ARCH1392 - Alichia van Rhijn

Our final fabrication...

2009-06-18T16:52:00.001-07:00

We have finally finished our final fabrication after many weeks of hard and constant work. I feel that the time and effort that we have placed into our fabrication has really paid off as I am very happy with the final outcome. I think that because Cameron, Kenneth and myself worked very well as a team and weren't afraid to tell each other if we thought something was wrong or looked bad, we were able to create a fabrication that not only looks great and has a lot of detail, but also functions and flows as a whole.

I feel that we have fulfilled the initial outcomes of the architects and ourselves successfully and to the best of our ability. I think that our environment really gives a sense of community and public space, where people can walk around and experience the building and the surrounding landscape.

All in all I really enjoyed working within the Crysis editor and learning the various skills and techniques required to create our final fabrication.

Realisation of Fabrication

2009-06-17T05:59:00.000-07:00

Below is the 200 - 300 word post about our final fabrication that I wrote and posted to our team blog...

"The final fabrication of our Bodo Cultural Centre has finally been realised after weeks of hard and consistent work. After receiving feedback from our last submission we needed to include more interactivity, add interior textures, create landscaping near the surrounding buildings, add more AI and include interior furniture. We feel that we have successfully addressed all these elements within the final stage of our fabrication.

Our intent for this final submission was to create a successful environment within Crysis that adhered to and fulfilled the architects and our initial outcomes:

· a social, public and communal space;
· a space that connects both the local community and its visitors;
· a space that responds to the expectations and imagination of both the local community and its visitors – tourists and/or migrants;
· a space that enhances the local democratic and social traditions, as well as the natural and pre-existing built environment;
· a space that seeks interaction (open to communal and diverse ranges of activities), playfulness and poetic contemplation
· an accessible space, a place to be proud of and belong to.
· a glistening jewel which plays with the diverse qualities of light in the arctic region and brings the spectacular atmosphere of the northern landscape into the buildings
· an urban project that seeks to create a cultural ecology
· a space intrinsically linked to the sense of human scale, participation and creativity.

Working on from our last submission we have included detailed immediate surroundings to the building in the form of parks and communal walkways that lead from the pier along the sides of the building. We have designed the landscaping to reflect the sense of community use and public space that is an essential aspect of the Bodo Cultural Centre. The juxtaposition between the stark white features of the culture centre and the surrounding landscape and harbour further enhances the architects notion of creating a building which emulates the ‘natural glacial topographies and the rigid city grid’ of Bodo harbour. We have explored this through the addition of detailed harbour features in the form of drainage pipes that lead out to sea, access ladders along the piers into the water, as well as rock walls that run the length of the pier. We feel that the implementation of these elements creates a greater sense of understanding and coherency within our environment and creates a realistic representation of what the harbour would actually look like in Bodo.

Being a highly conceptually motivated building, we have expressed particular efforts in modelling the environment and context of which the Centre belongs so we have also implemented much more realistic 'time of day' features which represent the overall environment within Bodo and the harbour. The inclusion of interior furniture and realistic textures inside and outside the building further enhances the overall sense and understanding of the space within the crysis environment.

It can be seen that the forms and masses of the Culture Centre emulate carved forms and a same solid mass; through this final stage we have developed and refined the angular and irregular walls that make up the shell for the Culture Centre. After receiving feedback there were certain elements within our building that needed to be analysed and re-evaluated. We feel that we have successfully implemented these changes within our building to create a more uniform and consistent culture centre. Within our environment we have also implemented various elements from our specialisation tutorials, such as advanced AI, custom loading screens and videos as well as custom animated models.

Within the final submission we have further developed the most significant element to the Bodo Culture Centre is how well people can use the spaces created by the forms. We have considered people using our space from a macro perspective (walking through the city) and then from a micro perspective (using the actual Centre). Through artificial intelligence we have been able to analyse and understand the dialogue between The Cultural Centre and the people who use it.

Finally, we have successfully managed to implement our own custom trailer videos at the start of the game launch. This then leads on to the menu where we import our custom map and it starts loading along with a custom loading image. We have then packaged the map so that a cut scene is triggered as soon as the game starts, which flows through the map up to our building where the cut scene stops and we can walk around and explore our building.

All in all we feel that we have successfully and coherently realised our final fabrication environment of the Bodo Culture Centre. The realisation and achievement of our intentions has created a successfully and pleasing environment within Crysis that adhered to and fulfilled the architects and our initial outcomes."

Contribution to team fabrication...

2009-06-17T04:43:00.000-07:00

Throughout the creation of our Fabrication Environment each team member has been involved in numerous aspects and elements of the design process. My contributions are listed below:

Alichia:

Building Model:

> Find objects (artworks, furniture, lighting etc)

Surrounding Buildings:

> Positioning the surrounding buildings within Sandbox2 and aligning with terrain

Presentation:

> 10 Still Images
> Detailed team plan
> Fabrication Plan
> Aided with Trailer video
> Aided with 2 minute video
> Aided with Cut scenes within crysis
> Progress Report
> Team Blog
> Presentation boards

Crysis Environment:

> Detailed Landscape
> Detailed Terrain
> Detailed Vegetation
> Time of day
> Fix Wharf / Pier
> Add Harbour elements (drains, ladders etc)
> Roads / sidewalks
> Water (level, colour, movement)
> Rock walls
> Park alongside building
> Signs and maps

Individual:

> Blog
> Specialisation

References

2009-06-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

Below are our references which I added to our team blog...

Textures:
www.cgtextures.com

All quotes have been extracted from
www.landonreiszahnarchitects.com

Final Images

2009-06-17T04:23:00.000-07:00

Below are the images which I took of our fabrication along with Cameron...

Team meeting...

2009-06-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

Today we met at uni to complete all our work for the final in-game presentation and to create our videos and final 10 images. We also needed to test that everything works and runs within the game smoothly. The main elements that we worked on today included:

- 30 second teaser trailer

- 2 minute extended video

- capture and selection of 10 final images

- integration of level within the game

Although it didn't look like we had that much more to do, the remaining elements took a very long time to finalise, implement and combine. We were at uni from Wednesday around lunch until the very early hours of Thursday morning. We had quite a lot of technical issues and our level crashed numerous times, due to its size and the amount of detailing. Luckily at the end it all came together and we ended up with a very cohesive, informative and presentable presentation which we would showcase to the class. I think that because we were able to present our fabrication through the actual game would make us stand out from the rest of the groups as this was the original brief and I don't think that there was another team that accomplished this. I also think that it make our presentation more cohesive and allowed us to present in a professional and coherent manner. All in all I think we have done a great job and have placed a lot of time and effort into our final fabrication.

Team meeting...

2009-06-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

We met up at uni again today after work to finish our environment and if there was time left to start implementing our in game presentation and videos. The main elements which we worked on included:

Finishing our final crysis environment

Implementing the final building model into the environment

Creating various cut scenes

Taking screenshots

Creating and implementing our custom level loading screens

While we were waiting for Kenneth to arrive from work, Cameron and myself began working on creating various cut scenes within our environment. These proved to be fairly simple through the use of cameras and flow graphs. We created two cut scenes, one which would play as soon as our map is loaded within the game and the oter which would be triggered by a trigger area within the game at the end of our presentation.

Unfortunately while we were creating the cut scenes we realised that Cameron's advanced AI had somehow gone missing or deleted between today and saturday. We tried looking for an external file which would have it saved within but this proved unsuccessful. There wasn't enough time left to redo this as it took Cameron most of Saturday to create the complex AI system, we will just have to rely on our basic AI system which is still in place.

When Kenneth arrived he was able to import his new final building model into the crysis environment. The model is much more detailed than the previous and contains different textures and furniture. While Kenneth was doing this Cameron and myself worked out how to integrate my level loading screens into the game so that when our level loads it displays our own custom picture instead of a black screen.

Once we had done this we took various screen shots of our environment which we placed on presentation boards in the foyer of the theatre building within our fabrication. We were then finished with our crysis environment, the only problem was that because of the amount of detail in our level our file was a ridiculous size so we couldn't upload it to emustore or filesite, we had to hand it in on a CD.

Team meeting...

2009-06-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

Today we met again at uni to complete the final work on our environment. We wanted to get as much done as possible so that we could focus on preparing the presentation within the game next week. The main elements which we worked on today were:

Custom loading screens and launch videos

Advanced AI

Create cutscenes

Finalise the building model

During the day I worked on adding detailed elements into our crysis environment as well as creating a communal park and walkway to both sides of our building. The various detailed elements which I included were drainage pipes, rock walls, ladders off the piers, landscaping of trees and shrubs, signs and directional maps, footpaths, detailed grass and roads in the immediate surrounding of our building and other harbour elements. I think that these little details which take a lot of time to implement in crysis adds another dimension to our environment and makes it seem much more realistic. While I was doing this Cameron worked on creating a much more advanced AI system that had groups of people randomly walking around our level doing what they please. We felt that this would enhance the idea of the building being a communal and public space that will be used by a variety of different people. After Cameron had successfully completed this, which took most of the day and implemented it into our level he made some custom launch videos which we were gong to implement into the game. Cameron and myself then implemented these into the game using my advanced tutorial so that when we load the game our own custom launch videos appear, instead of the default crysis, nvidia and intel videos. We felt that this would create a cohesive and coherent addition to our in-game presentation.

While we were doing all this Kenneth continued working on the final model adding all the necessary details and changing any aspects which were wrong within the model. He also implemented interior furniture and detailed textures.

During this time we also worked out how to do cutscenes and an elevator but we didn't have time to implement these elements into our environment. All in all it was a very good and productive day.

Individual specialisations implemented into Crysis environment

2009-06-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

Each of us has implemented our specialisation tutorials into our crysis environment, mine being the custom loading screens and launch videos. Below are some images of our custom loading screens and videos:

Upload Advanced tutorial...

2009-06-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

I have finally managed to successfully implement custom launch videos into the crysis game launch as well as a custom loading screen. My advanced tutorial has been uploaded to the wiki and it is given below:

Advanced level PACKAGING / SKINNING tutorial:

This tutorial is a guide to representing your team’s fabrication by including a personal logo movie when the game launcher begins.

Before starting the tutorial you should already know how to create a logo movie or a movie of your choice, as this tutorial does not cover how to create a movie. You can use any video creation software but the file must be saved as an .avi file.

