Archinect - News

Perkins&Will, Building Transparency, and C Change Labs awarded grant to develop carbon reduction tool

2021-06-25T16:54:00-04:00

Global design practice Perkins&Will, in collaboration with climate action-focused software company C Change Labs and nonprofit organization Building Transparency Canada, has been awarded a grant to develop a tool that facilitates the design of low-carbon buildings.

Called the Tally Climate Action Tool or tallyCAT, it will build on existing technologies, giving users access to material and product information, in real time, within commonly used BIM programs, such as Revit and Rhino.

Image courtesy Perkins&Will

The CleanBC Building Innovation Fund (CBBIF) based out of British Columbia awarded the team $460,000 as part of its mission to fund projects in the Canadian province that accelerate the availability and affordability of low-carbon building solutions. The tool is expected to launch in March 2023. It will be globally available as an integrated plugin and provide open access to a library of materials within design software.

“Our goal is to make it easy for designers to understan...

This digital architecture scale could solve all of your conversion issues

2018-04-18T19:04:00-04:00

The Smart Scale Ruler was created by Joanne Swisterski, an Interior Designer looking to solve scale and unit issues once and for all. This digital ruler can be customized for Architects, Designers, and Builders. Solving the common problems of out of scale drawings and differing units, this innovative new tool makes conversions simple for everyone.

Smart Scale Ruler by Joanne Swisterski.

The Smart Scale Ruler uses a long screen to display a custom ruler created by the user. This is done by inputting a physical reference of distance and the desired distance. The screen regenerates to create a ruler based on these parameters. Whatever is displayed can be converted to metric or imperial with one button. It can similarly be used to divide spaces equally for 2D drawings, and with a ratio applied for perspective drawings.

Check out how it all works:

The Smart Scale Ruler Kickstarter campaign is currently live with $40,283 pledged of their $51,722 goal. If this is a tool you would like t...

Up your LEGO-building game with the Nimuno Loops “LEGO-compatible tape”

2017-03-15T21:19:00-04:00

Nimuno Loops might be the missing piece to your LEGO-building needs. Created by industrial designers Anine Kirsten and Max Basler from Cape Town, Nimuno Loops are rolls of LEGO-compatible adhesive tape that turns almost any surface at any angle into a LEGO-building project site. The reusable, bendable tape can be cut with scissors to your desired length, and it works with other major toy-building block systems like Mega Bloks and Kreo.

Screenshots via YouTube.

Image via Indiegogo.

Team Nimuno spent over a year developing the Nimuno Loops, from concept to working prototype. Starting out with an $8,000 goal, Team Nimuno's Indiegogo campaign has amassed $758,399 from over 20,000 backers so far. The funds will help the designers pay for final prototyping and testing of the Loops using different materials and adhesive, the necessary industrial tools for casting the Loops, and shipping and logistics. Backers are expected to receive the tape starting this July.

Win the Grids & Guides Visual Thinkers notebook + pencil set!

2016-09-02T17:40:00-04:00

For many architecture and design students, a new school year calls for fresh supplies. But regardless of your student status, a timeless essential for designers is the trusty notebook and sharpened pencils. If you're looking to add to your sketchbook collection, Archinect is giving away the Princeton Architectural Press' latest version of the Grids & Guides Notebook for Visual Thinkers along with the Grids & Guides 12 Pencils set to five of our readers!

Read on for more and how to enter the giveaway.

This sleek hardcover notebook offers 160 pages of varied graphing paper for all your sketching needs. The graph paper is also interspersed with colorfully illustrated infographs and charts, from geometry to the geologic time scale. The lucky Archinectors to win will be one of the first to own the new gray version of the notebook, which won't be on sale until September 20. You can pre-order it here.

In addition to the notebook, we're giving away the Grids & Guides 12 Pencils for Visual Thin...

Check out Bagel, the overachieving digital tape measure freshly funded on Kickstarter

2016-07-12T18:42:00-04:00

Taking and recording measurements on the fly can be tricky—getting all the right tools to measure different surfaces and distances, and having a place to scribble them down for later, can easily lead to imprecise or inefficient measurements. The mouthwateringly-named Bagel digital tape measure is trying to change that.

The Bagel looks like a basic tape measure, but can measure distances in three different modes: string, wheel, or remote. Digital measurements from these three functions can then be saved on Bagel's internal memory (along with voice memos), or transferred to the Bagel smartphone app via Bluetooth. You can charge it with a micro-USB, and the digital display makes viewing easier and less ambiguous.

Launched on Kickstarter by Bagel Labs of Newport Beach, California, the smart tape measure has already surpassed its $30,000 goal nearly 20-times over. The final prototype is ready for production, and while Bagel still needs to undergo consumer-testing for durability (how high o...