Architectoid

Construction tools are always progressing making the work of what previously took many men to require only few. One of the hardest trades in construction is concrete work because the material is extremely heavy approximately 150 lbs. pcf. In addition the concrete must be poured into forms and requires large amounts of preparation work prior to any concrete can be poured. A common tool that is necessary when pouring a slab is called a screed it is normally a long aluminum tool or wooden board that is manually forced across the surface to level and smooth the wet concrete. Now a new technique is available that uses laser control devies and remote sensors to easily set and control a perfectly leveled surface. Slopes on concrete surfaces can also be set the device and finished rapidly with far less workers. References: http://www.somero.com/ http://www.hicountryconcrete.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54&Itemid=62 ht

The Goldstein Office was designed by John Lautner and was built by general contractor  Roban Poirier  and finished in 1989. The office was only 850 sft and originally located at 10100 Santa Monica Boulevard, on the 20th floor in the Century City business tower of Los Angeles. The office was constructed along the Northern Side of the building with a view of the Los Angeles Country Club and the Santa Monica Mountains beyond. The office space was divided into two areas one for Secretary desk and reception area and the other was Mr. Goldstein's office area. The walls between the areas are partial height and have glass that continues up to meet the undulating douglas fir ceiling. The Secretary walls are clad in black slate as well as the cantilevered desk and floor while Mr. Goldstein's office walls are clad in copper. Photograph by Alan Weinstein, arcaid The office is an exceptional example of late modern design and exemplary craftsmanship.  Roban Poirier proclaimed

Superhydrophobic surfaces are extremely difficult to wet. This type of surface protection occurs at the nanostructure level that prevents water from penetrating the surface by having tightly packed particles and was first observed in nature on plants such as the lotus leaf and became known as the lotus effect. Having surfaces that are superhydrophobic provides a self cleaning characteristic that could be used in an abundant type of applications and provide anti-icing, anti-corrosion, and anti-bacterial traits. The company Never Wet are in the development stages of making a super hydrophobic coating and will be bringing it to the market in 2012. The following videos show the use of the Never Wet coating and its unbelievable ability to bead and eject water that hits its surface. Related Articles: Super Adhesive Super Human Uniforms for sports Biomimetic Architecture References: http://www.neverwet.com/

LIV Nightclub Miami Beach, FL The Lighting design was created by Steve Lieberman of SJ Lighting. See their lighting design work on the SJ lighitng you tube channel. Here is some additional clubs done by SJ Lighting: ROK VEGAS My current Vegas favorite: PURE Las Vegas References: http://www.sjlighting.net/

Climate Zone Map Ref. Cool Climate: use compact forms with the smallest surface area possible relative to the volume use large south-facing windows with small windows on the east and west and with minimal or no windows on the north use interior materials with high thermal mass include summer shading for glazed areas use dark or medium-dark colors for the building exterior Temperate Climates: plan rectangular buildings with long direction oriented east-west axis and facing slightly to the east provide shade in the summer, and allow the sun to fall on glazing and the building in the winter use south facing opening to capture winter sun light plan for cooling effects of wind in the summer, block wind in the winter use medium colors for the building exterior Hot-Humid Climates: provide shade for all openings maximize natural ventilation with large opening, high ceilings, and cross ventilation construct buildings using light materials; minimize therma

Architect Gregory Ain  envisioned modern quality housing at affordable prices. He constructed a series of these houses in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles in the late 1940s after the war. There is now a neighborhood of the mid-century modern houses that are protected by the city of Los Angeles under the Historic Preservation designation. Advertisement from the LA Times 1948 References: http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft6g50073x;chunk.id=d0e4565;doc.view=print http://dogtownink.com/12/case-studie-2-gregory-ain/ http://dogtownink.com/12/case-studies-3-gregory-ain/ http://dogtownink.com/12/case-studie-1-gregory-ain/ http://fixupaddon.blogspot.com/ http://marvistatract.org/history.html