You will also need a few simple tools to continue with this tutorial. You will need a program which can convert an .avi file into a .sfd file which is what is used within the Crysis gaming folder. Thus you will need the program Sega Dreamcast Movie Creator to do this conversion.

Once you have the necessary programs you can move onto the actual tutorial.

The tutorial is below:

Follow the instructions below to complete this tutorial:

Create your logo movie using the dimensions of 1024x768, otherwise crysis will not recognise the video file and it will not play. What you put in your video is completely up to you.

After you are done with your video, export the movie and audio into a single .avi file.

Once this is done open up the Sega Dreamcast Movie Creator. Click select and find your .avi file.

When your file has been loaded make sure that the “Use identical files” box is checked. Also, click the dropdown box under “Type” and make sure that it is a “Sofdec data”, (.sfd) file. You can also set where you want the final .sfd file exported to by clicking and selecting under the “Output file” drop down menu. I have left everything else on the default settings.

Once this is done you can click “Start encoding…” to convert your .avi into a .sfd file.When the file has finished encoding move it into the following Crysis folder:

C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Crytek\Crysis\Game\Localized\Video

The videos are saved as .sfd files and now you also have a video file that is a .sfd.

In order for your video file to run when the game launches, you cannot replace the first and last crysis videos, which are the EA logo video and the CrytekC video. Thus you can use any of the following file names to rename your file:

* Trailer_Crytek.sfd (Crytek logo)
* Trailer_Nvidia.sfd (Nvidia logo)
* Trailer_Intel.sfd (Intel logo)

Remember to rename the file you have replaced. The easiest way to do this is by appending any character to the end of the file name. Anything that will be recognised by your operating system will work but it is probably better and less harmful to choose something simple such as “1.”

When you have renamed your file exit the crysis folder and launch your game. Your video should now be playing within the game launch.

Thats the end of the tutorial!

Week 12 - guest lecture

2009-06-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

This weeks guest speaker was Russell Lowe who is a lecturer at UNSW.

This lecture was really enjoyable as Russell discussed and showcased various real-time engines and how he has used them within his own projects. It was amazing to see how these real-time environments can be used as a system of education or as a means of testing whether a building would work and function as it is meant to before it is actually build, such as a Hospital.

Week 11 - excursion

2009-05-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

This week we had an excursion to the UNSW Scientia building to experience the iCinema, which is a 360 degree 3D cinema room.

This was a really enjoyable experience and it was amazing to see what could be created using this technology and how this can be implemented and used within various workplace environments as a tool for education or experience, such as Mining.

Upload tutorial...

2009-05-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

I have uploaded my beginners tutorial to the class wiki...

Beginner level specialisation tutorial

2009-05-27T05:28:00.000-07:00

After much research and from endlessly exploring the Crysis folders I have managed to play around with the video files that run when the game is launched. I have tried manipulating and replacing these with other video files but they don't seem to be recognised and result in a black screen. Although this has not been successful I have managed to successfully rename all the launch video files so that when the game starts it skips straight to the game menu. So I have created my beginner level tutorial on this. It is very basic and can be executed quite quickly. Hopefully I will be able to find some more information and figure out how to replace the video files with my own custom ones. The tutorial is given below:

Beginner level PACKAGING / SKINNING tutorial:

To remove the video advertisements that run when the Crysis game is launched you can either delete them or rename them which is what I did.

The advertisements are video files which are located in the Crysis install directory on your hardrive. By renaming the files you are essentially hiding them and thus allowing the game to skip straight to the game menu.

Follow the instructions below to do this:

Navigate to your Crysis installation folder which on a Windows system would typically be:

C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Crytek\Crysis

From there, enter the following folders to locate the video files:

C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Crytek\Crysis\Game\Localized\Video

The videos are saved as .sfd files. You simply need to rename the files listed below, not all of them.

Rename the following files:

Trailer_EA.sfd (EA Logo)
Trailer_Crytek.sfd (Crytek logo)
Trailer_Nvidia.sfd (Nvidia logo)
Trailer_Intel.sfd (Intel logo)
Trailer_CrytekC.sfd (Crytek Crysis text)

The easiest way to do this is by appending any character to the end of the file name. Anything that will be recognised by your operating system will work but it is probably better and less harmful to choose something simple such as "1." which is what I have used in this example.

You will also need to rename the video file which is located in the following folder:

C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Crytek\Crysis\Game\Localized\Video\English

The file name is listed below:

Trailer_Rating.sfd (Rating text)

After renaming all the video files they should look like this if you chose to append "1." to the end of the file name:

Trailer_EA1.sfd (EA Logo)
Trailer_Crytek1.sfd (Crytek logo)
Trailer_Nvidia1.sfd (Nvidia logo)
Trailer_Intel1.sfd (Intel logo)
Trailer_CrytekC1.sfd (Crytek Crysis text)
Trailer_Rating1.sfd (Rating text)

Once this is done upon launching the game it should automatically skip straight to the game menu instead of playing all these advertising video files.

If you want the videos back, just revert all the files back to the original filenames.

Thats the end of the tutorial!

Week 10 - guest lecture

2009-05-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

This weeks guest speaker was Andrew Wallace who has recently graduated from UNSW and is now working for LCA (Lara Caldera Architects).

I really liked this lecture as it was interesting to see what others are doing and creating using the crysis editor. Andrew talked about the different real time engines that can be used to promote architecture and showed us various projects which he has done using the crysis editor.

Initial investigation into PACKAGING, SKINNING, ETC. specialisation...

2009-05-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of all the links I have found in relation to my specialisation:

- http://doc.crymod.com/
- http://www.crymod.com/thread.php?threadid=12284
- http://maxedgaming.com/tutorials/kb_show.php?id=65
- http://doc.crymod.com/ProgrammingManual/
- http://maxedgaming.com/tutorials/kb_show.php?id=66
- http://maxedgaming.com/tutorials/kb_show.php?id=69
- http://crymod.com/thread.php?threadid=13312&sid=3fd96a1f0c2fb2dc5ed190630a3b256e
- http://www.incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=17982
- http://www.crymod.com/thread.php?threadid=11835
- http://www.crymod.com/thread.php?threadid=11373
- http://www.crymod.com/filebase.php?fileid=290

Detailed team plan for our Final “Polished Fabrication”

2009-05-20T04:58:00.000-07:00

I wrote up our team plan and posted it onto our team blog...

Plan for Final “Polished Fabrication”.

Team Omega’s plan for our final “Polished Fabrication” is to implement and work on the weaknesses of our fabrication and improve various other elements within our environment. Along with these we plan to use, implement and combine all the various specialisations that are relevant to our fabrication. At the end we plan to have a successfully realised and “Polished Fabrication” that can be run as a mod game within Crysis and contains all the relevant features and elements necessary to portray and present our environment to a client. Below are lists of the various elements which we need to implement into our environment to achieve a successful and “Polished Fabrication”:

Weaknesses that need to be worked on:

- more interactivity, especially in hall
- interior textures
- landscape near surrounding buildings
- texture surrounding buildings
- materials and textures
- more AI
- interior furniture

Elements that need to be improved:

- terrain textures
- realistic vegetation
- implementing street signs / road signs
- detailed environments around building and surrounding buildings
- interactive elements (breakable glass, elevators, vehicles, boats etc)
- custom AI
- Interior textures, elements and furniture of building

Relevant specialisations:

- programming
- custom animated models (people, vehicles etc)
- AI
- cut scenes
- custom materials and textures
- elevators, escalators etc
- …
- …
- …
- …
- …
- …
- …(get list off Jeremy)

My Specialisation...

2009-05-20T04:57:00.001-07:00

MY SPECIALISATION: Packaging, skinning, etc.

DETAILED OUTCOMES:

For my specialisation I have decided to choose PACKAGING, SKINNNING, ETC. Through exploration, tests and following tutorials the end result will be to create a customised mod game which can be loaded separately within the Crysis game and will run exactly like the game but with modified content, menus, text and functions. I am not sure how achievable this is but from my initial investigations I have found a small amount of information that could help and make this possible to some extent. Below are lists of criteria that need to be achieved to make this specialisation possible:

INITIAL CRITERIA:

- research any information about achieving specialisation
- explore information and research found
- find tutorials about specialisation
- complete tutorials
- document how modifications can be completed
- document what programs / software is needed to complete mods

DEVELOPED CRITERIA:

- compile found knowledge / research / tutorials
- experiment with various elements that can be modified
- document what elements can and can’t be modified
- ascertain to what extent various elements can be modified
- create custom mod game
- create custom text
- create custom functions
- create custom menus
- create custom content
- compile all elements
- create tutorial documenting specifics

FINAL SET OF OUTCOMES:

- successfully load mod game
- mod game functions properly within Crysis
- implemented custom text
- implemented custom functions
- implemented custom menus
- implemented custom content
- other in game functions successfully work and coincide with mod game
- completed tutorial/s

Week 9 - guest lecture

2009-05-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

This weeks guest speaker was Shilo McClean who is a write, lecturer and specialist in the field of digital visual effects in the film industry.

I really enjoyed this lecture and it was amazing to see the variety of movies which utilise the area of visual effects in today's film industry. It was really hard in some pictures to differenciate between what is real and what is visual effects, which is an indication of how advanced CG has become in the last couple of years.

Other teams 2 Strengths and 2 Weaknesses

2009-05-12T22:48:00.000-07:00

Team Digitilism:

2 Strengths:

- Very nice realised model with very strong contextual information and good crysis environment with surrounding buildings. Environmental elements such as time of day, roads etc well realised and executed.

2 Weaknesses:

- The only aspect that affected the environment was that the building was not modelled to scale.

Aspects that could be added to my teams fabrication:

- Their use of texture on the surrounding buildings was great and we could definately implement this into our fabrication.

Team Orange:

2 Strengths:

- Come a very long way from previous presentation. Good introduction and context as well as artificial lighting. Amazing garden features and city elements (signs, bus stops, cars etc). Very good use of AI and interactivity.

2 Weaknesses:

- Could have explored their interior spaces more and how people relate and experience these spaces.

Aspects that could be added to my teams fabrication:

- We could utilise their excellent use of AI and interactivity with cars as well as their textures on the shop fronts at ground level.

Team E-volve:

2 Strengths:

- Really good take on presentation; informative, detailed and entertaining. Very realistic environment and context. Nice furnishings and interior textures.

2 Weaknesses:

- Could add 'oasis' elements such as more greenery / birds etc. Internal circulation could also be explored further.

Aspects that could be added to my teams fabrication:

- Their amazing use of interior textures, especially on walls could be implemented into our fabrication.

