Nancy Cheng's List: arch384s09

Gramazio & Kohler have created sculptural walls with patterns of light apertures. They have used a 5-axis robot to precisely position bricks into elaborate patterns. They have cast panels with parametrically positioned holes so that as the viewer moves around them, the view transforms.

This visual compendium shows beautiful examples of stone masonry. A great number of pages are available in this book preview. I found it when I was looking for images of Kengo Kuma's Stone Museum. Though the resolution of the images is not consistently high, it has some nice features.

Photos taken by Antoine deHon, a UT Austin architecture student. Some nice twilight lighting.

Student report with careful observations about Eero Saarinen's MIT Chapel. Does not address much about the symbolic aspects of the non-denominational building. I like the simplicity of the space with the complexity of the details. The Henry Bertoia sculpture is especially lovely. I did not realize that the little metal tabs are prayers.

Jim Benya summarizes daylighting rules of thumb with accessible Powerpoint slides. His current photos illustrate both common mistakes and recommended practice. His website is full of illustrated presentations and articles from simple to very technical.

Easy to use plug-in for Sketchup works on Windows and Mac. Allows placement of lights, material bump maps, no transparency maps. Start with the free Renditioner Express renders 640 x 480 images, doesn't expire in 30 days. AcademicSuperstore.com sells the full version to students for $89.99.

Physicist Marilyne Anderson's 4.492 Daylighting course includes PowerPoint presentations under Lecture Notes and student projects about the Genzyme building.

See also the 2006 condensed version: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/architecture/4-493-natural-light-in-design-january-iap-2006/lecture-notes/

Examine and vote on your favorite climbing walls. While thin on description and high on novelty, this site shows the boundaries by highlighting the unusual. At the same time, it manages to represent the field.

Canadian rock-climbing championship highlights top climbing facilities. Click on the logos to access the gym websites