WM Fares Proposal for 5447 Rannie Drive

This post takes a small slide into the realm of the unbuilt.

Before a building can be built, it must be approved, first by the client and then various regulatory bodies. If you are competing for a job, you need to present your idea, in a complete fashion, but cheaply (Since you may not get the Job) To be successful, the Project must be represented in built form, but unbuilt. Traditional this has been done with paper drawings of Plans and Elevations, Sketches over photographs, or models were constructed out of simple foam core, or more complex materials.

At left, is a proposal for a building for for a site at 5447 Rannie Drive in Halifax. We get a nice view of what the finished structure will look like and can immediately form opinions about it. Models like this can easily be built, by anyone for free. This Model was created in an application Called Sketchup.

Sketchup has been Around for a number of years – First as a Standalone Company, then as part of Google, and now as part of Trimble.B Their slogan is 3d for Everyone, and thanks to their time spent as part of Google, have a powerful and simple to use tool (for free) to build models such as the one you see above. They also provide a comprehensive set of tutorials for learning how to use it.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EkfR3vPJmo&w=560&h=315]
once you have the basics, you can view a tutorial on Building a full Site Model.

Its also Worth having a look at the Jim Leggitt’s Drawing Shortcuts Blog. besides using Sketchup, he demonstrates various sketching methods including trace over photographs to show ideas. In His Example below, he shows off a concept for reuse of an existing building.

All of these methods are available to anyone, for very little cost. they allow anyone, to develop alternative proposals that can be shared and debated, and be clearly understood by the public.