Team Urbans:

2 Strengths:

- Great progress from last presentation. The structure definitely suits the new site and the building looks very realistic and well realised.

2 Weaknesses:

- Scaling of textures on the exterior of the building could be explored.

Aspects that could be added to my teams fabrication:

- They were able to import a very accurate terrain heightmap which we could also do for our fabrication.

Team Atlar:

2 Strengths:

- Great progress and very realistic. Well contextualised and the underwater environment is amazing and very well developed.

2 Weaknesses:

- There are a few problems with textures and water within the building.

Aspects that could be added to my teams fabrication:

- We could utilise their use of underwater aspects as well as the use of moving trains / elevators and cars that drive.

KNOWLEDGE SOURCE

2009-05-08T20:39:00.001-07:00

"In today's organisations, knowledge is regarded as the key economic resource. The acquisition, retaining, development, and use of knowledge resources is thus an important issue. Activities such as the ones named before which take influence on the organizational knowledge base are subsumed under the term knowledge management."(1)

"Knowledge is the entirety of skills and capabilities which is used by individuals to solve problems. This entails theoretic insights as well as practical everyday rules and instructions."(2)

"Knowledge is supported by data and information, but other than these it is always tied to persons. It is constructed by individuals and represents their expectations about cause-and-effect relations."(3)

(1) C. Schmitz, "Self-Organized Collaborative Knowledge Management", Published by Kassel University Press, 2007, p.xv
(2) Ibid., p.2
(3) Ibid., p.2

RECORDS SOURCE

2009-05-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

"In the last decade of the twentieth century recordkeeping professions (archivists, records and information managers) began to re-invent themselves, largely, but not exclusively, in response to the change from paper-based to electronic recordkeeping systems."(1)

"This is evidenced by the changing language of the recordkeeping professions, the recognition of related interdisciplinary research and knowledge, and the re-evaluation of recordkeeping theories and practices."(2)

"However the process of re-invention is a continuous one and many recordkeeping concepts are being further refined as a result of the impact of the internet and other communication technologies".(3)

(1) L. Iacovino, "Recordkeeping, ethics and law: regulatory models, participant relationships and rights and responsibilities in the online world", Published by Springer, 2006, p.1
(2) Ibid., p.1
(3) Ibid., p.1

Strategic Plan - Timeline

2009-05-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

Created our Strategic Plan Timeline in Excel and uploaded to Team Blog...

Above is a detailed analysis of our Strategic Plan for the completion of our Fabrication Environment. It is displayed in a timeline stretched over the weeks we had to complete the project. It analyses our suspected work outcomes and when we propose each of these elements should be finished by and when they were actually finished.

Contribution to Fabrication Environment

2009-05-08T20:23:00.001-07:00

Typed up and added our contributions to the Fabrication Environment onto our team blog...

Throughout the creation of our Fabrication Environment each team member has been involved in numerous aspects and elements of the design process. Our contributions are listed below:

Cameron:

Building Model:

> Find objects (artworks, furniture, lighting etc)

Surrounding Buildings:

> Research
> Modelling
> Façade
> Textures

Presentation:

> 10 Still Images
> Team Blog

Crysis Environment:

> Skyboxes
> Time of day
> AI
> Birds (seagulls)
> Sound (natural / artificial)
> Water (level, colour, movement)

Individual:

> Blog

Alichia:

Building Model:

> Find objects (artworks, furniture, lighting etc)

Surrounding Buildings:

> Positioning the surrounding buildings within Sandbox2 and aligning with terrain

Presentation:

> Work Outcome Strategies
> Fabrication Plan
> Progress Report
> Team Blog
> Strategic Plan
> Timeline

Crysis Environment:

> Landscape
> Terrain
> Vegetation
> Mountains
> Skyboxes
> Time of day
> Fix Wharf / Pier
> Add Boats
> Add Harbour elements
> Lighting (natural / artificial - street lights / harbour lights)
> External furniture (wooden benches)
> Roads / sidewalks
> Water (level, colour, movement)
> Rock walls

Individual:

> Blog

Kenneth:

Building Model:

> Two buildings modelled
> Outer façade
> Underground floor space and walkway
> Concert Hall
> Internal floor spaces

Surrounding Buildings:

> Exporting and importing the files from 3dsMax into Sandbox2

Presentation:

> Renders
> Contextualisation

Individual:

> Blog

Essmael:

Presentation:

> 600 words
> Team Blog
> Speech
> Contextualisation
> Videos:
> 10 Still Images:
> Renders:

Individual:

> Blog

Week 8 - guest lecture

2009-05-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

This week we had DR Deo Prasad present "Think and act Glocally – global collaborations for sustainable future." to the class.

We learnt that the term "Glocal" refers to a mix between the words global and local. This lecture was very insightful as Deo explored the various trials with working in different cultures and countries. He also explored the notion of sustainability and how this needs to be implemented into our design practice.

Progress

2009-05-06T08:00:00.001-07:00

Progress Screenshots

2009-05-06T04:03:00.000-07:00

Progress...

2009-05-06T03:46:00.001-07:00

Week 7 - guest lecture

2009-04-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

This week our guest lecturer was Dr John Barton from the City Futures Research Centre at UNSW. He discussed and talked about Urban development.

He talked about a current project which he is involved with called UrbanIT Project 2030, which is a is a large scale design project for the re-design of Sydney, almost like a city of Sydney Masterplan. It was a really insightful lecture as we were able to see and visualise what Sydney might look like in 20 years. He also showed us some research that was conducted about how different people relate areas within a building to things such as happiness, loneliness, danger and death.

Week 6 - guest lecture

2009-04-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today's guest lecturer was Tom Denson from the UNSW School of Psychology. He talked to us about psychology in relation to group and peer dynamics.

I found this lecture very interesting and was amazed at the percentage of people that were influenced by peer pressure. I think that the experiments which Tom showed us was really amazing and I think most of the class was shocked at how easily people's answers can change and be swayed by the majority. Unfortunately the lecture was cut short, which was a shame as I think we were all really interested and enjoyed the lecture very much.

Analysis of a Wikipedia page - Real Time Computer Graphics

2009-04-20T05:04:00.000-07:00

Real-time Computer Graphics - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_computer_graphics

I have chosen to analyse the "Real-time Computer Graphics" page on Wikipedia. It explores what real-time computer graphics are, how they are created and the principles behind them as a subfield of computer graphics. The topics and information discussed on the page enable the viewer to adequately understand what the page is about. The information is set out in a simplistic, informative and functional manner enabling the viewer to successfully gain the needed information, which is an essential part in creating a successful wiki.

The page structure is set out in a hierarchical format where information leads onto the next based on headings and sub-headings. This is a functional and practical manner of presenting information as it is easily understood and read by the viewer. This aids in the success of the wiki as it is not confusing or messy, where a viewer cannot differentiate between information and the page structure.

There are various functions on the page, ranging from internal and external links to other pages or sites as well as a contents section, related topics and tabs linking to various features of the page. At the bottom of the page their are categories which link to other internal and external pages which relate to the topic area of real-time computer graphics. This is a very important feature of a successful wiki as it enables the viewer to progress from this page to other related pages. The contents section is also a very helpful tool for the user as it enables them to see what topics are presented on the page and the ability to skip straight to those topics. This is a great feature as it enables fast access which makes it a functional and very important part of a wiki. The tabs at the top of the page enables various functions related with this page such as editing, discussions and the history of the page. This is an essential tool in creating a functional and collaborative wiki.

The history tab on the page is an important feature of a successful wiki as it enables the viewer to see which changes have been made to the page as well as being a method of backup as it provides the option of undoing the various changes. This is helpful within a collaborative wiki environment incase someone edits a page and deletes important information.

The edit tab is also an important feature within this page as it enables the user to add to the collaborative process of the page by adding changes and making edits to the information that is already on the page. This is an essential part of the collaborative process within a wiki environment.

The discussion tab within the page is another essential part of the collaborative process of a wiki as it enables the active participation of members regarding the page and various aspects that need to be addressed / changed or added to the page. Although this page has the option of a discussion board, unfortunately no one has added to the board, which defeats the purpose of collaboration within a wiki.

The only aspect of this page that seems to be missing is that it does not seem to contain a reference section or page. I feel that this does not aid in the collaborative process as referencing is an essential aspect. A reference page should definitely be added to this page to make it function more effectively as a collaborative wiki.

All in all I feel that the "Real-time Computer Graphics" page within Wikipedia is a successful representation of what a collaborative wiki should be and how it should function, although it does need a referencing section.

Chosen Conflict / Remuneration Sources

2009-04-20T04:53:00.001-07:00

I have uploaded my Conflict / Remuneration Sources to our class wiki on webpaint, as well as adding references pages to them and the Planning / Hierarchy pages.

REMUNERATION SOURCE

2009-04-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

'In general, job evaluation is solely treated with the technical aspects of remuneration in mind. As a result the richness and feasibility of the issue do not become evident.' (1)

'The concept of 'pay' or remuneration consists of two elements: the pay policy and the technical instruments to design and implement this policy. The pay policy in its turn consists of the total packet of primary, secondary and tertiary benefits and other conditions of employment which constitute the (monetary) reward for the employee's performance.' (2)

'Arguments must be carefully weighed, they must also take into account collective labour agreements, general opinions and attitudes in society, the relationships between gross and net salaries, and between lower and higher incomes.' (3)

'Another important aspect is the difference between basic salary and the so-called total cash. In other words, which variable salary component should be added to the basic pay to arrive at a total amount of income.' (4)

(1) Frans Poels, "Job Evaluation and Remuneration Strategies: How to Set Up and Run an Effective System", Published by Kogan Page Publishers, 1997, p.13
(2) Ibid., p.134
(3) Ibid., p.160
(4) Ibid., p.160

CONFLICT SOURCE

2009-04-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

'Conflict is an intrinsic and inevitable aspect of social change. It is an expression of the heterogeneity of interests, values and beliefs that arise as new formations generated by social change come up against inherited constraints. But the way we deal with conflict is a matter of habit and choice. It is possible to change habitual responses and exercise intelligent choices.' (1)

'One typical habit in conflict is to give very high priority to defending one's own interests.' (2)

'One of the classical ideas in conflict resolution is to distinguish between the positions held by the parties and their underlying interests and needs.' (3)

'Matters may be more difficult if the conflict is over values (which are often non-negotiable) or relationships, which may need to be changed to resolve the conflict, although the same principle of looking for a deeper level of compatible underlying motives applies. (4)

(1) H. Miall, O. Ramsbotham, T. Woodhouse, "Contemporary conflict resolution: the prevention, management and transformation of deadly conflicts", Published by Wiley-Blackwell, 1999, p.5
(2) Ibid., p.5
(3) Ibid., p.9
(4) Ibid., p.9

Work Outcome Strategies for Week 6

2009-04-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

Cameron:

- surrounding buildings
> modelling
> facade
> textures

- find model objects (i.e. chairs, benches, lighting, artworks etc)

Alichia:

- landscape and terrain
> add mountains
> skyboxes
> fix pier and wharf
> add rock wall
> vegetation
> natural lighting

- find model objects (i.e. chairs, benches, lighting, artworks etc)

Kenneth:

- model
> internal floor space
> outer facade
> two buildings

TIMELINE / SCHEDULE OF EXPECTED WORK OUTCOMES...

