Today’s post introduces Google Voice.

Google’s soon-to-be competitor to Skype, has some great features that any small business owner may want to get.  Being able to get a free phone number that you can “route” to any existing phone number is terrific.  What happens if you’re starting a business and want all your calls to get routed to your mobile phone? With Voice, you can do that…for free…for now.

Having voicemail sent to your inbox is pretty sweet, too.  But, there are a few downfalls to the service. For now, you can’t call out using your Voice number.

Check out the video below and let me know your thoughts!

photo credit: lars hammar

First, texture maps are image files that get applied to the model as a “material” from the materials window using the paint pot tool. In sketch up there are solid colors, and photographs of landscaping, building materials, and other patterns. The computer applies these in a “tile” pattern on all of the surfaces of the model the tool is used to select.

Makes for the illusion of textured surfaces. curves can be a challenge!

First to make a custom texture map decide how big is the area this material needs to cover. For my ship model it is 300′ long and about 180′ wide at the end. So a large number of surfaces to cover. I want the effect of looking like armor platting. I decide I need a 50′x50′ area. If it’s smaller than that it will get “cluttered” looking, too large and it will be broken up too much. For a more down to Earth application, if you are putting a custom CMU block pattern, you would want a masonry module.

So in a new drawing I made a 50′x50′ rectangle. I then drew up several areas of  platting. I offset the outlines and then selected a gray-scale set of colors. Now I could use other colors but if you are looking for realism I suggest the gray-scale and then adjust the colors. (see below for these two ways).

Once I have the pattern established I next go to the “view” options. Turn off “display edges” and any edge options. Now the pattern is a bunch of unbounded colors. If I need a hard dark or light line between two areas I “offset” and color that area darker.

Next under “view” turn on “fog” menu. From the Fog menu check “use Fog” then un-check “use background color. There is a little square next to that which indicates what color is going to be used for the color of the “fog”. Click on it and select the color of the material you want, adjust the darkness using the slider. Press OK, and back in the “fog” menu there is a slider that has two settings one end has an ∞ symbol. where you put the “100%” will place the distance Sketch-up’s camera can “see” in the drawing. Move the “100%” to the right to adjust it so you have thicker fog. The slider on the left is the “thickness” of the fog. By doing this you can have a graduated color layered over the pattern. So with my drawing I wanted a yellowish-khaki look. (there is another method to do this in the materials menu discussed below)

To get this pattern into an image type you can use for a new materials it must be exported. First go to the “camera” menu and select “Top”. Then zoom extents. Now go to “file” menu and go to Export >2D graphics. Select a file type to export to. JPG is good for patterns, and pictures. GIF is useful if there is a transparent part of the material. You can adjust the output size and resolution from the Options button. smaller file size is better, it will make it render faster. Press OK and the file will out put the raster image.

Open the file with any photo/image adjusting software like GIMP or MS office Picture manager. Crop it so that it cuts out any extra area not in the pattern. A bleed area of a few pixels is not a bad idea either to avoid “lines” showing up unexpectedly.

50'x50' pattern area

Making the material is fairly strait forward. Open your model and go to the materials menu. press the “new material” option. This will open a new menu. there is a color wheel and a box to check “use image”. Next browse to the file you output. It will up load it. Next under neither are two boxes that have a vertical and horizontal sizes on one size and chain image on the other size. Set the size equal to the size of the original drawing. (in my example 50′x50′)

Other options here are “color correction” and “transparency”. Color correction is another way to adjust the color of the pattern. Click on the square and the color wheel will pop up, you can adjust it here too. If you want to restore the color to the default file values press “reset”. Now Transparency will adjust how translucent it is. This could be used for windows or if you want to do a cut-away of a model you can make a solid transparent.  Once you set it up press OK.

Then use the paint pot tool to apply the new material. Keep in mind that these materials have an orientation and components and grouped objects may have to have their orientation adjusted or opened for editing in the correct orientation to make the material look right.

So how did I get the Earth in there? It’s not Google Earth, that’s for sure. For this I did the same thing but in reverse. here’s how I made the scene.

