BUDAPEST, May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- GRAPHISOFT, the global leader in Building Information Modeling (BIM) solutions for architects, has announced an update for its BIMx application. The BIMx 1.2.455 update for iPhone/iPad app provides native support for the iPad 3 Retina display, resulting in crisper images and stunning virtual reality.

The new iPad's Retina Display offers stunning graphics and a new level of mobility to professional, high-end visualization. At the same time, the quadrupled pixel count makes the application of interactive 3D apps like BIMx a difficult task. GRAPHISOFT was the first in the AEC space to combine performance with high quality, 3D navigational capabilities. "It is worth noting that architects operate with true, detailed BIM models and not only simple, image-mapped surfaces," said Gabor Horvath, Director of Mobile Developments at GRAPHISOFT. "Our biggest challenge -- and competitive edge -- is the way we approach a great user experience through uncompromised performance in all our applications." With BIMx and GRAPHISOFT's ArchiCAD, architects and designers can explore their project designs in a 3D environment that supports real-time 3D navigation identical to mainstream computer games. The Retina Display-compatible BIMx is available new and as an update (1.2.455) in the App Store and is free of charge.

About GRAPHISOFT GRAPHISOFT ignited the BIM revolution with ArchiCAD, the industry first BIM software for architects. GRAPHISOFT continues to lead the industry with innovative solutions such as the revolutionary GRAPHISOFT BIM Server, the world's first real-time BIM collaboration environment, and the GRAPHISOFT EcoDesigner, the world's first fully integrated building energy modeling application. GRAPHISOFT's innovative solutions have fundamentally changed the way architects around the world design and collaborate. GRAPHISOFT has been a part of the Nemetschek Group since its acquisition in 2007.

Press Information http://www.graphisoft.com press@graphisoft.com http://twitter.com/ArchiCAD

Excerpt from:
BIMx by GRAPHISOFT is First 3D AEC App to Fully Utilize the New iPad's Retina Display

Northwest Portlands Bud Clark Commons is the recipient of a national award for its architectural design.

The American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Bud Clark Commons with the 2012 Creating Community Connections Award.

The award is one of four annual awards given out by the two organizations, and the Creative Community Connections Award is given to projects that incorporate housing with other community amenities.

Dave Otte, the lead architect on The Commons construction, accepted the award on May 19 at the American Institute of Architects national convention in Washington, D.C.

In addition to the 130 studio apartments for formerly homeless people, the eight-story Bud Clark Commons, located at the corner of Northwest Broadway and Northwest Hoyt Street in Old Town, has a 90-bed mens shelter on the first floor that includes living, dining and sleeping areas. A day center, open to residents and the public, takes up the second and third floors and provides access to social services, restrooms, laundry facilities, computers and storage for bicycles and pets.

The $46.9 million facility was also given a LEED Platinum certification by the United States Green Building Council for its use of energy efficient lighting, low-flow plumbing and green roofs, among other environmentally friendly attributes.

The Commons was chosen for the award because its layout is inviting and warm, which differs from typical shelters and housing devoted to low-income people, according to a statement on the American Institute of Architects website.

A jury of seven architects, design critics and housing officials were tasked with choosing the winners, and they provided these comments about the Commons: The architect is really trying to say something here, and it is inspiring. The way the shelter addresses the street and the commonsit creates a place of invitation and dignity in a warm, lively kind of way. It invites a wider idea of constructive citizenry.

The building is more than an institution. Considering the homelessness initiativemost homeless projects seem institutionalized and one dimensional, but this is not stigmatized, it is thoughtful and brings a new way of thinking about how these facilities should be done. It is a gorgeous project. This approach should be imitated.

To be considered for the award, the Commons had to be mixed-use and mixed-income building with a diversity of development. The ages, ethnicities, physical abilities and income of the people using the day center and living in the apartments also had to be diverse for the Commons to be considered for the award.

Link:
Northwest Portland's Bud Clark Commons receives national architecture award

WATERTOWN, Mass., May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ --BlueMetal Architects, a leading technology architecture and interactive design firm, announced today that Anthony Gonsalez has joined the company as Technology Director Architect in BlueMetal's Chicago office.

In this role, Mr. Gonsalez will provide architectural guidance and ensure technical excellence across the technical community, as well as assist in building and managing BlueMetal's presence in Chicago and across the Midwest.BlueMetal Architects works with top-tier clients to imagine, define and build innovative technology solutions which positively impact how they run their business with a focus on user experience, big data, application modernization and social platforms.