2009-04-10T23:52:00.000-07:00

We have also developed a timeline / schedule of our expected work outcomes where we considered what needed to be completed over the remaining weeks of studio, and which elements would be completed by each team member. Below is our proposed timeline / schedule:

WEEK 5:

- Each team member to complete their individual blog tasks as well as Class Wiki updates

- Also to find and blog two found sources for REMUNERATION and CONFLICT

- Analyse a Wikipedia page

WEEK break:

- Team meeting at uni to discuss work outcomes and strategies

- Complete any individual tasks which have not been done

WEEK 6:

- Work on elements as discussed in team meeting:
> Terrain / Landscape (add missing elements to terrain i.e. mountains in horizon) - ALICHIA
> Roads (sidewalks, piers, roads etc) - ALICHIA
> Lighting (natural and artificial) - ESSMAEL
> AI (tourists, groups and circulation) - CAMERON
> Model (further development) - KENNETH

- Weekly studio tasks and individual blog work

WEEK 7:

- Model
> detailed and basically complete and ready for submission

- Weekly studio tasks and individual blog work

WEEK 8:

- Final completion and development of model and environment
> make ready for submission

- Add any extra elements depending on remaining time
> extra objects (trees, benches, artworks etc)

FABRICATION PLAN...

2009-04-10T23:39:00.000-07:00

During studio (8th April) Cameron and myself came up with a Fabrication Plan for our team. This was based on our strengths and weaknesses. We began outlining the expected level of resolution that our environment will reach we decided which team members would complete which tasks. Below is a list of the elements which we need to complete to reach our expected level of resolution:

ELEMENTS:

- Landscape / Terrain

- Materials / Textures

- Wharf / Pier

- Model
> floors
> interior spaces
> circulation
> objects (chairs, artworks etc)

- AI
> groups
> tourists

- Surrounding buildings
> materiality and surface textures

- Roads
> sidewalks
> pier

- Acoustics
> natural and artificial sounds (theatre)

- Lighting (artificial and natural)
> internal
> external

Week 5 - guest lecture

2009-04-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today's guest lecturer was Neil Brown and he talked about the Global Open Source Linux Development and his involvement within this.

I found this lecture quite interesting as I didn't know a lot about Linux and how the system worked before today. Neil discussed and showcased the development and globalisation of Linux and the successful collaboration environment that uses alternate hierarchies and different models.

Chosen Topic and Planning / Hierarchy Sources

2009-04-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

I have uploaded my Chosen Topic as well as my Planning / Hierarchy Sources to our team journal as well as to the class wiki on webpaint.

Our 2 Strengths ans 2 Weaknesses

2009-04-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

Added this to our team journal...

2 STRENGHS:

- detailed exploration of building within its site and urban location relating to the surrounding buildings and harbour.
- good portrayal of the public spaces and how the public utilises and circulates through these spaces.

2 WEAKNESSES:

- Not enough landscape portrayed at the back of the building to contextualise the site.
- Further exploration of the public spaces needed to portray how they relate to the site and would be utilised by the public as well as the materiality of the site

Other teams 2 Strengths and 2 Weaknesses

2009-04-08T06:40:00.000-07:00

I've added this to our group journal from notes taken during last weeks class...

Team Atlar:

2 Strengths:

- Well represented and visually appealing presentation.
- Great exploration of underwater elements such as sealife, rocks, coral, reef and the underwater rooms.

2 Weaknesses:

- Videos were quite fast, hard to see the details of the elements portrayed.
- The scaling and size of the island seemed out of proportion.

Team Digilism:

2 Strengths:

- Great representation of the building in situ.
- Nice exploration of the building during day time and night time.

2 Weaknesses:

- The size of the island seems a bit small and could be better.
- No real use of materials and textures to showcase the actual fabrication of the building and site.

Team E-volve:

2 Strengths:

- Very good display of landscape and the placement of the building on the site.
- Well represented and justified presentation explaining the various important elements of the site.

2 Weaknesses:

- No real visualisation of the actual building's interior spaces.
- Access to the building within crysis needs to be further explored.

Team Orange:

2 Strengths:

- Good portrayal of the building during day time and night time.
- Nice example of how the public spaces operate around the building and how the building would be viewed and experienced.

2 Weaknesses:

- Scaling and size of building seems out of proportion.
- Actual placement and location on the site, as well as the relationship of the building to the site.

Team Urbans:

2 Strengths:

- Great start on the terrain and location of the site.
- Detailed and informative presentation regarding their building and site.

2 Weaknesses:

- Site seems very large and may be hard to create in detail in its entirety.
- Group seems to be having some issues with importing a more detailed model, especially the sphere.

HIERARCHY SOURCE

2009-04-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

"Decisions Without Hierarchy: Feminist Interventions in Organization Theory and Practice", Kathleen P. Iannello. Published by Routledge, 1992

"One important element..from this configuration of hierarchy is communication. Some theorists believe this aspect to be of such importance that they define hierarchy as "centralized communication systems." Whether hierarchy is defined as a communications system or not, the flow of information up and down the pyramidal structure forms an important aspect of power, privilege, and authority relationships. In most instances, the possession of information or knowledge constitutes power. It is the possession of information, on one hand, and the deprivation of it, on the other that keeps the systems of domination in operation." p.16

"Theorists with the most positive view of hierarchy come primarily from the rational systems perspective. As one would expect, they view hierarchy as the most efficient means of attaining organization goals. The "essential elements" of the rational perspective are goal specificity and formalization. Specification of goals allows the organization to select among desired activities and design a specific organization structure to accomplish those desired tasks." p.18

"Hierarchy's benefits include providing the necessary structure for what is perceived to be efficient management. By specifying roles and coordinating tasks within the organization, more time is spent in working towards goals than in working out power and authority relations. This part of the organization is already a 'given'." p.18

PLANNING SOURCE

2009-04-06T04:51:00.000-07:00

"Planning: Universal Process", Melville C. Branch
Published by Greenwood Publishing Group, 1990

"Planning is an integral part of everyday life in the home, in personal, occupational, and cultural affairs, in the conduct of business, military operations, and civil government." p.ix

"Identification of the knowledge needed for effective planning accompanied its evolution as a successful operational activity. Until recently this consisted of knowledge borrowed from traditional academic disciplines. Planning is now emerging as a distinctive field of knowledge with its own area of intellectual considerations, methods of utilizing information, analysis, projection, reaching conclusions, presentation, and means and methods of implementation." p.x - xi

"Related fields of knowledge such as economics, political and social science, engineering, architecture, and law - regard some aspect of planning as their special competence, and other professions consider some part of its effectuation as their operational responsibility." p.xi

"Depending on many factors, planning is institutionalized in different ways in different applications, cultures, and nations." p.xi - xii

"Planning may be intuitive and automatic, or conscious and deliberate. The latter includes many types and applications of planning. Whereas the specific objectives of most planning programs are subject to differences in opinion, the process of attaining a necessary or desirable result is accepted as an essential part of human endeavor." p.xii

"The objectives, methods, and potentialities of planning vary greatly among countries, cultures, political and social systems, and stages of economic development. Nonetheless, there are common characteristics of the process wherever and whenever applied. And certain considerations are commonly taken into account in successful planning." p.xii

Week 4 - guest lecture

2009-04-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Today's guest lecturer was Michael Brand and he discussed and explored the concept of conflict with the Construction Management industry.

I found this lecture very interesting and was amazed at how much conflict happens within the workforce and how these conflicts have various repercussions, such as within construction where each hierarchy of workers doesn't get paid until the one above them has. We also discussed how these issues are dealt with and resolved with the Construction Management industry.

Environment Description and Technology Evaluation for Assignment 1:

2009-03-31T18:30:00.001-07:00

Environment Description:

Within our Draft Fabrication Environment we aimed to portray a sense of our building, the Bodo Culture Centre within its proposed landscape, highlighting the surrounding urban and harbour areas. The vision for our building was to create a culture centre that is ‘intrinsically linked’ through its various architectural elements and by the spaces within and between these elements. These spaces needed to be ‘cohesive, connected, fluid and dynamic’ in order to create and define the culture centre within the surrounding urban setting as well as creating a connection to ‘other public spaces located in the immediate vicinity and in other parts of the city’. The culture centre was aimed to create a foundation for diverse activities including: - recreational - cultural - communal - commercial Within our draft environment we have aimed to portray and create a sense of all these underlying factors and elements which were intended by the original designers. We decided to include and focus on the immediate urban areas surrounding our building as well as the harbour and the pier. We also included the island beyond the harbour as in reality this could easily be seen from the building as well as from the pier. We constructed our landscape and terrain using an imported heightmap which showcases all the relevant information about our building, the surrounding terrain and landscape as well as how our building is situated on the site. We aimed to portray the terrain and landscape that could be seen by a visitor to our building, particularly the pier and the harbour as this is a focal point for our building and its surrounding spaces. We aimed to create a sense of what the pier would look like in relation to the landscape by constructing it on wooden pylons which rise from the water to meet the pier. We chose wooden planking as our material for the pier as this is similar to the actual fabrication of the pier. We established from plans of the area that there was an L-shaped element within the harbour that was not connected to any piers, and from research we concluded that it must be a rock wall to stop ships from entering the harbour too close to land, so we chose to create this rock wall within our environment as well. We also included some roads surrounding our building and showcasing its relationship and distance from the surrounding urban landscape. Through the creation of our draft building we chose to portray a sense of the overall shape and size of the building in relation to the surrounding landscape. We felt that this would showcase how our building relates to the urban landscape as well as the harbour, and also how it is situated within and on the terrain. We also chose to create several of its internal and external spaces to portray how the building circulates internally and externally. We also added a basis element of daylight to enhance any materials and textures which we applied within our environment. Within the building itself we also created artificial light in certain areas where artificial light was necessary in portraying a sense of space and allowing the viewer to gain a sense of being within the space. We have also chosen to highlight certain areas of our building by applying various textures and materials to enhance the overall aesthetics of our building within the surrounding landscape.