First I downloaded a NASA image from the JPL photo gallery of public domain images. Then I cropped it to a square shape. Then uploaded it as a new material and sized it to 500′ x 500′. Then I made a 500′x500′ rectangle and added the new “Earth” material I just made. (note I had to flip the face of this rectangle so it would display correctly, I didn’t want Bizzaro-world Earth!) I positioned the ship model in front of the Earth image. I set the “Fog” setting to black and infinite cut-off distance.  To export I used the same method, but bumped up the resolution size.

Sketch-up is a great tool to play with, try this out it only took about 30 to 45 to go from scratch to painting the model.

I had been working on some info graphics for a client and stumbled across a similar idea where a company illustrated the need for a new logo. I took the website route.

Here’s a great video illustrating the “creative” process and the disaster people who haven’t studied design can create.

But wait…that’s not all. I saw this video as a suggestion under the above and thought it was worth sharing.

But, some good news – architecture has a long history to draw on – almost all of it without industrialized oil based technology. Buildings account for around 70% of all energy use – creating building materials, transporting materials, construction, heating, power, lighting, demolition.

First what will be increasingly affected by decreasing oil supplies? Let’s start at the top, the roof. Bitumen, Hot Mop, Modified Bitumen, PVC, TPO, EPDM, tarpaper, asphalt shingles – all based on oil products. Expect these to increase in cost.

Next is flashing. Many modern flashings are EPDM. Architects and contractors know that flashings are what keep the envelope able to shed water. They are used everywhere. Metal flashings are mostly used on roofs. EPDM most often used around windows, sills and other transitions between materials. In addition to flashings are backer rods, also made of plastics (oil) these are used in expansion joints in façade materials.

The envelope of a building beyond the flashing materials discussed, there are many oil intensive materials used. Tyvek and other building wrap, including of course tarpaper are needed to make a moisture barrier are oil intensive. Vinyl based siding, EFIS – Elastomeric Finished Insulating System – is polystyrene with a thin layer of cement and latex based finish, are oil intensive.

These things are the stock and trade of modern building across all spectrums of typologies. So how can we build without these materials? Look at history, what’s been used before oil. Additionally reuse the oil intensive materials we’ve already manufactured.

First is masonry. Bricks have been in use for thousands of years, and before that mud bricks. Bricks made in the modern way use powerful gas fired kilns to cure the clay. Transportation can be a big oil use in bricks, so finding a local manufacture is a good way to reduce oil dependence. Reused bricks are another resource to look for.

Stone is another pre-oil resource, but quarrying and transporting it is very oil intensive now, but reusing stone into new construction is not. The pyramids of Giza, originally covered in white marble, but over the millennia after the Egyptian dynasties, the marble cladding was scavenged for use in Cairo. This is the fate of all un-used monuments.

Wood has been our other medium of choice for thousands of years. Our timber and lumber industry is geared to produce trees for the housing market. The large trees are gone or protected and the production forests are harvested as soon as possible to make the standard lumber we are familiar with. But standard lumber is not the only way to build with wood, it’s just what is most available and economical for commercial purposes. Every climate that has trees the culture has found a way to use this resource. From Pueblo dwellings that reuse the same logs (hence they stick out), to huts and yurts, log cabins, or long houses. In these modern times, reusing the older lumber locally is another lower oil impact resource. Another is urban logging that can recover wood from trees felled in storms or during development. Many times these mulched, but alternatively for construction or millwork. (Especially veneers and laminates)

Going back up to the roof, the most important surface that keeps the rest of the envelope working efficiently; there are certain factors that must be re-examined. I started listing all the oil-based products used in roofing. Prior to the miracle of bitumen-based roofing the options were slate, tile, thatch, metal and wood.  These components work, but they all require attention to detail.  The bitumen roofing systems have much simpler details, and can be rolled out (literally) very quickly. Building large flat roofs is a modern edifice. Pitching a roof is the easiest way to get the water off the materials. Only with the seamless and impenetrable surface of bitumen products can you have the 1/8” per foot slope, and have pools of water on a roof. All other materials are assembled in such a way to shed water. However, our modern technology has developed the living roof. By using the impenetrable EPDM or TPO as a substrate and then using modular trays to hold soil and succulent vegetation these two work together to make a living breathing surface. The soil and plants protect the EPDM from UV rays, and the plants can absorb the water that sits on top of the roof material. The green roof reflects heat, cutting heating and cooling costs, and absorbs some water that would enter the storm system.

