East Windsor Residence_Alterstudio Architects, LLP

From the outside alone one could guess that the view from the top floor of this residence is nothing to joke about. The principle Archtiect Keven Alter is quoted as saying, " Despite its four bedrooms, the three-story house is essentially a one-bedroom loft." The top floor is said to present a 270 degree view. The oak looking facade over the stony base of the structure presents a mixture of materials that balances out the visual experience of the exterior of the work. Its is not surprising that the client a radiologist and a father of five commented on how the whole process of the design and construction took him to a new level intellectually. The structure just looks like it was fun to build! Maybe that the trick to good architecture. Make it look like its a breeze to put together. Actually that not a bad approach to most works of art!

Alpers - Jannetta Residence

Architect Paul Lukez of Paul Lukez Arhcitecture used the vacation home of a client into a dream house. Acording to Lukez the original home was not as inviting as it could be with the living room being place in the center of the structure making the living space look a bit dark and uninviting.

As seen above one of the many improvements to the structure allowed the client to take advantage of a more elegant and natural use of external light dew to the use of vaulted ceiling. The side placement of the most important rooms such as the dinning rooms and bed rooms also helps with the issue of lighting. the correct use of light in architecture can make or break an entire work if it is not considered correctly.

Seadrift Residence-CCS Architecture

San Francisco-based architect Cass Calder Smith, AIA’s has managed to give the client the type of experience that one would have sitting in a beach house off the coast of Miami Beach, only this is neccisarily on a coast. This work dubbed the Seadrift Residence is actually located at the mouth of Balinas Lagoon in a small town located in Stinson Beach, California. Waterfront property can pose a great challenge for the architect because you have to achieve a balance between what the client wants, what possible on the edge of the water and what looks good in that particular atmosphere. It sort of looks like the architect envisioned some sort of dock and built the house from that vision. I wouldn't be surprised if the client feels as if they are partially residing on the water. It's funny how proximity to a body of water can make anything look light as a feather.

New Media/Design/Artist?

This whole idea of media arts/new media/design is a really eye opening experience for me. I have countless conversations with myself on a daily basis just asking myself where I fit in all of this. It makes me wonder what the DESIGN of my life is. How do I design my life? What are the rules? What will I accomplish? What will I end up doing? I mean I know we all have an idea of the career field's that we want to get into but what about success? How do you design a life of success? Is there a method or do you just chop away and hope the tree falls? I have to say that the whole issue is mind boggling to me. Sometimes I think about it all and I just wish that I was the type of person who was content just getting a job and living a simple life. Sometimes I feel like my desire to design things and analyze everything is what holds me back. On one hand I love to attempt to design things and I am working on a few personal projects but the fact that I don't know that I will be successful sometimes palatalizes me. I have good idea's and then I realize that there really is nothing that special about what I am trying to do and then I get down and critique my self into not moving further. I wish that someone would tell me how to DESIGN my mental processes. Maybe I'm just thinking too much. maybe I need to just do what ever it is that I want to do and not worry about what will happen.

the Pyramids Indianapolis

The Pyramids located on the upper west side of Indianapolis just off of 465 were constructed in 1972 for CP Pyramids and Associates LP. Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC, were the principal designer is Kevin Roche was responsible for the architecture. Roche is known for his grand facades. I wonder what made the company build these so far from downtown. The Pyramids are the tallest buildings in Indiana's Marion county Pike Township. All three structures are connected through basement and ground level corridors. It seems as though Indianapolis is one of the most spread out cities in the nation. You can find pockets of great architecture all over the city. I have driven by these three structures countless times so one day I just parked in the parking lot and decided to take some photos. I notices that Indiana Tech and The Institute of Art are tenant's of these properties. I think the structure obviously is capable of meeting the needs of smaller private schools like the Art Institutes. My only problem is the location. I know that it is located in a business district that features a lot of big companies. But when you think of something like this you think it should be downtown or something overlooking the city! Well regardless of where they are located they are definitely an Indianapolis landmark.