Technology Evaluation:

We feel that through the creation of our Draft Fabrication Environment that the individual tech tests that each of our team members explored has played a vital part in the successful execution and creation of our building and its environment. We have analysed the success and struggles of each of the tech tests below:

Importing and exporting models from 3dsMax into Crysis: (executed by Kenneth)

Through the help of this tech test we able to successfully import and export our building model into Crysis from 3dsMax. When we first tried this is worked well although none of our textures worked within Crysis. After much research and trial and error we successfully managed to import our model as well as all the textures and materials we applied to it in 3dsMax.

Object Manipulation: (executed by Kenneth)

Through the information provided by this tech test we were able to employ the skills to creating solids within Crysis. Once we had created these solids we were able to manipulate and edit certain aspects to create certain elements within our terrain, such as the pier and the wooden pylons that support the pier.

Landscape / Terrain: (executed by Alichia)

We found the tech tests performed for Landscape and Terrain quite useful once we had imported our heightmap into Crysis. We were able to edit and manipulate the map in various areas as well as add / subtract certain elements within the terrain, such as water height and map scale. Throughout the process of creating our terrain and landscape we learnt numerous helpful steps within the Crysis editor, such as setting up the correct scale and making sure that the terrain in the correct height etc.

Materials and Textures: (executed by Alichia)

Though this initial tech test was futile we eventually discovered how to apply materials and textures to various objects within Crysis after researching and watching numerous tutorials. This was a great help as we were then able to apply textures and materials to our roads, pier and pylons. We also were able to work out how to import materials and textures from 3dsMax into Crysis which aided us in showcasing the various surface elements of our building.

AI: (executed by Cameron)

Through this tech test we were able to learn and understand how AI is executed within Crysis. This would be very useful for the future development of our Fabricated Environment as it will enable us to portray the various circulation systems that are in place within our building and its numerous internal and external spaces.

Sound and Acoustics: (executed by Cameron)

From this tech test we were able to identify how to add sound and acoustics to an environment or space within Crysis. This will be useful in our future design and development of our Fabricated Environment as it will enable us to create a sense of the surrounding urban and harbour environments.

Natural Lighting: (executed by Essmael)

Through this tech test we were able to establish how to add natural lighting within a Crysis environment. We were also able to learn how to edit and manipulate lighting to create the desired effect. This was useful in adding natural lighting elements within our environment which further enhanced the realism of the landscape. Time of day and weather conditions were also explored, this will assist in providing an analysis for the project in coming weeks.

Artificial Lighting: (executed by Essmael)

Through this tech test we were able to establish how to add artificial lighting within a Crysis environment. It was here where we learned that textures and materials hold illumination values, and hence can provide artificial lighting without a direct light source. Crysis also provides a range of direct and indirect lighting, which can be further manipulated to provide the appropriate and realistic light desired.

Contribution to Draft Fabrication Environment:

2009-03-31T18:25:00.002-07:00

Throughout the creation of our Draft Fabrication Environment I have been involved in numerous aspects of the design process. My contribution is listed below:

- Completed tech tests for “Terrain / Landscape” and “Materials”

- Creation of a greyscale map within Photoshop to use and import into Crysis as a heightmap

- Importing heightmap into Crysis

- Generation of the terrain using the created heightmap

- Editing and manipulation of the terrain using relevant tools within Sandbox2

- Creation of solids and structural elements to create pier within landscape

- Applying textures and materials to the pier

- Creation of the rock wall within the water near the pier

- Creation of our 600 word Environment Description

- Creation of Technology Evaluation

- Assisted with the creation of our Presentation

4 Chosen Topics...

2009-03-31T18:25:00.001-07:00

Collaborative Document Editing e.g. Wikis, Google Documents

Additional Examples:

- Zoho

- Basecamp

- EverNote

- Wordpress

- Textpattern

- Smartsheet

- Subversion

- TortoiseSVN

- Buzzword

- Sharepoint

- Documentum eRoom

Above are a few examples of the many Collaborative Document editing applications that are available. Most of these applications allow the integration of comments and changes from many contributors which make them essential tools in most collaborative processes. This is due to today’s fast-paced society, where it is almost impossible to find a day where everyone within a collaborative project can meet face to face. These applications solve that problem entirely, especially if they are online, as all the contributors can log on and make changes at times that suit them best, enabling the collaborative process to continue 24/7. Depending on the desired function of the workspace, each of the above mentioned applications enable different usage strong points. For example the desired function of the workspace could be the need for a tool that functions primarily as a information or document repository, which enables its users and contributors access to the information that has already been documented or generated. Or there might be a need for version control so that you can track who has checked out which document or who has edited which page within the workspace. There are numerous other functions and abilities which these applications provide to users, enabling the creation of a workspace that is specifically aimed at the collaborative process intended by the user. Thus it can be seen that Collaborative Document Editing applications are much needed tools in enabling and enhancing the process of collaboration.

HIERARCHY & PLANNING SUMMARY

2009-03-25T17:19:00.000-07:00

HIERARCHY SUMMARY:
Hierarchy can represent and relate to a variety of elements within society. A basic definition of hierarchy is ‘an arrangement of objects, people, elements, values, orders, classes, etc,’ portrayed in ‘a ranked or graduated series’. It represents a ‘relationship based on degrees or levels of superordination and subordination, where the superordinate term represents a class or whole and subordinate terms refer to its members or parts’. A typical example of a simplistic hierarchical system is given below:

Originally the word “hierarchy” meant “rule by priests”. This was because ‘hierarchical churches such as the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches had tables of organization that were "hierarchical" in the modern sense of the word’, later this term ‘came to refer to more general organisational methods.’

It can be seen that as this term became more generalised it has been used to analyse many aspects and areas of the world and society. Some of these areas include Mathematics, Computer Science, Administration, Spiritual, Science, Social, Organisations / Companies, Industries etc. Some examples of HIERARCHY within these areas are listed below:

HIERARCHY as seen in Mathematics: a partially ordered set that displays a ‘collection of parts with ordered asymmetric relationships inside a whole.’ For example the ‘upper levels are above lower levels, and the relationship upwards is asymmetric with the relationships downwards.’

HIERARCHY as seen in Computer Science: an ‘object-orientated’ way of ‘programming the mapped relationships of sub- and superclasses. For example directories containing files and sub-directories which contain further files and sub-directories. An example is given below:

HIERARCHY as seen in Science: in biology, ‘organisms are commonly described as an assembly of parts (organs) which are themselves assemblies of yet smaller parts, and so on.’ Also in ‘linguistics, words or sentences are often broken down into hierarchies of parts and wholes.’ For example certain species are classified as groups which are broken down into sub-group.

HIERARCHY as seen in Organisations: many human organisations such as ‘businesses, churches, armies and political movements are structured hierarchically, at least officially; commonly superiors, called bosses, have more power than their subordinates.

HIERARCHY as seen in Society: the hierarchy of gender, as talked about by Feminists, where ‘a culture sees males or masculine traits as superior to females or feminine traits. In the terms above, these feminists present us a hierarchy of only two nodes, "masculine" and "feminine", connected by the asymmetrical relationship "is valued more highly by society".’ When Feminists talk about hierarchy of gender they usually hope to ‘evoke negative connotations.’ An example of this usage:

“The hierarchical nature of the dualism - the systematic devaluation of females and whatever is metaphorically understood as "feminine" - is what I identify as sexism. (Nelson 1992, p. 106)”

Another common example of hierarchy within society can be seen through Genealogy, where Family trees are created to trace ancestry and a family’s lineage. An example is given below:

HIERARCHY as seen in the Wikipedia community: this community is not known for being ‘overtly hierarchically structured, as no contributor possesses inherently higher standing than another, excepting certain limited "admin" and "developer" powers which restricted to a few. However, some would counter that although there is no explicit hierarchy there are social norms which make contributions unequal, as some contributors have more influence because their edits command higher respect.”

PLANNING SUMMARY:
Planning can represent and relate to a variety of elements in society. A basic definition of planning is an ‘act of formulating a program for a definite course of action’ which often results in the formulation of ‘a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished’. It can be said that planning is ‘one of the most important project management and time management techniques’ which enables the creation and preparation of ‘a sequence of action steps to achieve some specific goal.’ If planning is organised and carried out efficiently and effectively then ‘you can reduce much of the necessary time and effort of achieving the goal.’

It can be said that a plan is ‘like a map’, as through the process of planning and following that plan ‘you can always see how much you have progressed towards your project goal and how far you are from your destination.’ This is critical as ‘knowing where you are is essential for making good decisions on where to go or what to do next.’

There are many reasons why planning is needed and a good example of this is the ‘80/20 Rule’. It can be seen ‘that for unstructured activities 80 percent of the effort give less than 20 percent of the valuable outcome’. Thus you either spend too ‘much time on deciding what to do next, or you are taking many unnecessary, unfocused, and inefficient steps’.Planning is ‘also crucial for meeting your needs during each action step with your time, money, or other resources. With careful planning you often can see if at some point you are likely to face a problem. It is much easier to adjust your plan to avoid or smoothen a coming crisis, rather than to deal with the crisis when it comes unexpected’. Thus it can be seen that planning is an effective form of time management.
Planning is used throughout various segments of society as it ‘is not an isolated activity; rather, it involves all segments of the community.’ Some examples of PLANNING within these segments are listed below:

PLANNING as a profession: ‘also called urban planning or city and regional planning, is a dynamic profession that works to improve the welfare of people and their communities by creating more convenient, equitable, healthful, efficient, and attractive places for present and future generations.’ It also enables ‘civic leaders, businesses, and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people's lives.’ Planners ‘plan the scientific, aesthetic and orderly disposition of land, resources, facilities and services. This is accomplished with a view to securing the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well being of urban and rural communities of the environment. Planners may focus on transportation, recreation, heritage, health care planning, environmental research and assessment, parks planning, economic development, municipal planning and regional planning.’ An example is give below:

Good planning helps create communities that offer better choices for where and how people live. Planning helps community members envision the direction their community grow and will help them find the right balance of new development and essential services, protection of the environment, and innovative change.’

