365/12

3.365/12 (curtain wall “fly by” details)

January 3, 2012 – 11:57 PM

Today I re-designed curtain wall details for the Patricio Office Building Project. The 2 story lobby of the building is wrapped in Kawneer curtain wall on 3 sides with a patio above on the third level consisting of a perimeter railing. One leg of the curtain wall at the outside corner is also extended by 4′. The trick in designing a “fly by” detail (plan and section in this case) is to maintain continuity, moisture control, thermal conductivity and curtain wall specifications such that neither system is compromised. As originally designed, the curtain wall went continuous at both section and plan locations and generated questions regarding waterproofing and roofing terminations. With this re-design, the 2 story lobby curtain wall is isolated from the roof patio and also from the “wing wall” at the corner. Subject to team review and approval, I believe these details are more realistic than before.

 

curtain wall “fly by” details

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365/12 |- music

2.365/12 (Rebirth for iPad)

January 2, 2012 – 10:03 PM

Today I made some noise using my new iPad with an old friend named Rebirth by Propellerhead Software. About 14 years ago I discovered Rebirth and was instantly addicted to making electronic music (never said I was good at it). ReBirth is a digital version of the “Roland TB-303 Bass synth and the Roland TR-808 and 909 drum machines” and is now re-issued as an iPad app. Over the years Propellerhead Software has emerged as a leading music production software company. I recently upgraded to Reason 6 and will be using it to record more conventional songs and my guitar playing with a full entourage of synths, drum machines and other interesting instruments.

010212 Rebirth.mp3 

Rebirth was amazing for 1997 in comparison to other “design software” of the time: intuitive, innovative and easy to use. Unlike cad back then (and even today), Rebirth was light years ahead in terms of functionality and user interface. I didn’t realize it back then but Rebirth made a strong impact on what design tools I picked up in the future.

»crosslinked«

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365/12

1.365/12 (design/make)

January 1, 2012 – 7:21 PM

Last week during the annual countdown to the new year I was asked, what is your new year’s resolution? It’s a question I generally don’t consider too seriously but somehow starting thinking about it too much in the last few days. Last night during a game of  ”Apple’s to Apple’s” it suddenly hit me to design/make something new each day. Today I posted the idea on FaceBook and a few of my design friends put me up to the challenge. Dave Rizzolo suggested I blog my progress and Greg La Vardera mentioned “… and if you get the blog up by the end of the day you’ll be on schedule.”

Seems like they were reading my mind. I’ve been absent from my blog for some time and wanted to make a stronger effort to communicate design ideas and continue blogging. Well, here I am.

I’ve made a blog category “365/12″ to reflect my resolution and post a design and/or materialized idea every day, and look forward to all your comments. May the games begin!

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| PORTFOLIO |- commercial |- recent |- unbuilt

4×10 Luxury Lofts [concept]

January 4, 2010 – 6:57 PM

Location| Southern California, South America / Dubai, UAE
Type| multi-unit residential
Size| 5 stories, 40 units (2,400 sf)

Status| concept

Part 2 of a modular series of housing concepts is the 4×10 Luxury Lofts. This housing concept is based on the common unit used in the 2-4-6-8 Luxury Residences project and is configured into 5 story residential components with shared open air circulation between the units and parking below. A total of 40 units are available with private parking and swimming pools. Like the 2-4-6-8, this concept is intended for a mild to hot climate typical of Southern California and parts of South America, Africa and India. The 4×10 concept is also the design model featured in the previous “Augmented Reality” post.

Please review the first part of this series > 2-4-6-8 Luxury Residences [concept]

All images and content are the property of rui duarte DESIGN and may only be used with written consent. Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved

design images

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Digital Technology

Augmented Reality: the future is now

January 2, 2010 – 2:53 PM

I few weeks ago while watching the SYFY channel, I noticed the terminology of “augmented reality” being put to use as two mechanical boxers faced off in a ring while the human controllers were off on the sideline with a “piece of paper” on their backs recognized by a digital camera and fed into a computer capturing body movements. I’ve been aware of motion capture techniques for many years, especially for computer animation and film. Today I found a post on one of my favorite forums PushPullBar referring to a plug-in for SketchUp that would transform a digital computer model onto a piece of paper and capture my movement of the paper back into a composite video signal of me moving the paper with the computer model on it. I tried the plug-in made by Inglobe Technologies and it worked!

This technology has been around for a few years (I believe), however seeing it work on my desk is nothing short of amazing. I find it difficult not to use the F-word in expressing how easy and accurate this process works. 1. download the plug-in (trial version) 2. install the plug-in 3. run SketchUp 4. load a model 5. initiate the plug-in from the SU plug-in menu 6. select a cam source from a menu 7. AUGMENTED REALITY !!!!!!!!!

I also made this short video to illustrate the process and demonstrate the real time usability aspects. Now I’m beginning to consider how to implement this technology into client presentations and maybe take it one step future. Maybe in another 10 years we will not only be able to spin, pan and zoom but also create architecture in this type of virtual environment. Please leave a note with your thoughts and first impressions.

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