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This could be really useful to architects and has probably been created by a couple of them. Basically, you and any number of collaborators can visually “chat” over the net. It works in your browser and no signup is required for the free version. This short video explains it best:
http://woobiuseye.com/
Edit: The website seems to be down of late.
The first line of this article echoes my opinion of the LEED ratings:
“Building green is not about building structures that use lots of materials and energy, and then fixing them so that they become a little more efficient.”
The rest of the piece dives into the foolishness of glass façades, reasons to go local and the need for mandatory green standards in the National Building Code.
Read the full article :: Sunita Narain: Redoing green buildings
I recently wanted to use solar lightpipes for an interior design project but couldn’t find a supplier. Now, there is at least one company making them in India – in Hyderabad to be exact. I haven’t yet asked what the costs are though…
Go to :: Skyshade
On Saturday, I went with clients to help them choose a site they had identified at the gated “Rustic Highlands” development in Khandala. The place itself was nice enough – although I dare say I’ve seen a lot better. What amazed us was that while people had built some massive homes there – many very clearly in crore+ range – not a single one was occupied for the weekend. It was like wandering through a ghost town. I understand that the weather wasn’t the best but come on, not a single occupied place from the scores that we saw?
Laterite blocks
I’ve never done a factory design before so this is going to be a lovely challenge. The clients contacted me because they want a plant which is as ecologically sound as is possible. The site is a 2-acre plot in Cuttack, Orissa on the banks of the Mahanadi. I spent most of my two days in Cuttack absorbing the processes and work-flow of the packaging industry.
It was my first visit to Orissa and a couple of things really surprised me:
calotropis
:: Laterite: I always thought it was a stone found only along the Konkan but apparently the Eastern Ghats have it too. Being found locally, we’ll be using it.
:: Calotropis: This shrub – food plant of the beautiful danaus chrysippus – grows more abundantly than I have seen anywhere before. The local horticulturist called it a weed which was not surprising.