Good Idea/Bad Idea

I'd like to critique one of my own ideas in this blog post. Last week Wednesday I proposed that there could be some sort website that took the photos from a consumer's phone and placed on a postcard to send to the address of their choice for a minimal fee. At the time I felt as though it would be something really cool and convenient for people who traveled a lot, especially those who traveled overseas on a regular basis. You know like military personnel. Over the weekend I mulled over the idea and I realized that it's actually a lousy idea. The problem is virtually NOBODY is interested in receiving or sending postcards nowadays! Really the only time you really see a postcard in use is for a business promotion. People don't even want paper billing anymore! Why would they want to have a postcard with a picture on it from someones 1 mega pixel camera phone? People send images all the time over the web. I think that it is important to know when you have a good idea vs. when a good idea has you.

The Crystal Cathedral

This play is otherworldly. It looks like something straight out of snow white. The structure above is refered to as the Crystal Cathedral. It is owned by Chrystal Cathedral Ministeries headed by Dr. Robert H. Schuller. I have watched this ministries television broadcast and I got the impression that there was some sort of man maid rain forest just behind the pool pit area. Its almost as if they told the architect to make it look like Jesus and his host of angels were tenets. The towering structure on the right is referred to as the Tower of Hope. It was originally commissioned in 1961 to noted architect Richard Neutra. It was completed in 1969. Dr. Schuller commissioned architect Phillip Johnson to design the sanctuary referred to as the Crystal Cathedral.

Float Glass set

This is an interesting set of glasses. I am a tea drinker. I prefer to drink out of a clear tea cup. I also would love to have some sort of dish that i could steep the tea in before I actually drink it. The pitcher being used to poor above. For me aesthetics may or may not be enough to win me over. If I had the money the aesthetics of this would have won me over. But it actually has an added bonus of functionality in my opinion. this set is also good for cold beverages. I imagine that the materials used to make this set are a little different that the usual glass making tools.

Triplet Square furniture

I think that I tend to like stuff that makes me think I can build it myself if I go to the hardware store. That couldn't be farther from the truth. I'm sure if I had months of time on my hand I probably could hack it out but without a knowledge of spacial relations and carpentry I doubt it would be as structurally sound as the above piece of furniture. It takes very clever application to build this thing and actually make it stand for a prolonged period of time. I actually saw a piece in someone's house that looks almost exactly like this. the beautiful thing about this is it can stand in the middle of the room. It doesn't have to be propped up against a wall. I think that the artist most likely had that in mind.

Ultra sleek chair

I think when a consumer is buying poolside furniture they may be more concerned with how they look lying in it more so than what it feels like to lay in the thing. I mean look at this! the thing is almost aesthetically intimidating! It practically says,"Russian blond super models only!" Above and beyond that you can't just put these anywhere. Well i guess if you pay for it you can but It would only look right in some ultra modern mansion some where in Beverly Hills! Its funny how a product can actually designed so well its intimidating.

3d Chess

I'd like to address the practicality of what we have above. Sure it looks nice. I understand what is being displayed visually. But is it worth playing on? In my opinion no. I cant see anyone being able to actually hack out a game of chess on this board. Its just way to cramped! The problem is that if the board is not flat then you wont be able to maneuver pieces without knocking over other pieces. I guess if the board is big enough you may be able to maneuver around that. The other problem is that you would have to stand in order to see the entire board! that wouldn't make for a very comfortable game of chess seeing as though the game takes so long to play. Also it would be very hard to brew up a strategy because of the limited vision. You would probably not notice the proper angles to work you bishops and queen because the board is not flat.

Abacus iPhone app

I used this image for one of my class projects. I'd like to take about it because the image is very interesting when you look at what is being displayed. this is an iPhone showing an app that allows you to use an abacus. How ironic is that? Its an iPhone! The iPhone is one of the more advanced cellular devices on the market. It is shown here useing a 5000 year old device called an abacus. The use of the abucus is said to date back about 2700 B.C. to the ancient Mesopotamians. I wonder if any of them ever thought there would be a divice called a phone, let alond a phone that conects people through a satelite system. Now this ancient way of counting and calculating numbers can be used on one of the most cutting edge devices of our time! And get this. There are technologies that make the iPhone look outdated! The real kicker is that the abucus can be used to calculate some numbers much faster than an iPhone can. If one learned how to use an abacus correctly one be able to use the abucus to perform a calculation like [(89-75+47) / 67 )* (46)*(302334343) ] in seconds while on the contrary you cant even calcualte this type of proplem on an iphone or even most hand held calculators! What does all of this have to do with design? Well I think that the mind pocess of someone who could figure out how to invent and abacus is mindboggling. How could you invent and analog calculation device that can challenge calculation devices built thousands of years ago? What aren't we thinking about that they were thinking about?