PLANNING as a system: this is needed as a means of creating controlled ‘development in your area’. It can be seen that planning ‘is about how we plan for, and make decisions about, the future of our cities, towns and countryside. Over the centuries, a formal way of making these decisions was set up.’ Within each community ‘your local planning authority is responsible for deciding whether a development - anything from an extension on a house to a new shopping centre - should go ahead.’ Planning ‘is basically about the development and use of land. It is the resolution of the many, and often conflicting pressures on land and resources.’ An example is given below:

HIERARCHY...further research

2009-03-25T05:08:00.000-07:00

"An organisation with few things, or one thing, at the top and with several things below each other thing. An inverted tree structure. Examples in computing include a directory hierarchy where each directory may contain files or other directories; a hierarchical {network} (see {hierarchical routing}), a {class hierarchy} in {object-oriented programming}." - Hierarchy as a tiered structural system.
http://www.learnthat.com/define/view.asp?id=2772

"A classification of relationships in which each item except the top one (known as the root) is a specialized form of the item above it. Each item can have one or more items below it in the hierarchy. In the Java class hierarchy, the root is the Object class." - Hierarchy as specialisation.
http://dev.fyicenter.com/Interview-Questions/J2SE/What_is_hierarchy.html

"A is system of ranking and organizing things. Different fields use the word in slightly different ways, but a particular definition, which the article will attempt first, captures the core of almost all uses. Originally, "hierarchy" was a word meaning "rule by priests". Since hierarchical churches such as the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches had tables of organization that were "hierarchical" in the modern sense of the word, the term came to refer to more general organizational methods.

Illustration: A hypothetical hierarchical organization for an encyclopedia. Each node "contains" all the sections below it, e.g. the culture section contains the art section and the craft section.

General considerations (informal)

A precise, mathematical definition of hierarchy will be given in the next section. This section will try to explore the ideas behind that more compact definition.

A hierarchy is based on an asymmetrical relationship, such as "is the boss of", "is part of", or "is better than". Such relationships are "asymmetrical" in the sense that if they "work one way", they don't "work the other". For example, if Sally is the boss of Jim, then Jim is not the boss of Sally. When two nodes are related, one is designated the "superior" (or sometimes the "parent") and the other the "subordinate" (or sometimes the "child"). In the intuitive case of the "is the boss of" relation, the boss is the superior and the employee is the subordinate.

A hierarchy's asymmetrical relationship can link entities in one of three ways: directly, indirectly, or not at all. The illustration shows a direct link between the craft and culture sections; the craft section is directly linked to the culture section by the "contains" relationship. This is akin to how your boss in directly in charge of you. In contrast, the illustration shows an indirect link between craft and encyclopedia; the craft section is only "contained" by the encyclopedia as a whole by virtue of being "contained" by the culture section. This is akin to how the CEO of a company is in charge of a factory worker only via middle management. Finally, there is effectively no link between the art and the craft sections; neither section contains the other. This is akin to two co-workers, neither of whom is the other's boss.

...

Every member is reachable from any other by following the relationship in either direction, but there is no way of coming back to a particular member by always following the relationship in the same direction.

...

General considerations (formal)

A hierarchy can thus be represented as a connected directed acyclic graph.

Examples of reasoning with hierarchies

Many aspects of the world are analyzed, arguably fruitfully, from a hierarchical perspective. Science provides the following examples:

In biology, organisms are commonly described as an assembly of parts (organs) which are themselves assemblies of yet smaller parts, and so on.
In physics, the standard model decomposes bodies down to their smallest particle components.
In linguistics, words or sentences are often broken down into hierarchies of parts and wholes.

In all of these examples, the asymmetric relationship is "is composed of".

Social hierarchies

Many human organizations, such as businesses, churches, armies and political movements are structured hierarchically, at least officially; commonly superiors, called bosses, have more power than their subordinates. Thus the asymmetrical relationship might be "has power over". (Some analysists question whether power "really" works as the traditional organizational chart indicates, however.)

Feminists talk about a hierarchy of gender, in which a culture sees males or masculine traits as superior to females or feminine traits. In the terms above, these feminists present us a hierarchy of only two nodes, "masculine" and "feminine", connected by the asymmetrical relationship "is valued more highly by society". An example of this usage:

The hierarchical nature of the dualism - the systematic devaluation of females and whatever is metaphorically understood as "feminine" - is what I identify as sexism. (Nelson 1992, p. 106)

Note that when feminists and other social critics use the word hierarchy, they usually hope to evoke negative connotations; hierarchy, for them, is a bad thing. In these contexts, hierarchy and power structure are basically synonyms.

Hierarchical nomenclatures in the arts and sciences

Hierarchy is often used to control complexity in engineering endeavors. In object-oriented programming, for example, classes are organized hierarchically; the relationship between two related classes is called inheritance.

The pitches and form of Tonal music are organized hierarchically, all pitches deriving their importance from their relationship to a tonic key, and secondary themes in other keys are brought back to the tonic in a recapitulation of the primary theme. Susan McClary connects this specifically in the sonata-allegro form to the feminist hierarchy of gender (see above) in her book Feminine Endings, even pointing out that primary themes were often previously called "masculine" and secondary themes "feminine."

Wikis

The Wikipedia community is noteworthy for being not overtly hierarchically structured, as no contributor possesses inherently higher standing than another, excepting certain limited "admin" and "developer" powers restricted to a few. However, some would counter that although there is no explicit hierarchy there are social norms which make contributions unequal, as some contributors have more influence because their edits command higher respect.

Those who frequent Wikis might label Wikipedia's organization "wikiarchical".

The concept of hierarchy qualifies as interdisciplinary.

History of the word

From the greek hieros, sacred + archos, ruler.

External link

Principles and annotated bibliography of hierarchy theory

Generalizations: Structure

Specializations:

purpose: hierarchical organization
structural properties: hierarchical tree structure, rooted hierarchy
nature of the hierarchical relationship: part-whole hierarchy, containment hierarchy, inheritance hierarchy, responsibility hierarchy, control hierarchy

Relevant examples:

Biology: Linnaean taxonomy
Genealogy: genealogy tree
Linguistics: Chomsky hierarchy
Psychology: Maslow hierarchy of needs" - Hierarchy explained in-depth.

http://knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Hierarchy/

"A SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPLES OF HIERARCHY THEORY

The Hierarchy theory is a dialect of general systems theory. It has emerged as part of a movement toward a general science of complexity. Rooted in the work of economist, Herbert Simon, chemist, Ilya Prigogine, and psychologist, Jean Piaget, hierarchy theory focuses upon levels of organization and issues of scale. There is significant emphasis upon the observer in the system.

Hierarchies occur in social systems, biological structures, and in the biological taxonomies. Since scholars and laypersons use hierarchy and hierarchical concepts commonly, it would seem reasonable to have a theory of hierarchies. Hierarchy theory uses a relatively small set of principles to keep track of the complex structure and a behavior of systems with multiple levels. A set of definitions and principles follows immediately:

Hierarchy: in mathematical terms, it is a partially ordered set. In less austere terms, a hierarchy is a collection of parts with ordered asymmetric relationships inside a whole. That is to say, upper levels are above lower levels, and the relationship upwards is asymmetric with the relationships downwards.

Hierarchical levels: levels are populated by entities whose properties characterize the level in question. A given entity may belong to any number of levels, depending on the criteria used to link levels above and below. For example, an individual human being may be a member of the level i) human, ii) primate, iii) organism or iv) host of a parasite, depending on the relationship of the level in question to those above and below.

Level of organization: this type of level fits into its hierarchy by virtue of set of definitions that lock the level in question to those above and below. For example, a biological population level is an aggregate of entities from the organism level of organization, but it is only so by definition. There is no particular scale involved in the population level of organization, in that some organisms are larger than some populations, as in the case of skin parasites.

Level of observation: this type of level fits into its hierarchy by virtue of relative scaling considerations. For example, the host of a skin parasite represents the context for the population of parasites; it is a landscape, even though the host may be seen as belonging to a level of organization, organism, that is lower than the collection of parasites, a population.

The criterion for observation: when a system is observed, there are two separate considerations. One is the spatiotemporal scale at which the observations are made. The other is the criterion for observation, which defines the system in the foreground away from all the rest in the background. The criterion for observation uses the types of parts and their relationships to each other to characterize the system in the foreground. If criteria for observation are linked together in an asymmetric fashion, then the criteria lead to levels of organization. Otherwise, criteria for observation merely generate isolated classes.

The ordering of levels: there are several criteria whereby other levels reside above lower levels. These criteria often run in parallel, but sometimes only one or a few of them apply. Upper levels are above lower levels by virtue of: 1) being the context of, 2) offering constraint to, 3) behaving more slowly at a lower frequency than, 4) being populated by entities with greater integrity and higher bond strength than, and 5), containing and being made of - lower levels.

Nested and non-nested hierarchies: nested hierarchies involve levels which consist of, and contain, lower levels. Non-nested hierarchies are more general in that the requirement of containment of lower levels is relaxed. For example, an army consists of a collection of soldiers and is made up of them. Thus an army is a nested hierarchy. On the other hand, the general at the top of a military command does not consist of his soldiers and so the military command is a non-nested hierarchy with regard to the soldiers in the army. Pecking orders and a food chains are also non-nested hierarchies.

Duality in hierarchies: the dualism in hierarchies appears to come from a set of complementarities that line up with: observer-observed, process-structure, rate-dependent versus rate-independent, and part-whole. Arthur Koestler in his "Ghost in The Machine" referred to the notion of holon, which means an entity in a hierarchy that is at once a whole and at the same time a part. Thus a holon at once operates as a quasi-autonomous whole that integrates its parts, while working to integrate itself into an upper level purpose or role. The lower level answers the question "How?" and the upper level answers the question, "So what?"

Constraint versus possibilities: when one looks at a system there are two separate reasons behind what one sees. First, it is not possible to see something if the parts of the system cannot do what is required of them to achieve the arrangement in the whole. These are the limits of physical possibility. The limits of possibility come from lower levels in the hierarchy. The second entirely separate reason for what one sees is to do with what is allowed by the upper level constraints. An example here would be that mammals have five digits. There is no physical reason for mammals having five digits on their hands and feet, because it comes not from physical limits, but from the constraints of having a mammal heritage. Any number of the digits is possible within the physical limits, but in mammals only five digits are allowed by the biological constraints. Constraints come from above, while the limits as to what is possible come from below. The concept of hierarchy becomes confused unless one makes the distinction between limits from below and limits from above. The distinction between mechanisms below and purposes above turn on the issue of constraint versus possibility. Forget the distinction, and biology becomes pointlessly confused, impossibly complicated chemistry, while chemistry becomes unwieldy physics.