The biggest hurtle architecture will face is localism. We as an industry are accustomed to getting our materials and equipment from across the country, even the world. As oil becomes more expensive, transporting construction materials will force us to look at local resources. So get to know your local industries, your local machinists and manufacturers. Where do these local manufactures get their resources, their equipment? We need to reexamine our details, specifications, and notes.

Links:

Green America’s National Green Pages, building materials

Peak Oil, more than you want to know

Plan B, Earth Policy Institute

photo credit: pedrosimoes7

Key to this the lay of the land and thinking forward in time to how the view will change over time. First is how the sun will affect the view throughout the day, shadows, glare and direct sunlight. The unit I am in faces northwest. In the morning, the sun comes in through one window in the loft, but because of the trees in the area, 80’ tall Douglas Firs, that light is filtered and does not shine directly on to a wall, but scatters off the pitched ceiling and exposed beams. At noon the unit is in shade except for the deck, which quickly fades as the sun continues it’s path. The afternoon and evening the unit is full of sun glare from the bay. 

Further, in time one has to consider the foliage and landscaping. How will it grow, how will the trees at their mature height, maybe 5 or 10 years later, will impact the views.  Will the owners be changing the landscaping often, or leaving it to mature. Knowing what the client’s plans are will be helpful. 

Finally, how is the surrounding area likely to evolve over time? This property sits across from the beach, so other than the tides, it’s not likely to change. However if this was up on a hill, what kind of zoning is further down the hill? Is it residential, or commercial, is there a possibility the view can be blocked by a Target? Spend time looking at the area, the community, and what kinds of issues are present in the local papers or website. Birch Bay’s future is to stay the same as much as possible, not everywhere else is as lucky.

The veiw from the deck of the unit we are staying in at Jacobs Landing

Is that brochure really ready to go to print? Are the colors separated correctly? Do you have the files setup correctly for the printer? Is the website complete? Are all the links working correctly and have you tested in all web browsers…especially Internet Explorer?

Once the project is out the door, don’t lost track of your customer. Check in periodically. Make sure the project went well. If it’s a website, check the site. Make sure it’s working correctly. Ask if they have any questions. If you do a good job the first time and stay in contact, repeat business is the best. Ideally, you want all your clients to think of you for all their design needs.

This phase is pretty straightforward.  I do however see two ways to approach this part of the project.  The first, and easiest, is to just make all the changes the client wants.  This typically leads to happy clients. That’s never a bad thing.  You can probably then guess that the other approach is to pick and choose what changes to make.  Many reasons can dictate this decision.  You may have spent too much time and just can’t afford it.  The fixes may be a hindrance to the design. Or, they may just be plain bad suggestions.  Using judgment here is the most important thing. Not every piece needs to go in your portfolio.  You may just have to suck it up and make the corrections. I’ve even changed a piece for the client, but kept my original design or concept as my showcase piece. I go back to the fact that happy clients are the best ones.  They lead to more work and more money.  Which, where you are comfortable admitting it or not, is the main goal of owning your design company. You don’t do the work for free.

Be Honest

Don’t lie. Sounds simple enough, but extending the truth doesn’t help anyone. If I’m asked what window style I like, or whether gold trim is back in style, I’ll give you my opinion. It’s just my take on it. Take it as another bit of information to process on your journey to making your decision.

Take Your Time

If I’m being asked a complicated question, like where’s the best place to put a bathroom, I may need to think about it. What factors go into location? Where’s the nearest plumbing wall? Does the spot work with the adjacent uses? Will the flow (sorry for the pun) work for the rest of the house/office/restaurant?

I Don’t Know

I wish I had all the answers, but I don’t. If I’m asked how much something will cost, or how long will it take to build, I may not have the answer. If the question doesn’t fall into one of my specialties, I’ll have to decline.

Know Someone Who Does

BUT!!  I make it a habit, if not a sport, to know where to go for answers. I may not know a lot about one specific thing, but I know a little about lots of things. And, I know a lot of people who are specialists in what they do.

Be Concise

I’m good at babbling. I work very hard trying to be concise. Every great design started with an even better problem.  I strive to focus on solving that problem as efficiently as possible.  Words can get in the way if you’re not careful.

Here are a few points I think about before chiming in.

Photo Credit: piterart