of light-weight frame structure in the shape of a leaf with a fabric cover printed with a leaf texture?

Fred

I've been developing a new vocabulary for homes which I call House 2.0 because the houses using this vocabulary require computers for their design and high-tech materials for their construction. In addition, the development of this vocabulary was only made possible by Web 2.0 architectures like forums, wikis, blogs, and the 3-D warehouse. Currently I'm focusing on the house shell. I've given interiors very little thought.

I started developing this vocabulary using leaves, quite literally, to drive roof and house shapes. I've been meaning to try more abstract shapes and last weekend finally got around to it. Images from the most recent model and some of the earlier leaf driven models follow. After the images is a link to my collection of House 2.0 models on the warehouse. Thoughts, concerns, questions much appreciated as I'd like to continue developing the vocabulary and design concepts and could use some informed (and gentle) feedback. Thanks. Fred

Latest model:

Earlier models:

House 2.0 Collection

Amen brother.

Now we're talking!

Very, very cool. The renders are really beautiful.

Fred

PS Happy birthday.

I once made these with AutoCad

Cheers,

Anssi