With 20+ years of IT experience in architectural strategy, program management and software development, Anthony's leadership and cross-team collaboration skills have helped champion new approaches and methods that assure high quality, on-time solution delivery across the organization.

"Tony brings an enormous wealth of technical and delivery skills to establish a strong foundation for our Chicago office", said Todd Bremner, President & Chief Technology Officer for BlueMetal. "Tony is going to have an enormous impact in building a strong delivery team in Chicago and professionalize our delivery capability across all offices."

Prior to joining BlueMetal, Anthony spent 14 years working for Microsoft Corporation. During his tenure he has successfully led several large teams in architecting, designing and implementing some of Microsoft's largest commercial software solutions for many Fortune 50 customers. Most recently Anthony served as Director of Technical Quality Assurance (TQA) focused on improving global services delivery and technical quality across the solution development lifecycle. His team was responsible for providing architectural guidance, delivery methodologies and technical strategies to Microsoft's services organization worldwide.

"The addition of Tony to our Chicago team really showcases the type of world-class technical and business staff we are attracting," said Matt Kestian, Consulting Director for BlueMetal Chicago. "Tony's technical expertise combined with his customer centric approach are both key components of the BlueMetal advantage, and his passion and understanding of the Chicago market is a huge asset to BlueMetal and our customers."

Previously Anthony has held positions at IBM, where he was responsible for the development of NASA's Onboard Shuttle Systems (OSS), and United Airlines as the Lead Architect for a Smithsonian / Computerworld award nominated personal reservation system that later became known as United.com.

Read more:
BlueMetal Architects Announces Addition of Anthony Gonsalez in Newly Opened Chicago Office

POSTED: 10:46 pm CDT May 17, 2012UPDATED: 10:47 pm CDT May 17, 2012 The St. Joseph Board of Education met in special session Thursday evening and selected two local architects to build two new schools.The board unanimously approved Ellison-Auxier Architects to build an approximately 75,000-square-foot elementary school at Cook and Bishop roads. The board also selected River Bluff Architects to construct a similar-sized structure at 16th and Duncan streets.We are excited about Carden Park, said Reed Graves of River Bluffs Architects. Obviously it serves a need in the community and it fits perfectly between Hall and Neely. Its going to fill a need in that neighborhood.Ron Auxier of Ellison-Auxier Architects said it was exciting to be part of the history of the school district. He looked forward to getting the contracts signed to begin the process soon. He said the basic design work is under way.Its a wonderful site to work with, Mr. Auxier said. Were looking forward to coming up with a unique and exciting design to introduce to the school district.Stephen Briggs, the school districts attorney, said contracts for the two firms will be signed no later than Monday.Once theyre actually signed and finalized, well release them to the public, he said.The new schools come by way of a $42 million bond issue that voters passed in April. Part of the money will go to provide air conditioning to the districts elementary schools.The district earlier estimated the total cost to build the school at 16th and Duncan streets at $17.9 million, and the school at Bishop and Cook roads at $15.3 million.Alonzo Weston can be reached at alonzo.weston@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SJNPWeston. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.blog comments powered by

Excerpt from:
School board announces architects

JOPLIN, MO (KCTV) -

In an effort to help the city rebuild after last year's devastating tornado, one Kansas City firm is lending its hand to help design Joplin's new schools.

It's a huge undertaking with the schools covering 223,000-square-feet and a price tag of nearly $50 million.

Hollis + Miller Architects said in a release it is excited about the opportunity to merge architectural design with 21st century educational teaching and learning concepts.

One successful example of the collaborative design process to date features the conjoining of the elementary and middle schools. This solution will not only save the community financially in relation to operation and construction costs, but, most importantly, it will leverage educational benefits for the Joplin community for many generations to come.

The new Joplin Elementary School is designed to house more than 450 elementary students, grades kindergarten through five, and the new Joplin East Middle School is designed to house more than 750 middle school student, grades six through eight.

Hollis + Miller Architects designed the new elementary and middle schools on a 36-acre site.

One of the features of the school is called a "learning park."

"Each one of those rooms have walls. They're glass walls, so you have good visibility and transparency," architect John Brown said. "These walls can open up and create larger areas for big groups, and you can open them up in a variety of ways to regroup and look at students. You can even work where you have all the teachers teaching the same subject at one time in a large group and even breaking out and studying in these individual areas, as opposed to working with English, math and history at different times."

Significant effort and time was spent soliciting input from school district patrons through a series of community forums and work sessions.