Complexity and self-simplification: Howard Pattee has identified that as a system becomes more elaborately hierarchical its behavior becomes simple. The reason is that, with the emergence of intermediate levels, the lowest level entities become constrained to be far from equilibrium. As a result, the lowest level entities lose degrees of freedom and are held against the upper level constraint to give constant behavior. Deep hierarchical structure indicates elaborate organization, and deep hierarchies are often considered as complex systems by virtue of hierarchical depth.

Complexity versus complicatedness: a hierarchical structure with a large number of lowest level entities, but with simple organization, offers a low flat hierarchy that is complicated rather than complex. The behavior of structurally complicated systems is behaviorally elaborate and so complicated, whereas the behavior of deep hierarchically complex systems is simple.

Hierarchy theory is as much as anything a theory of observation. It has been significantly operationalized in ecology, but has been applied relatively infrequently outside that science. There is a negative reaction to hierarchy theory in the social sciences, by virtue of implications of rigid autocratic systems or authority. When applied in a more general fashion, even liberal and non-authoritarian systems can be described effectively in hierarchical terms. There is a politically correct set of labels that avoid the word hierarchy, but they unnecessarily introduce jargon into a field that has enough special vocabulary as it is." - Hierarchy as theory.

http://www.isss.org/hierarchy.htm

PLANNING...further research

2009-03-25T04:02:00.001-07:00

"Planning is one of the most important project management and time management techniques. Planning is preparing a sequence of action steps to achieve some specific goal. If you do it effectively, you can reduce much the necessary time and effort of achieving the goal.

A plan is like a map. When following a plan, you can always see how much you have progressed towards your project goal and how far you are from your destination. Knowing where you are is essential for making good decisions on where to go or what to do next.

One more reason why you need planning is again the 80/20 Rule. It is well established that for unstructured activities 80 percent of the effort give less than 20 percent of the valuable outcome. You either spend much time on deciding what to do next, or you are taking many unnecessary, unfocused, and inefficient steps.

Planning is also crucial for meeting your needs during each action step with your time, money, or other resources. With careful planning you often can see if at some point you are likely to face a problem. It is much easier to adjust your plan to avoid or smoothen a coming crisis, rather than to deal with the crisis when it comes unexpected." - Planning as a form of time-management.
http://www.time-management-guide.com/planning.html

"Planning is not an isolated activity; rather, it involves all segments
of the community." - pdf document about the role of a 'Planner'.
www.planning.org/essay/resources/pdf/planit.pdf

"Planning, also called urban planning or city and regional planning, is a dynamic profession that works to improve the welfare of people and their communities by creating more convenient, equitable, healthful, efficient, and attractive places for present and future generations.

Planning enables civic leaders, businesses, and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people's lives.

Good planning helps create communities that offer better choices for where and how people live. Planning helps community members envision the direction their community grow and will help them find the right balance of new development and essential services, protection of the environment, and innovative change." - Planning as a profession.
http://www.planning.org/aboutplanning/whatisplanning.htm

"Planning is about how we plan for, and make decisions about, the future of our cities, towns and countryside. Over the centuries, a formal way of making these decisions was set up.

Your local planning authority is responsible for deciding whether a development - anything from an extension on a house to a new shopping centre - should go ahead.

Local planning authority usually means the district or borough council - not the parish or town council.

The planning system is needed to control development in your area." - Planning as a system.

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en/1108751860476.html

"Planning is basically about the development and use of land. It is the resolution of the many, and often conflicting pressures on land and resources. Our members plan the scientific, aesthetic and orderly disposition of land, resources, facilities and services. This is accomplished with a view to securing the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well being of urban and rural communities of the environment. Planners may focus on transportation, recreation, heritage, health care planning, environmental research and assessment, parks planning, economic development, municipal planning and regional planning.

Planners do not act in isolation...

Although planners can or should take a leading role , they are involved with politicians, government agencies, the public, other professions and developers." - Planning as a form of development.

http://www.aacip.com/public/planning.html

Tech tests...INCOMPLETE

2009-03-24T04:16:00.001-07:00

Went to uni again today to continue with my tech tests but unfortunately all the XPS laptops were being used for a class and I was informed by BECU that the editor hadn't been loaded in the labs :( So I'm going to have to attempt them on my mum's computer which keeps crashing when I load the editor...luckily my laptop should be here by the end of the week :D

Tech tests...TERRAIN / VEGETATION

2009-03-23T02:57:00.002-07:00

Today I went to uni after work to do my tech tests as my laptop hasn't arrived yet. I borrowed a XPS laptop from BECU and began working away. I explored creating the terrain (mountains, water etc) and then how to edit it by shaping the surface of the land, as well as playing around with the water level. I also added surface textures and explored various scenarious (beach, forest etc). I then began exploring how to add vegetation (trees, plants etc) as well as other landscape elements such as rocks. I also learnt how to edit these elements and make them smaller or larger and how they could be spread across the terrain automatically. Below are some screenshots of what I created...

I will come back to uni tomorrow after work as well to carry on with my tech tests, I need to finish the TERRAIN / VEGETATION tests as I haven't explored how to create roads / sidewalks etc and I also need to start on the MATERIALS tech tests which I will all do tomorrow...

Hierarchy & Planning...

2009-03-23T02:57:00.001-07:00

Initial research regarding PLANNING and HIERARCHY using the 'define:' search on google as mentioned by Steve.

Definitions of planning on the Web:
http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+planning&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

* an act of formulating a program for a definite course of action; "the planning was more fun than the trip itself"
* the act or process of drawing up plans or layouts for some project or enterprise
* the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening; "his planning for retirement was hindered by several uncertainties"
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* Planning in organizations and public policy is both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a plan; and the psychological process of thinking about the activities required to create a desired goal on some scale. As such, it is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning

* The Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom to consolidate certain enactments relating to special controls in respect of hazardous substances with amendments to give effect to recommendations of the Law Commission.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning_(Hazardous_Substances)_Act_1990

* plan - have the will and intention to carry out some action; "He plans to be in graduate school next year"; "The rebels had planned turmoil and confusion"
* plan - make plans for something; "He is planning a trip with his family"
* plan - a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished; "they drew up a six-step plan"; "they discussed plans for a new bond issue"
* plan - make or work out a plan for; devise; "They contrived to murder their boss"; "design a new sales strategy"; "plan an attack"
* plan - design: an arrangement scheme; "the awkward design of the keyboard made operation difficult"; "it was an excellent design for living"; "a plan for seating guests"
* plan - design: make a design of; plan out in systematic, often graphic form; "design a better mousetrap"; "plan the new wing of the museum"
* plan - scale drawing of a structure; "the plans for City Hall were on file"
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* planned - designed or carried out according to a plan; "the planned outlays for new equipment"
* aforethought(ip): planned in advance; "with malice aforethought"
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Definitions of hierarchy on the Web:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=YPm&ei=sBfKSaPcIpLQsAPro6DsBw&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=define%3A+hierarchy&spell=1

* a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system; "put honesty first in her hierarchy of values"
* the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* In mathematics, a hierarchy is a preorder, i.e. an ordered set. The term is used to stress a natural hierarchical relation among the elements. In particular, it is the preferred terminology for posets whose elements are classes of objects of increasing complexity. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_(mathematics)

* In computer science's object-oriented programming, the mapped relationships of sub- and superclasses is known as a hierarchy. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_(object-oriented_programming)

* A hierarchy is an arrangement of objects, people, elements, values, grades, orders, classes, etc., in a ranked or graduated series. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy

* A body of authoritative officials organized in nested ranks; Any group of objects ranked so that every one but the topmost is subordinate to a specified one above it
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hierarchy

* hierarchic - hierarchical: classified according to various criteria into successive levels or layers; "it has been said that only a hierarchical society with a ...
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* Hierarchyism is the belief that society requires a symbolic hierarchy, such as a constitutional monarchy, in order to function properly. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchyism

* hierarchic - hierarchal
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hierarchic

* Relationship based on degrees or levels of superordination and subordination, where the superordinate term represents a class or whole, and subordinate terms refer to its members or parts. ...
www.iskoi.org/doc/development.htm

* The Cosmic Hierarchy is a "Universal Chain" of Individualized God Free Beings fulfilling Attributes and Aspects of God's Infinite ...
www.templeofthepresence.org/glossary.htm

* A hierarchy is a system of ranking and organising things or people, where each element of the system is subordinate. ...
www.autonomousgeographies.org/glossary

* Any system where there is a parent-child relationship.
www.davidgould.com/Glossary/Glossary.htm

* A hierarchy is a series of classes or groups in which each class falls into a subgroup of a larger group, which in turn forms part of an even larger group.
plc.fis.utoronto.ca/tgdemo/Glossary.asp

* Slave-like veneration of the seniors and thus verbal or physical submission to them, is common. Abject 'etiquette' required of pledges or ...
www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Hazing

more...

2009-03-23T02:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.cryengine2.org/sandbox-tutorials/vegetation/better-looking-vegetation/

http://www.cryengine2.org/

Crysis Sandbox2 Tutorial - Prefab Vegetation - Click here for more blooper videos

Online Tutorials regarding Materials and Terrain in Crysis...

2009-03-23T02:03:00.000-07:00

Watch How to export from 3dstudio Max to Crysis in Game Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Research for Tech tests...

2009-03-22T01:19:00.000-07:00

I have been researching tutorials regarding TERRAIN / VEGETATION and MATERIALS and have found quite a few very useful ones. They are showcased above...

Team choice

2009-03-22T01:13:00.002-07:00

After we all presented our proposed unbuilt architectures in class we discussed the possibilities of each project. We narrowed the selection down to two buildings which we thought were very relevant to the project and which had all the elements and design aspects which we were looking for and wanted to achieve through this assignment. The two were Cameron's proposal for the new Macquarie University Library and Essmael's Cultural Centre in Stockholm.

