Archinect - News

A sketchbook you can draw on by hand, upload to the cloud, then erase in your microwave

2017-07-27T13:10:00-04:00

For designers who love to draw by hand on real paper but want to store those sketches in the cloud, there is now a kind of a refined, tech-savvy etch-o-sketch in the form of the Rocketbook Wave Smart Notebook from self-described "notebook innovators" Joe Lemay and Jake Epstein.

Using a special pen known as a Pilot FriXon, one can write or draw in the notebook by hand, and then choose a symbol at the bottom of the page that is linked to a particular app in the cloud. The information on the physical sheet is uploaded to the cloud by taking a picture of it with one's phone, but the ink in which it is written turns invisible once it is microwaved, making it unneccessary to own more than one notebook (presuming, of course, that access to the information on the cloud remains unobstructed).

Mr. Lemay and Mr. Epstein were motivated to attempt to reinvent the notebook partly because they were tired of the stagnancy in the spiral-bound market. The product, which officially dropped on June ...

Editor's Picks #304

2013-02-26T13:39:00-05:00

For the latest edition of the ShowCase feature, Archinect published the first fire station designed by Pritzker Prize winner Álvaro Siza Veira. The project, Santo Tirso Fire Station is located in Quinta de Geão, Portugal "comprises a total gross area of 1173 m2 and lodges the support functions to the fire brigade...it is organized in 3 floors”.

Chris Moody's initial reaction was that "At first glance, it would be hard to picture this building as a fire station. But then again, that's probably the point. Nicely done! Alvaro." toasteroven added "that brick is yummy, the exterior is really nice - but - the interiors seem a little cold and off-putting. all shades of grey and white - like a bunker in Antarctica in the dead of winter”.

News

According to released figures the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) showed its strongest growth since November 2007. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the January ABI score was 54.2, up sharply from a mark of 51.2* in Dec...

The Sketches Behind the World's Most Magnificent Buildings

2011-08-25T19:36:53-04:00

The inspiring recent release Architects' Sketchbooks celebrates the earliest traces of a building's coming into being, the ideas that pave the way for the precision of engineers' calculations or CAD renderings. Through the book's beautiful reproductions of original blots, jots, and scribbles, we can see that even the most awe-inspiring edifices begin as a line—as reassuring an insight into the creative process as any.

Sketchbooks of RoTo

2011-06-03T09:55:00-04:00

My ideal workspace is wherever I am when a thought or an image comes to mind and I can sit with my sketchbook. I have always carried a notebook with me, for at least thirty years. This hand to paper, mediated by my fountain pen or RoTo pencils, switches on my mind and focuses my attention. As I draw or write, all of my senses become more acute—apprehending everything around me more clearly and precisely. A paradox, but true.

Q&A: Architects’ Sketchbooks

2011-05-19T19:31:28-04:00

To combat the relentless move toward electronic technologies, many schools are integrating such analog technologies as pencils, pens, water colors, pastels, in addition to teaching the manipulation of the latest computer software.

Metropolis Magazine's Susan S. Szenasy interviews Will Jones about his book "Architects' Sketchbooks".