Computer Rockin Chair

Yet another overpriced minimally useful product hits the market. I cant imagine why they would even advertise this as the ultimate work station. What kind of work can you do in a chair like this? I guess I could think of a few things that are not appropriate to comment on in this blog. I wonder why they named it the Computer Rockin Chair. Don't get me wrong it is a very chic and beautifully designed product that may very well be a joy to sit in but I wonder how anyone could manage to actually get a lot of work done in it! I guess you could just sit in it while you use your lap top. The problem is that the human spine is not circular. I could imagine this thing causing some serious back and neck pain after regular usage. I once fell asleep in a chair shaped like this and in the morning I had the worst back ache ever. I think sometimes great design is mistaken for great aesthetics.

The healthy "look"

I wonder if people realize how much our world depends on aesthetics. I found this photo online and began to wonder about the "look" of health. It seems as though certain things just look more healthy than other things. Lets start with a health club. If I go there and the building looks really crummy the machines are old and clunky it would probably be harder for me to open myself up to joining because I'm not getting the aesthetics that I want. Thats why I just workout at home. But if you go to another gym and the building looks really modern and the machines are all new machines with touchscreen interfaces and they offer the newest fad in exercise science then one may be more inclined to join. I feel that way about personal trainers also. I can't stand people who head fitness classes that are not in tiptop shape. What does all of this have to do with new media? Well I think that its worth exploring because the health industry is so huge. The health industry always needs new ways to market a product, place, or person. I wonder if the ancient yogi's understood that yoga 'looked' healthy. It has certainly become an immensely popular exercise. More so than that it is such a good way to market a mediated experience related to health. Doesn't that woman just look so healthy? And no one looks at that and wonders what they have to sacrifice to look like her. They just say what can I do in the next to weeks to look like that? As new media professionals it will be our jobs to help trick consumers into thinking that such a solution exist.

Bionic Contact Lenses and Augmented Reality

Developed by engineers at the University of Washington, these bionic contact lenses are promised to do some very extrodinary things. They are capable of increasing nightvision, zooming in and out, and most importantly Augmented Reality. Augmented reality is very important because it has such mind boggling posibilities in the realm of what you might call new media.

Augmented reality is somewhat like virtual reality except instead of completely replacing an individuals field of vision with computer or virtual space, it actually allows you to see things on top of what you see in the real world. It is said that this type of technology will pick up where the rest of the industry is stuck meaning that it can compensate for the short comings of microcomputer screens. Everyone is so obsessed with small screens and watching movies on cell phones and iTouch devices. What about creating a movie that would blend in perfectly with the reality that you see? Or think of what this could mean for the world of psychology and education. Imagine being able to go to class and instead of having to look at the over head the whole class just syncs there bionic lenses with the teachers and then you get a customized lesson plan according to data collected over the span of your educational career. Imagine the rich media applications that could be made if this was linked with the Neuro-signal Acquisition and Processing Wireless Neuroheadset that I blogged about earlier. Being able to move superimposed images and graphics to suit your media needs is just the tip of the iceberg. I don't even want to think about what the military could do with this!

Country Time Safe

Cutting Edge Products, LLC is a manufacturer that specializes in creating products that can be used as safes but they look like everyday products. The average consumer will look at this and think that this is such a great idea. But at a close glance theres one big problem. What will happen if the safe is sitting around and someone is cleaning up and decides to throw the cans away? Also if you try to but this somewhere like on a book shelf or something it will look so out of place that a robber may notice that it must be a disguise because it should not be in such an unlikely place. Also I think that a safe that is this small doesn't have much of a practical use. What can you put in it besides a couple of dollars and some small jewelry? I think the only real use would be for a small time drug peddler who needs to hid crack rock when the police come and raid his corner. Its funny how this thing was invented to prevent theft but would actually be of more use to a street corner hustler!

