i am a physics student at cardiff university, i happen to play simcity four, because of this i have developed a keen interest in architecture appreciation, also i do model a few structures for use in the game, is there anywhere i can sort of teach myself the basics, like putting together projects (those boards and the like) and also the theory, are there any must have books or websites... i can design bits but they are nothing more than meaningless 3d doodles, i could never tell you anything about how they apply to any use or site. if it helps my favourite architect would have to be Antonio Sant'Elia.
Speaking as a fellow amateur, and risking both our necks in these woods, I'd advise you to do your best to copy the work of architects, past or present, that you admire. This is likely to a) produce better results than you could hope to achieve at present on your own, and b) begin to teach you something of architectural design, at least in terms of exterior appearance.
@ agfa8x simcity was merely my explanation of the origin of my interest, and an explanation that i had some design experience, be it very freeform and unconstrained....
well if you read the futurist manifesto then you may want to stick with building simulated cities because your opportunities for implementing the ideas of sant'elia will be quite limited. unless you just want to copy his drawings then go crazy.
May 31, 08 7:59 am ·
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mightygoose, you have appreciable natural talent. I suggest you just plunge right in:
Content is a product of the moment.
Inspired by ceaseless fluctuations of the early 21st Century, it bears the marks of globalism and the market, ideological siblings that, over the past twenty years, have undercut the stability of contemporary life.
This book is born of that instability. It is not timeless: it’s almost out of date already. It uses volatility as a license to be immediate, informal, blunt: it embraces instability as a source of freedom.
Content is a follow-up to SMLXL, an inventory of seven years of OMA’s tireless labor. In many ways it is structured according to what its predecessor is not – dense, cheap, disposable….
The relentless internal logic that propelled SMLCL is here counteracted by the incorporation of critical, external voices. Subjects are not arranged according to size but by geographical proximity: the trajectory moves ever eastward, beginning in San Francisco, ending in Tokyo.
Content is dominated by a single theme – “Go East” – at once a response to 9-11’s mounting wreckage and an acknowledgement of the eastward momentum that has, through AMO’s political involvement with the EU and an increasing density of Chinese projects, redirected the office’s energy. It is an attempt to illustrate the architect’s ambiguous relations with the forces of globalization, an account of seven years spent scouring the earth – not as business traveler or backpacker, but as vagabond – roving, searching for an opportunity to realize the visions that make remaining at home torturous. Content is, beyond all, a tribute to what are perhaps OMA/AMO’s greatest virtues – its courage, its dogged, almost existential pursuit of discomfort, its commitment to engaging the world by inviting itself to places where it has no authority, places where it doesn’t ‘belong’.
SDR's suggestion to mimic other famous architects' work is valid, but I would offer that you should try to replicate the elements of their work (scale, proprotion, materials, joints, etc.) rather than try to match the design exactly.
The Architect's Studio Companion will help you to make your buildings more "real." It gives you size limitations of various structural elements and systems. For instance, it tells you how far concrete slabs can span, what the column spacing needs to be, and how thick the slab is.
mightygoose - your friend is pretty audacious! Vitruvius wrote some dense theory that I found difficult to get through - even in grad school. (Although, I do consider myself a 'lightweight' when it comes to reading and comprehending architectural theory.) You will learn a lot about the spirit of good architecture, but I'm not sure it will have a direct impact on your objective to make better buildings in SimCity.
But if you're up for a challenge, by all means, read it!
building better buildings for simcity is not my objective. my objective is to potentially get into the field of architecture as initially a hooby and maybe even make it a career choice when i leave university. my objective is to teach myself the methodology and mindset to think like an architect rather than a 3d artist making doodles for simcity four. the theory of design fascinates me but i know my work cannot progress beyond the doodle stage unles i begin to comprehend and interpret that theory.
oh and another thing, while i currently use Autodesk 3dsmax 9 is there a more appropriate staple modelling program i should consider getting, and use 3ds just for the renders?
there's a reason why architecture is a long course of university study. it's very difficult to 'pick up' on a hobby basis. I suggest that if you're interested in architecture as a career, you start looking at what university programs are around. your scientific background would be very useful.
i merely want to keep my options open, you see following the world of design via blogs is fine for recognition of style, and to an extent purpose, i can replicate and reuse mullion styles, i have taught myself to become quite proficient with 3dsmax, my imagination is fine, it seems the theory i can get from books, but its the, "how to put together a project proposal" which is the thing i am missing, and im guessing that only comes from actually studying at University. would it be worth going to look at the project display boards over in the architecture department.?
of course! visit the department and talk a little with the faculty if you can. tell them your interests, and they will encourage you and maybe steer you in a direction you are interested in. it never hurts to ask questions. I'd also encourage you to go meet with anyone doing work your interested in at firms that are nearby, they all know how to put a project proposal and have interesting insights already having gone through arch school.
May 31, 08 11:05 pm ·
·
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An Amatuer
hey,
i am a physics student at cardiff university, i happen to play simcity four, because of this i have developed a keen interest in architecture appreciation, also i do model a few structures for use in the game, is there anywhere i can sort of teach myself the basics, like putting together projects (those boards and the like) and also the theory, are there any must have books or websites... i can design bits but they are nothing more than meaningless 3d doodles, i could never tell you anything about how they apply to any use or site. if it helps my favourite architect would have to be Antonio Sant'Elia.
thanks
john
the basics take five years of study, and they aren't too much like simcity.
if you just want to develop your interest in architecture, you could look at something like Unwin's Analyzing Architecture.
Speaking as a fellow amateur, and risking both our necks in these woods, I'd advise you to do your best to copy the work of architects, past or present, that you admire. This is likely to a) produce better results than you could hope to achieve at present on your own, and b) begin to teach you something of architectural design, at least in terms of exterior appearance.
Good luck !
passion burns thought into your mind. i just say good luck
@ agfa8x simcity was merely my explanation of the origin of my interest, and an explanation that i had some design experience, be it very freeform and unconstrained....
some of my work shots....
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z124/mightygoose_2007/megaindustry-1.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z124/mightygoose_2007/tolsongallery5.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z124/mightygoose_2007/tolsongallery3.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z124/mightygoose_2007/IMAX9newrender.jpg
thanks for the the good wishes from others, i will have a look to see if "analysing architecture" is in the library...
'architecture: form, space, order' by ching.
well if you read the futurist manifesto then you may want to stick with building simulated cities because your opportunities for implementing the ideas of sant'elia will be quite limited. unless you just want to copy his drawings then go crazy.
mightygoose, you have appreciable natural talent. I suggest you just plunge right in:
Content
Content is a product of the moment.
Inspired by ceaseless fluctuations of the early 21st Century, it bears the marks of globalism and the market, ideological siblings that, over the past twenty years, have undercut the stability of contemporary life.
This book is born of that instability. It is not timeless: it’s almost out of date already. It uses volatility as a license to be immediate, informal, blunt: it embraces instability as a source of freedom.
Content is a follow-up to SMLXL, an inventory of seven years of OMA’s tireless labor. In many ways it is structured according to what its predecessor is not – dense, cheap, disposable….
The relentless internal logic that propelled SMLCL is here counteracted by the incorporation of critical, external voices. Subjects are not arranged according to size but by geographical proximity: the trajectory moves ever eastward, beginning in San Francisco, ending in Tokyo.
Content is dominated by a single theme – “Go East” – at once a response to 9-11’s mounting wreckage and an acknowledgement of the eastward momentum that has, through AMO’s political involvement with the EU and an increasing density of Chinese projects, redirected the office’s energy. It is an attempt to illustrate the architect’s ambiguous relations with the forces of globalization, an account of seven years spent scouring the earth – not as business traveler or backpacker, but as vagabond – roving, searching for an opportunity to realize the visions that make remaining at home torturous. Content is, beyond all, a tribute to what are perhaps OMA/AMO’s greatest virtues – its courage, its dogged, almost existential pursuit of discomfort, its commitment to engaging the world by inviting itself to places where it has no authority, places where it doesn’t ‘belong’.
SDR's suggestion to mimic other famous architects' work is valid, but I would offer that you should try to replicate the elements of their work (scale, proprotion, materials, joints, etc.) rather than try to match the design exactly.
The Architect's Studio Companion will help you to make your buildings more "real." It gives you size limitations of various structural elements and systems. For instance, it tells you how far concrete slabs can span, what the column spacing needs to be, and how thick the slab is.
I got recommended by a friend the Ten books of Architecture by Vitruvius, isnt that a classical piece? Is it applicable?
mightygoose - your friend is pretty audacious! Vitruvius wrote some dense theory that I found difficult to get through - even in grad school. (Although, I do consider myself a 'lightweight' when it comes to reading and comprehending architectural theory.) You will learn a lot about the spirit of good architecture, but I'm not sure it will have a direct impact on your objective to make better buildings in SimCity.
But if you're up for a challenge, by all means, read it!
building better buildings for simcity is not my objective. my objective is to potentially get into the field of architecture as initially a hooby and maybe even make it a career choice when i leave university. my objective is to teach myself the methodology and mindset to think like an architect rather than a 3d artist making doodles for simcity four. the theory of design fascinates me but i know my work cannot progress beyond the doodle stage unles i begin to comprehend and interpret that theory.
maybe you oughta start HeRe! if you wanna think like an architect.
oh and another thing, while i currently use Autodesk 3dsmax 9 is there a more appropriate staple modelling program i should consider getting, and use 3ds just for the renders?
there's a reason why architecture is a long course of university study. it's very difficult to 'pick up' on a hobby basis. I suggest that if you're interested in architecture as a career, you start looking at what university programs are around. your scientific background would be very useful.
i merely want to keep my options open, you see following the world of design via blogs is fine for recognition of style, and to an extent purpose, i can replicate and reuse mullion styles, i have taught myself to become quite proficient with 3dsmax, my imagination is fine, it seems the theory i can get from books, but its the, "how to put together a project proposal" which is the thing i am missing, and im guessing that only comes from actually studying at University. would it be worth going to look at the project display boards over in the architecture department.?
of course! visit the department and talk a little with the faculty if you can. tell them your interests, and they will encourage you and maybe steer you in a direction you are interested in. it never hurts to ask questions. I'd also encourage you to go meet with anyone doing work your interested in at firms that are nearby, they all know how to put a project proposal and have interesting insights already having gone through arch school.
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