wk9

    After we completed our 3D models, we were left with our first virtual building. And it's exactly the same as it would be in reality; in ideal conditions; and build precisely according to our 2D drawings and given dimensions. Of course we are talking if it were actually ever build and nothing would be changed or corrected latter. But any ways, our virtual model is build, what now?
We all know that in real life there are no building that are made purely as a shape. Without the use of any material whatsoever. Everything in architecture is made out of something and everything has it's purpose. Whether it is only esthetic or it plays some kind of vital role in the construction itself.
And exactly that was our next assignment! To give our model some "life" and some reality. To explore and apply materials and textures to our plain surfaces.

Here are some screenshots and quick renders of how I approached this assignment.

For my better understanding of all different preset materials and textures and learning how to create my own, I watched this tutorial set:

LINK

 
     I have to admit, I am really surprised of what it is actually possible to achieve with todays computers, regarding rendering and creating images so realistic that it's hard to distinguish them from pictures taken with a real camera. And because of that fact and the thirst of actually knowing how to do that my self someday I really enjoyed this ninth assignment. I think it's crucial for us, the future architects to really get to now this technics and to learn this to a great depth. Especially now, when there is to much architects out there searching for employment, this kind of reference is literally priceless.

wk8

     For our eight assignment, we "cranked up a notch" our growing skills in the 3D modeling environment. We had the task of importing our 2 dimensional drawings; our floor plans into a chosen 3D modeling and rendering program. Then we had to start "creating" and modeling our building according to the dimensions we specified. For that we used numerous features of the program. Starting with the basic geometry using primitive object, and all the way to more complex methods. Great thing about all of these programs, whether it is Autodesk's 3DS Max, Maya, or in my case Cinema 4D, is that there are limitless options of achieving our goal. And I think that this is priceless, as each and every one of us can "invent" his own way, that he likes the most and that seems to be the most effective of achieving desired results.

This is how I approached this assignment. I keep a sort of screenshot "resume"of the whole process.

Here is where it all began... I actually had problems from the beginning, because
Cinema 4D has some silly limitations on importing .dwg files. So I first tried exporting
it to Illustrator, and then to Cinema 4D, but I failed. So latter I found out that the file has
to be saved as a .dxf R12, which is a quite old version. So my confusion was obvious. 

When I finally managed to import the file, I started modeling. First I started
with some simple polygons. Then I extruded them to the specified height.
That's how I got my walls standing.

Next step was to model doors and windows. This was a bit harder than last step.
It involved duplicating objects and creating instances, I had to change the
position of the snapping points all the time, etc...  But when I came to grips
 with it, it all got a lot faster.

Some more work on the windows...

This is what the ground floor looks completed.

I used the same methods and tools to model the first floor.

After I completed both floors, I had to lift first floor and snap it in
it's place. 

Modeling the roof was the hardest task I had to do. I had to change and divide
some walls into more segments. Then I struggled with connecting and trimming
walls with the roof. 

Finished work

And here are final quick renderings of the complete house, from different views, without any materials.

Here is a couple of links to some video tutorials that helped me with this exercice:

Tutorial 1                          Tutorial 2                     Tutorial 3

        I have to admit, that this is one of those assignments that I really looked forward to. Not because I would be some kind of expert, but the opposite, I had no idea what in the world I was doing. The truth is, that before last weeks assignment I've actually never "worked" or even explored Cinema 4D or any other similar program. But I really always wanted to learn! So I am really grateful that this assignment was on the curriculum, because who knows how long it would take me to start doing something on my own.

wk7

     For our seventh assignment we dived into the new waters of architectural work presentation. For the first time we started using the 3D and rendering programmes. With those we can create photorealistic pictures and it gives us a lively experience of what our project would actually look like in ideal conditions. 

This kind of work became of great importance, especially in the last decade, because it seems to be a base for every great project being realized.

This is why the 7th assignment is so important for us, as we want to become great architects of the modern, digital (c)age. 

      Because we all know that now, more than ever, 3D visualization is one of the most efficient, attractive and easily understandable presentations of our project. Whether it is made to be used for impressing our contractor or the public in general. 

I am not saying that architects throughout the history did not use these techniques of 3D presentation, it is just that in the past all of those had to be drawn by hand and today everything is practically computer based. 

    Our job was to play with different functions and get to know the user interface and the programme itself. Using basic shapes we had to visualize and build up a model of our chosen concept. For completing this assignment there is a variety of programmes available to us, but personally, I have chosen the Cinema 4D.

Here is a few screenshots I took while exploring numerous features of this genuine programme:

   Since I am quite new to this programme, I had to watch a couple of video tutorials and really get to know it better before I could use it efficiently. Here is a link to one of them.

Link

       This assignment was one of the hardest so far - not because of the complexity, but because of my personal inexperience. I found out that the majority of video tutorials that I have searched for on the internet was useless for architectural field of work, because this programme is also quite widely spread among animation experts. In my opinion that seems to be its main purpose.

Overall I feel like I have learned a lot and gained new skills and programme experiences by learning how to use Cinema 4D. All in all, what ever I did and what ever I thought I achieved, I always realized on the way, that there is tons more to learn as well.

wk6.1

     I am posting this new post-post, because I've noticed that one of my pictures is missing in the previous post "wk6". I've must have uploaded the file that is not supported by blogger and so it is not being displayed properly.

So here it is, the picture I re-saved in a different format:

    The picture that was the problem was my Section view A-A. I hope it will work this time.



    Since I was posting this new post anyway, I've decided to also include my "new" floor plans. I actually didn't change them at all, I've just added dimensionas to them, so that the presentation is much clearer and more intuitive. And, to me at least, it is kind of starting to look like an actual architectural project.

Plan of a ground floor

Plan of the 1st floor

wk6

     For this weeks assignment we had to draw our floor plans, sections and views in AutoCAD.

Our task was to combine and use all of our knowledge and make a, still kind of simple plan, even thought we had to pay attention to some details.

Here is what I've created:

North view

East view

South view

West view

Floor plan of the ground floor

floor plan of the 1st floor

Section A-A

Here is a link to the YouTube page, where I found a lot of tutorials that helped me:

Link

    Honestly I didn't find this assignment to hard, but I have to say, that I found it quite time consuming.

But at the end, that is the most widely spread and most used programme in the architectural community, so we'll all have to ge use to it. One way or the other.