Excerpt from:
Architects participate in rebuilding Joplin schools

Two hundred and fifty years ago, brewer Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease for his St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. To commemorate this event, the Guinness company could have rolled out a stretch limousine, but it decided to go one better by launching a deep-sea bar in the chilly waters of the Baltic off Stockholm, Sweden. Designed by London-based Jump Studios, the modified tourist submarine was commissioned as part of the Guinness Sea Experience competition, that included an underwater trip inside the Guinness sub as a prize.

Jump Studios was given the brief of redesigning the interior of the submarine to reflect the Guinness slogan Alive Inside, and with the help of carpentry and engineering specialist Nicholas Alexander created a GRP (glass-reinforced plastic) shell that fits inside the passenger compartment of the submarine. This required taking precise measurements of the complicated interior of the craft, which were then used to fabricate the shell in Britain before shipping it to Sweden for assembly.

The submarine posed a number challenges for the team. The shell not only had to fit inside, but it had to conform to the vessels operational parameters, fit around structural members, not block safety equipment or access to machinery spaces, and meet ventilation and fire safety standards. They also faced the universal problem of working inside a submarine everything had to fit through a small hatch.

So, the shell was built out of six types of modular components that could be fitted inside the cabin to form bars, tables, and seating for five people. The surfaces of these components consisted of bubble-like rubber discs. Some of these were hollowed out to serve as glass holders while others were wired with LED lights to give the sub an appropriately night-clubish atmosphere. The exterior of the submarine has the Guinness 250 logo on the side for the benefit of any passing flounders.

Press releases by Jump Studios dont give any details about the submarine itself, but the photographs show a typical tourist boat of the sort used around the world to take visitors on short trips down to depths of about 330 feet (100 m). The cabin of the vessel remains at surface pressure at all times, which is fortunate. Otherwise, the partygoers would have found their Guinness quite flat and then foaming alarmingly (and dangerously) in their stomachs on returning to the surface.

Among the first passengers were competition winner Evelyne Gridelet and two guests. They were flown from Belgium to the island of Hgmars in the Stockholm Archipelago for their undersea party.

Source: Jump Studios via Arch Daily

More here:
Architects transform submarine into a bar

The recently appointed Town Hall Building Committee agreed to send two requests for proposals for architectural firms Perkins Eastman and KSQ Architects Tuesday night. The RFPs will be for architectural designs on a renovated Town Hall and tiered parking structure at Locust Avenue. Both firms are familiar with the town and its planning projects as KSQ worked on the 2008 Downtown Study and Perkins Eastman recently finished work on the master plan for the Long Range Planning Committee.

"I concur with the original sense of the committee, that working with the two firms that we have worked with in the past is the right way forward for this group," committee member Kathleen Corbet said.

The committee will finalize what exactly they hope to request officially in the RFP by their next meeting May 29 so the firms have a good idea of what the town is looking for when it comes to a new town hall and Locust Avenue lot.

Most of what the panel focused on included flexible space for offices and meeting, historical preservation and costs.

Most of the discussion surrounding the historic aspect of Town Hall dealt with the preservation of the faade out front.

Preservationist Mimi Findlay cited what might be historical on the inside of the building, including the marble flooring and murals in the auditorium.

"It's the culture of the town and it shouldn't be something that's just thrown away," Findlay said.

"It really is a terrific building of craftsmanship."

She suggested that both firms should be investigated and vetted on their historical preservation expertise, something everyone on the committee supported.

"I have a feeling that if there is some extra expense and some consideration given, my guess is there are people that feel strongly enough about it that we might be able to even privately fundraise for some of these things to preserve," said First Selectman Rob Mallozzi.

See more here:
Building committee discusses historic preservation and architects

La Jolla-based architect Trip Bennett (right) and structural engineer Peter Curry received an award from the Utah Heritage Foundation for their work on the Washington School House Hotel.

The La Jolla Historical Societys interim executive director, F. H. Trip Bennett, was recognized this month for helping preserve a piece Park City, Utahs past.

Bennett, a principal at La Jolla-based Bennett + Associates Architecture + Interior Design, along with structural engineer Peter Curry, received a 2012 Heritage Award from the Utah Heritage Foundation for their work on the Washington School House Hotel.

After being gutted to the studs the iconic structure was given a complete historic renovation and restoration, reopening in January as a luxury 12-suite hotel, in time for the Sundance Film Festival.

Built in 1889, the iconic structure is one of Park Citys three original schools. It was nearly destroyed in the citys great fire of 1898, though its sturdy limestone faade remained. Since then, it has been used as a VFW hall and a bed and breakfast, which Bennett said destroyed some of the historical and architectural integrity of the interior.