The 01 Phone

Companies Alloy and T3 have joined together to create a phone that supposedly is going to blow the iPhone and all other smart phones out of the water. I think the design alone is pretty cool. The feature that I think I would enjoy the most is the keypad. Although it has a full touch interface you can slide down a rubber key pad. But thats not the catch because other phones can do that. The kicker is that the keypad content actually changes depending on what you are doing with the phone! If your using the calculator app then it will change to a calculator. If you playing a game then the keypad will form a video game controller. Also it is said that there is an alternate design were the keypad can be projected onto a hard service. the companies that designed the phone are said to have relied heavily on consumer input to drive the creative direction of the phone. The 01 Phone is said to be hitting the market in 28 days. I am beginning to doubt if it is really a possibility of this phone being made because there is a petition on the website to get a manufacturer to actually make the phone. http://www.the01phone.com/

mint.com

Aron Patzer founded mint.com after noticing how hard it was to use Intuit's Quicken. I thing that it is interesting to note the reason for why he came to the point of invention. It wasn't some desire to necessarily change the way people manage their money. It was because of a simple frustration that I myself can relate to. Me and my wife decided to give up on Quicken and Quickbooks because although the software is nice it is basically designed for someone who has the time to go through weeks and weeks of online tutorials and/or has a B.A. in finance or accounting. It is not very user friendly and is defiantly not the type of software that you can just pick up and run with.. Mint.com is very easy to use and get this...it's free! I think that it is very important that us media arts people realize that its not about simply making a cool game or a catchy commercial or fictional experience. Sometimes we have to look around and just realize that the world is full of things that need fixing. I think it is easy to get caught up in the hype and not realize our responsibility to contribute more to the world than a plethora of games and fictional content. I think that this is one of the cornerstones of this course. I actually think that this is what these blogs are all about. One can't possibly call himself a professional at anything that he/she is not willing to commit a daily allotment of time to. I think we get caught up in the hype and think that inventors and startup moguls are these people that are so smart. The truth is they are not afraid to see were the process takes them. They don't lie to them selves and say, "I can't think of anything", "I don't know what I am doing," and so on. You cant use those excuses when it comes to the real world because the world can't use people who are to lazy to think. So today I will make an effort to stop relying on my wits and rely on the process working through the process that leads true problem solving.

Ridiculous Treehouse

this is crazy! A tree house the size of mansion! This thing is 11 stories high and 90 feet tall. I wonder how many rooms it has! What purpose could a tree house this big serve? I mean it wouldn't be very warm seeing as though it has so many open spaces. I wonder if you can get electricity in there! This would be ideal for some sort of children's theme park or something. I like to know if an architect had something to do with this or is this some sort of ongoing nostalgic community project. I'd like to at least tour the thing and see what its like on the inside. I think that this could also be a very good way to provide shelter to animals.

Neuro-signal Acquisition and Processing Wireless Neuroheadset

Amazing! The scientist at Emotiv (http://www.emotiv.com/), a science laboratory founded in 2003 buy four award winning scientist have come up with a device that allows you to move things with your mind is finally hear. Well at least in virtual reality. With this device you can move things in a virtual reality setting such as a computer interface. It is said that this could be the next big was in human technology interaction. Although it is mainly being proposed as a way to manipulate virtual realities one can only imagine the possibilities. It would be a fairly smooth progression to move from this to a system were this is connected to a machine that could manipulate things in real life. Talk about interactivity. Its funny how things can advanced that they actually redefine the meaning of a word! What would interactivity mean when interactivity turns into a concept that means literally moving things with your mind and not using any sort of muscular activity! I wish there was some sort of way to try one of these things out. They are actually on the market and they are not as expensive as one would think. The device and license for the accompanying software can be bought directly off of the emotive website at http://www.emotiv.com/developers.html.