Archinect - News

Now you can experience LA’s erstwhile Bunker Hill neighborhood thanks to a 3D reconstruction from USC

2022-07-15T14:26:00-04:00

Seven decades after it was razed to do away with what the federal government deemed “urban blight,” the University of Southern California’s Ahmanson Lab, working with the Bunker Hill Refrain Collaboratory, has created an interactive 3D reconstruction of Downtown Los Angeles’ Bunker Hill neighborhood. The initiative gives users a sense of what was lost when the area was turned over to developers and slowly remade into what is today an unrecognizable warren of commercial and luxury residential projects consistently fought over by some of the city’s most powerful names.

The 3D tour captures the area as it appeared between the late 1930s and the beginning of the government-led “slum clearance” initiatives that began in the last two years of the 1940s.

A typical Queen Anne style home in the neighborhood ca. 1940. Image courtesy USC.

Mayor Fletcher Bowron was the domineering political figure at that time, overseeing an unprecedented second wave of urban expansion in Los Angeles that inclu...

Skydio releases autonomous drone software that can create detailed 3D models in real time

2021-06-04T19:15:00-04:00

Earlier this week, U.S. autonomous drone manufacturer, Skydio, launched Skydio 3D Scan, an adaptive scanning software that allows its drones to generate incredibly detailed 3D models of real-world settings with a very high degree of autonomy.

3D Scan is equipped with advanced artificial intelligence skills that automate photographic data collection and mapping functions for important tasks ranging from infrastructure asset inspection to digital twin generation as well as crime and accident scene reconstruction.

"Corsair Jet", an image of an old jet captured with 3D Scan and a Skydio drone. Image: Skydio

In real time, objects and locations can be digitized and explored. Bridges and roads that may be in need of structural repair, accident sites, and clients looking to inspect construction sites can receive explicitly detailed, 3D recreations of these scenes.

According to Skydio, the software has been tested by the likes of the North Carolina Department of Transportation for bridge i...

Waymo's self-driving cars have started 3D-mapping Los Angeles

2019-10-17T06:00:00-04:00

Currently, Waymo has started undertaking an extensive mapping activity of having a few of their specially outfitted data-collecting vehicles crisscross the Los Angeles area. These vehicles contain a state-of-the-art barrage of sensory equipment, the idea is to first map out the area and then use those maps to get the self-driving cars ready for hitting our streets.

"The conventional mapping did not go as in-depth as does this specially performed new mapping," writes AI and Autonomous Vehicles expert Lance Eliot for Forbes. "Tons of added data of a 3D nature and including subtle but significant aspects like where the curbs are, and the locations of intersection traffic signals are considered a savvy aspect to have in-hand for their driverless car efforts."

Waymo, the Mountain View-based Google sister company, hasn't unveiled yet if and when it will launch its fleet of driverless robotaxis in LA, but the current mapping efforts signal a strong intent to win early market dominance in the nation's second largest, and likely most sprawling car-centric, metro area.

How VR may be the bridge firms and educators need to share architecture

2019-02-08T10:37:00-05:00

Thanks to Hugo Gernsback and his influence on science fiction and technology, his 1963 TV Glasses invention was a stepping stone for the evolution of virtual reality. Fast forward 50 years and VR is now an accessible and viable option for almost everyone, especially architects and designers.

According to the AIA's 2018 firm survey, The Business of Architecture, it has been recorded that 67 percent of large firms are utilizing VR technology within their practice. With relatively affordable VR options like the Oculus Rift, Google Daydream, and Samsung Gear, almost anyone can purchase the technology to integrate virtual reality into their design process. However, with its apparent accessibility, has VR become a critical factor in successfully communicating architectural ideas to groups like clients and students? Only so much can be seen in drawings and renderings. Architecture must also be felt to be understood, and perhaps leaping into virtual reality is a viable step.

Samsung’s Mobi...

Google Maps is integrating buildings and architectural details, far surpassing other map makers such as Apple & Bing

2017-12-21T16:51:00-05:00

Justin O'Beirne lays out years worth of research on mapping technologies in his essay Google Map's Moat. O'Beirne reveals,"Over the past year, we’ve been comparing Google Maps and Apple Maps [...] The biggest difference is the building footprints: Google seems to have them all, while Apple doesn’t have any. [...] The buildings are a new thing, and I’ve been watching Google gradually add them over the past year."

With plenty of map screenshot GIFs, O'Beirne illustrates how Google has integrated architecture (including sheds, trailers, garages, etc.) with fairly accurate architectural detail just in the past year. Compared alongside Apple and other mapping technologies, Google is far ahead of the game.

Architectural detail on churches from Google maps, even the front steps are included. Photo: Justin O'Beirne.

Google is also using this data to create AOI's, Areas of Interest, on it's mapping service. Using it's building footprint data collected from satellites and the function of tho...

Virtual reality transforms actual construction (and its ability to execute complexity)

2016-11-08T13:09:00-05:00

Speed, accuracy, and complexity don't have to be mutually exclusive in construction. At least, that's the theory behind augmented reality technologies that offer 3D glimpses of real-time construction sites, animated plans and even wall finishes (imagine holding up your phone In your abode and viewing a realistic display of what a new paint job could look like). As this article from The Guardian explains, developments in technology promise a great deal, but the actual execution is still coming along:

"There are signs that, beyond bringing flat blueprints and designs to life in front of clients, reducing on-site problems and easing investor worries, AR could provide an end-to-end service. Software is being developed that enables companies to show clients what the inside of a build will look like when furnished a certain way or the finishing touches have been applied to the outside. Of course, virtual reality allows this to be done before a project has been completed and sometimes in mo...

Animated 3D data maps of New York City & beyond

2015-10-01T13:31:00-04:00

Created by graphic engineer Patricio Gonzalez Vivo, the animated map gives a sky-high view of the city's hustle and bustle, capturing cars cruising along streets and lights buzzing on and off in buildings. Vivo, who created the project for open source mapping lab Mapzen, applied mathematical functions to street data to create the animated scene.

Vivo's mapping isn't limited to New York City: you can input a variety of different cities, from Aachen to Zemun, and get a hypnotizing 3D view. Here's a view of downtown Los Angeles:

And a view of London (with the black, mostly data-less swath of the Thames cutting through):