The award-winning project was featured last week on The Today Show as one of Travel + Leisure magazines Top 50 Best New Hotels in the World.

Local interior designers Paul and Shannon Allen also let their expertise to the project.

For more information, visit washingtonschoolhouse.com

Pat Sherman

Related posts:

Continue reading here:
Architects honored

EDMONTON - Details became clearer Wednesday on what the new home for the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers would look like.

But the question of how much it would cost and who would pay remained as fuzzy as ever.

Architects unveiled for city councillors design sketches and a conceptual video walk-through of the proposed $450-million facility in the city's downtown.

The sketches, leaked to the media weeks earlier, show a futuristic building of wavy lines and curves in zinc, masonry and lots and lots of glass.

The building's shape is meant to resemble an oil drop to honour the name of the team and the province's core industry but practical design functions leave it looking more like a bulbous, backwards letter P.

The rink would be inside the circle of the P. A grand foyer would jut out in a straight line below.

Scott Ralston, an executive with U.S.-based 360 Architecture, said the rink would represent the fluidity of oil, the speed of hockey and the wavy lines of drifting snow.

"The image of the building is really a manifestation of trying to blend all of these inspirations," Ralston said after the presentation at city hall.

"We're trying to convey an iconic landmark building in downtown Edmonton ... that will be a catalyst for future (surrounding) development."

The goal, he said, would be to integrate the rink into the community so it didn't become a shuttered barn that only came alive on hockey nights.

Read the original here:
Architects unveil new sketches, details on proposed arena for NHL Oilers

Tracking commentary and opinion from around Central New York, the state and nation:

Thursday's Topic:

Kirk Narburgh, a partner at King + King Architects in Syracuse, writes about architects in the Readers' Page of today's Post-Standard. Here is his letter:

A recent study by Georgetown University's Center for Education and the Workforce shows that architecture majors have the highest levels of unemployment: 14 percent among bachelor's graduates ages 22 to 26.

Surprised? Don't be. Consider this: Prior to 2008, the construction industry was roughly 10 percent of overall gross domestic product, whereas now it is less than 6 percent. That is a staggering decline, mostly due to a bad economy. But demand for architectural services will rapidly increase in the future. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is projecting a 2.1 percent increase in construction spending this year already (following several years of declines), with a jump to a 6.4 percent increase in 2013. Looking further ahead, we predict that by 2035, 75 percent of the built environment will be new construction or undergo substantial renovations.

As the U.S. economy recovers, pent-up demand will create the need for design expertise in the construction of new buildings. Existing buildings will be adapted to serve new functions and, most importantly, to meet critical new environmental standards. It is well known that our public spaces and infrastructure, in large cities and small towns, need renovation and modernization. Global demand for innovative design remains strong. When the economy recovers, we need the right people doing the right work. If we don't, the ramifications will affect more than just the architecture profession - everyone will lose out on the missed opportunity to improve our communities and aging infrastructure.

So while headlines in The Washington Post like, ''Want a Job? Go to College and Don't Major in Architecture'' make for good copy and increase page views, they are also reactive and shortsighted. Consider what life would be like without architects. Who is directly involved at the ground level of rebuilding efforts following natural disasters? Who would you want designing a hospital where you or a loved one stays after surgery, or designing an educational building for our future leaders?

Architects are vital to the health and well-being of our neighborhoods, cities and communities. During the recession of the early 1990s, which severely affected the real estate industry, so many young architects left the profession because of bleak job prospects that they became known as the ''Lost Generation.'' This left a gaping void of young talent in the design and construction sector once conditions improved. If this happens again, it will hamper the global competitiveness not only of U.S. design and construction firms, but of other industries that look to architects to help them grow and flourish.

Given the challenges that many of our cities and regions currently face, we should be encouraging students to engage in architectural practice and related design disciplines. The worst thing that could come out of this survey's findings would be for a student interested in and passionate about architecture to abandon his or her career plans simply because the industry has been adversely and disproportionately affected by the overall recent economic woes.

Talented individuals have selected architecture as a career for generations, based on the desire to improve the built environment, not just for the money or for the short-term rewards. This is still the case and it is important to note how many dedicated young people still select the profession and work hard, patiently waiting for the appropriate position and compensation, and the opportunity to contribute to improving the architecture of our country and others around the globe.

Read more here:
Opinion today: Architects matter because they improve communities from the ground up