Videos to post to blog

Dear Mike,

Sorry this took a while – just found your instructions how to post ob blog!!

Please post the following...

1:"COMPUTER VISUALIZATION FOR DESIGN
3D visualization has become such a part of the architectural design process in many firms. Architects use virtual model-making for many reasons.

For instance, 3D computer visualizations help teams to make design decisions by testing different solutions as they create. Also, 3D visualizations help to communicate architectural design schemes to consultants and clients.

All in all, visualizations have made their way into not just helping to produce construction drawings, but also, as a way to communicate design ideas to an array of other involved parties.
VISUALIZATIONS AFTER A DESIGN IS BUILT?
A team of computer scientists at the University of Washington's Graphics and Imaging Laboratory have developed algorithms to be used with Microsoft's Photosynth. The big idea behind their work is to create a "collective" visualization where a 3D model is constructed from a repository of Flickr photos of an urban space. So far, they have reconstructed the small city of Dubrovnik and several famous Italian landmarks; see you tube video link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQegEro5Bfo

By using a puzzle-like approach to stitching together photos taken by random tourists, the resulting visualizations make me realize the significance to a "collective" approach to perception — especially with the increasing social and dynamic nature of the internet.

As social media becomes more popular and increasing amounts of data are collected, visualization techniques will really be able to place our architectural treasures (and non-treasures) within a dynamic and virtual "time-capsule".

I wonder what these sort of "collective-visualizations" will look and feel like in the future? Will they be somewhat true to the original or will they take on an architectural spirit of their own? Will architecture move on to a new sort of virtual after-life once it is demolished?

What will be the ultimate purpose of such collective visualizations? Will they exist as a truer collective memory of our real-world buildings, or could they augment present-day architecture that is still in use? Will we have a sort of architectural "Second Life"?"

2:Video about software designed to discover what the acoustic environment of proposed design will sound like...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyGb6uhVGmM

3: Interaction design is defined by Wikipedia as the "discipline of defining the behavior of products and systems that a user can interact with". In this video, Bill Verplank explains very clearly what an interaction designer must accomplish in a successful design:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3rxCLhzmXY

Essentially, an interaction designer must work to answer three leading questions:

1. How will a user cause an effect?
2. How will a user feel when getting feedback?
3. How will a user know what to do?
   

It is interesting to hear about how causing an effect is like pushing a button or pulling a handle. The distinction between either continuous or discreet control poses some interesting questions for architects.

Cool versus hot media is certainly a good way to characterize feedback. One distinction about whether or not feedback is changeable would really make for some great interactive architecture. Such architects can ask questions about how much feedback is necessary, what form should it take, and what level of further interaction would make a design successful.

So, as an architect, should you provide an overall map to your occupants about how the building, public space etc works (or behaves)? Maybe a step by step guided path would present your occupant with the necessary knowledge to engage your occupants within your design. Architects must always "speak" to their occupants through their projects, revealing what information is necessary for their occupants — at the right time and place.


(Texts are extracts from sensingarchitecture.com articles)

Thanks

Harri

 

One Creative Environments Ltd. is registered in England no. 2738102 Reg office: 5 The Triangle, Wildwood Drive, Worcester WR5 2QX. A subsidiary of Prime Plc. 'For the avoidance of doubt this correspondence is not intended to be contractual in effect.' Confidentiality and Monitoring Notice: The information contained within this email sent by One Creative Environments Ltd. is confidential and is intended for the named recipient only. If you are not the intended recipient please notify the sender by telephone immediately on 01905 362300 or return it to us by email quoting the name of the sender and the addressee. Please then delete it from your system. One Creative Environments Ltd. may monitor email traffic data and also the content of email for the purposes of security and staff training. Encryption and Viruses: Please note that this email and any attachments have not been encrypted. They may therefore be liable to be compromised. Please also note that it is your responsibility to scan this email and any attachments for viruses and other threats Viruses, other threats and compromises of security are inherent risks in relation to transmissions. We do not, to the extent permitted by law, accept any liability for any virus infection and/or external compromise of security and/or confidentiality in relation to transmissions sent by email.