After discussing these two option with Jeremy and Graham we decided to proceed with Essmael's choice. We felt that this building had a variety of interior spaces which could be effectively created in a real-time environment as well as the fact that it was in an interesting urban setting near water. We felt that the building was a unique and interesting concept with large exhibition spaces as well as a theatre. The circulation within this building is also very interesting and we felt that it would be great to explore the interactivity of the space and how it is used as well as how it relates to its site.

Tech tests...TERRAIN / VEGETATION & MATERIALS

2009-03-22T01:13:00.001-07:00

During class we discussed the 8 areas of design which we will need to learn in order to construct our building in Sandbox2. Out of those eight I was given the job of researching and doing a tech test on TERRAIN / VEGETATION and MATERIALS.

For TERRAIN / VEGETATION I will need to work in Sandbox2 and figure out how to create / edit / manipulate the terrain as well as adding vegetation to the landscape.

For MATERIALS I will need to research how to import surface materials into Sandbox2 through 3dsMax and whether there are any issues regarding this.

Topic definitions...

2009-03-22T01:12:00.000-07:00

In class each team was given two topics to research and blog about for next weeks lecture. My team were given the topics PLANNING and HIERARCHY. From what we discussed in the lecture my understanding of these two topics are as follows:

PLANNING:

- GENERAL:

> organising
> schedules
> meeting deadlines
> communication
> managing
> time constraints

- PLANNING APPLIED TO OUR COURSE:

> design planning
> planning the creation of the model
> how this creation will be executed
> planning to meet with members
> sticking to schedules so as to reach deadlines

HIERARCHY:

- GENERAL:

> Management
> Gant Chart
> Team hierarchy
> Design
> Order
> Organisation
> Structure
> Ranked arrangements / layers / criteria

- HIERARCHY APPLIED TO OUR COURSE:

> Order in which design needs to be created
> Organisation of design
> Management within team
> Structure with the design and its' components
> Layout of steps / procedures that need to take place for the next steps to occur

Grant Egyptian Museum - MORE IMAGES...

2009-03-18T06:11:00.001-07:00

Geology Museum and Visitors Centre - MORE IMAGES...

2009-03-18T05:48:00.001-07:00

Grant Eqyptian Museum - EGYPT

2009-03-18T05:15:00.000-07:00

NAME: Grant Egyptian Museum
COLLABORATORS: Plot & JDS
LOCATION: Cairo, Egypt
http://www.big.dk/projects/gem/gem.html

This museum was designed to be situated in Cairo, Egypt, as a means of exhibiting items of cultural significance. The Grant Egyptian Museum was designed to house an exhibition that 'ought to combine a chronological display with a thematic display.' For this requirement to be achieved it was designed by organising a 'simple timeline as a long track where each theme would reappear in each period in time.' The designers then decided to bend the 'track onto itself, forming a spiral, where each theme would overlap vertically and therefore create thematic shortcuts.' The museum itself is in the shape of an upside down pyramid, which not only holds cultural significance, but it creates a relationship to the site where it would've been built as well as serving the purpose of creating this 'thematic' and 'chronological' display within the exhibition.

I feel that this is significant as it is a very unique and intriguing unbuilt design, not to mention a feat of technology and engineering if it could be constructed. I feel that the way in which the building not only relates to the site and the location which it has been designed for as well as how it encompasses cultural and historical elements which are significant to Egypt is very well thought-out and designed. I think that how it ties in cultural and historical themes and significance as well as its relationship to the site is very impressive. I also feel that the way in which the exhibition has been designed utilises the space and the building to its best ability. I think that it would take a while to construct this building in CryEngine2 but it would be well worth the effort and time.

I feel that this building would be a very good choice for our 'Collaborative Fabrication' as it entails a wide range of ideals and design elements which make it interesting and unique. Once again as we are planning to focus on the circulation with our chosen building I feel that this building has a very interesting circulation layout and design. It would be very interesting to see how functional it is and if it could be improved in any way.

Geology Museum and Visitors Centre - DENMARK

2009-03-18T04:37:00.000-07:00

NAME: Geology Museum and Visitors Centre
COLLABORATORS: Plot & JDS
LOCATION: Mon's Cliff, Denmark
http://www.big.dk/projects/mon/mon.html

The idea behind the museum was to create a visitors centre that was about exposing a living landmark in Denmark, the Møn's Cliff. The challenge was to create this centre which focuses and exposes the landmark without spoiling the impression of the actual landmark.

Within the museum they designed a visitor centre that 'literally digs into the fascinating geological history hidden in one of Denmark's essential landmarks'. They organised the 'exhibition space as an archaeological excavation stacked in a crater of chalk', which 'offers rich experiences of evolution and at the same time leaves the outstanding landscape undisturbed.' This causes the Museum of Geology to actually grow 'into the different layers of geological eras and provides visitors with a rare look into the shaping of planet earth.'

I feel that this building is quite significant as it dynamically expresses the site on which it would've been built. The way in which the building relates to the site is quite amazing and I really like the idea of it 'growing' into the various layers of the geological eras, as this has a direct relationship with it being a Museum of Geology. I think that it could be created quite effectively in CryEngine 2 and it would be especially interesting to see how it relates and responds to the site. I have found quite a few detailed images showing the interior and exterior layout of the building as well as the location and how it responds to the site.

I feel that because as a team we have decided that it would be quite interesting to explore the circulation within our chosen building that this piece of architecture would be a great piece to use for our 'Collaborative Fabrication'. I feel that it presents a unique and interesting design layout and interior / exterior circulation which could be explored to see how functional it circulation is.

Unbuilt Architecture

2009-03-18T04:24:00.000-07:00

"Research two Unbuilt Architectures Each!

a. Post multiple Images to your personal blog, including links and relevant research, you
will need to consider the relevance of your chosen buildings, is it a significant piece of
Unbuilt Architecture, how apt do you think it is to create in the CryEngine.

b. Write a paragraph on each building, detailing why you think your Team should use this
building as their Collaborative Fabrication. You will need to justify and support your
decisions."

The two pieces of Unbuilt Architecture which I feel would be great to use in my teams "Collaborative Fabrication" are the:

1.

NAME: Geology Museum and Visitors Centre
COLLABORATORS: Plot & JDS
LOCATION: Mon's Cliff, Denmark
http://www.big.dk/projects/mon/mon.html

2.

NAME: Grant Egyptian Museum
COLLABORATORS: Plot & JDS
LOCATION: Cairo, Egypt
http://www.big.dk/projects/gem/gem.html

Installing Crysis & Tutorial:

2009-03-15T23:25:00.001-07:00

I bought a copy of the Crysis game and installed it onto my mum's laptop. Luckily it installed successfully but as soon as I tried to launch CryEngine2 it would start up and then crash...So I tried numerous times unsucccessfully to run the program :( I then realised that I could change the resolution settings and made them a lot lower and then it worked...YAY! So I will have to deal with bad resolution until my new laptop arrives next week! Luckily it's only tutorials at this stage!...

TUTORIAL:

As we had already worked through "1. Creating a New Map" and "2. Vegetation" as a group in the studio session, I continued working on the rest of the tutorial at home. I found certain areas of the tutorial a bit hard to follow as it skipped certain steps and just expects you to know where those menu's or tools are within the program, but other than this it was very helpful in providing me with a basic knowledge of how the program works and functions. It was quite fun experimenting with the different tools and I especially enjoyed creating and modifying the terrain, vegetation and using the 'voxel' tools to create cliffs and caves. I found it quite amazing how much detail can be achieved with this software, although I couldn't really appreciate the reality of the program as I had to set my resolution settings so low to run the program. I found that that once you added lighting to the scene it made such a different and made the scene much more dynamic and realistic (from what I could tell). It was quite helpful that the layout of CryEngine2 was somewhat similar to 3dsMax as this made learning easier and more productive. I also found it really good how the site responds to certain element you create automatically such as the roads. All in all I found the tutorial quite helpful except for having to find your own way through some sections.

ARCH1392 - Alichia van Rhijn

Our final fabrication...

Realisation of Fabrication

Contribution to team fabrication...

References

Final Images

Team meeting...

Team meeting...

Team meeting...

Individual specialisations implemented into Crysis environment

Upload Advanced tutorial...

Week 12 - guest lecture

Week 11 - excursion

Upload tutorial...

Beginner level specialisation tutorial

Week 10 - guest lecture

Initial investigation into PACKAGING, SKINNING, ETC. specialisation...

Detailed team plan for our Final “Polished Fabrication”

My Specialisation...

Week 9 - guest lecture

Other teams 2 Strengths and 2 Weaknesses

KNOWLEDGE SOURCE

RECORDS SOURCE

Strategic Plan - Timeline

Contribution to Fabrication Environment

Week 8 - guest lecture

Progress

Progress Screenshots

Progress...

Week 7 - guest lecture

Week 6 - guest lecture

Analysis of a Wikipedia page - Real Time Computer Graphics

Chosen Conflict / Remuneration Sources

REMUNERATION SOURCE

CONFLICT SOURCE

Work Outcome Strategies for Week 6

TIMELINE / SCHEDULE OF EXPECTED WORK OUTCOMES...

FABRICATION PLAN...

Week 5 - guest lecture

Chosen Topic and Planning / Hierarchy Sources

Our 2 Strengths ans 2 Weaknesses

Other teams 2 Strengths and 2 Weaknesses

HIERARCHY SOURCE

PLANNING SOURCE

Week 4 - guest lecture

Environment Description and Technology Evaluation for Assignment 1:

Contribution to Draft Fabrication Environment:

4 Chosen Topics...

HIERARCHY & PLANNING SUMMARY

HIERARCHY...further research

Illustration: A hypothetical hierarchical organization for an encyclopedia. Each node "contains" all the sections below it, e.g. the culture section contains the art section and the craft section.

General considerations (informal)

General considerations (formal)

Examples of reasoning with hierarchies

Social hierarchies

Hierarchical nomenclatures in the arts and sciences

Wikis

History of the word

External link

PLANNING...further research

Tech tests...INCOMPLETE

Tech tests...TERRAIN / VEGETATION

Hierarchy & Planning...

more...

More online tutorials...

Online Tutorials regarding Materials and Terrain in Crysis...

Research for Tech tests...

Team choice

Tech tests...TERRAIN / VEGETATION & MATERIALS

Topic definitions...

Grant Egyptian Museum - MORE IMAGES...

Geology Museum and Visitors Centre - MORE IMAGES...

Grant Eqyptian Museum - EGYPT

Geology Museum and Visitors Centre - DENMARK

Unbuilt Architecture

Installing Crysis & Tutorial: