OUTR Blog

Urban Realities Post Event Film Launch

2011-12-06T16:11:00.000+11:00

Post event film launch
Thursday 15th Dec
YouTube link coming soon.

Urban Realities published in ARTICHOKE

2011-12-06T15:59:00.000+11:00

ARTICHOKE
November Issue
Page 87

Urban Realities published in LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Australia

2011-12-06T15:55:00.000+11:00

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Australia
Page 18.
November 2011

Urban Realities published in the Australian Design Review

2011-12-06T15:51:00.000+11:00

For more information visit the website below:

http://australiandesignreview.com/feature/24349-Urban-Realities-Landscape-Urbanism

SolarSinter by Markus Kayser

2011-10-06T09:16:00.000+11:00

Text below from Markus Kayser web site, please visit to read more......

"In August 2010 I took my first solar machine - the Sun-Cutter - to the Egyptian desert in a suitcase. This was a solar-powered, semi-automated low-tech laser cutter, that used the power of the sun to drive it and directly harnessed its rays through a glass ball lens to ‘laser’ cut 2D components using a cam-guided system. The Sun-Cutter produced components in thin plywood with an aesthetic quality that was a curious hybrid of machine-made and “nature craft” due to the crudeness of its mechanism and cutting beam optics, alongside variations in solar intensity due to weather fluctuations.In the deserts of the world two elements dominate - sun and sand. The former offers a vast energy source of huge potential, the latter an almost unlimited supply of silica in the form of quartz. The experience of working in the desert with the Sun-Cutter led me directly to the idea of a new machine that could bring together these two elements. Silicia sand when heated to melting point and allowed to cool solidifies as glass. This process of converting a powdery substance via a heating process into a solid form is known as sintering and has in recent years become a central process in design prototyping known as 3D printing or SLS (selective laser sintering).

These 3D printers use laser technology to create very precise 3D objects from a variety of powdered plastics, resins and metals - the objects being the exact physical counterparts of the computer-drawn 3D designs inputted by the designer. By using the sun’s rays instead of a laser and sand instead of resins, I had the basis of an entirely new solar-powered machine and production process for making glass objects that taps into the abundant supplies of sun and sand to be found in the deserts of the world."

Sun Cutter Project by Markus Kayser

2011-10-06T09:11:00.000+11:00

The Sun Cutter Project explores the potential of harnessing sunlight directly to produce objects. The machine is a low-tech, low energy version of a laser cutter. It uses pure sunlight, focused by a ball lens, to repeatedly cut programmed shapes in up to 0.4mm thick plywood as well as paper and card. The project also explores the merit of analogue mechanized production that draws on the machine technology found in pre-digital machinery and automaton. It uses a cam system, moving an X & Y- board to control the shape of the cut. The cams are set into synchronized motion by a small solar-powered motor driving a timing belt.Each pair of sunglasses made, even though very similar in shape, is still unique, creating a juxtaposition between the machine-made, repetitive and individual, unique object.

Text taken from Markus Kayser's web page, so please visit to read and see more.

Open source Laser Cutter

2011-09-30T14:52:00.001+10:00

Link to website for open source downloads

The 3D Printer That Prints Itself

2011-09-30T14:44:00.003+10:00

"For geeks it has to be the ultimate DIY project. A build-it-yourself, entirely open-source 3D printer. And here is the clever thing about it, not only is it an open source project, but it is self-replicating; you can use your 3Dprinter to print yourself another 3D printer.Called RepRap, it has more than an air of Heath Robinson about it, with its open circuit boards, gears and worm drives. But it is a fully functioning 3D printer, which you can build yourself, for less than £500.Dr. Adrian Bowyer, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bath, is the man behind it. At yesterday’s glittering Founders Forum, a gathering of the start up elite, Dr. Bowyer rather stood out.Among the stellar guest list (which apart from a who’s who of CEOs included people as diverse as Prince Andrew, Dr. Brian Cox and television presenter Davina McCall) of the typically young and sharply dressed, Dr. Bowyer, who admitted to being not quite the wrong side of 60, and dressed as befits his profession, charmed this tough crowd with his presentation. After the talk he had many of Europe’s elite crowding around him.

The printer was putting manufacturing into the hands of everybody, he said. He showed some of the products the printer could make, from children’s shoes to a model of a gothic cathedral. You can use the printer to make your own keys—which last for about a week or so. When they break, just print yourself a new one.In addition to the open-source printer, there is also an open website (www.thingiverse.com) where people can share their designs allowing anyone to share their work. It is sort of the App Store for 3D printing.

The underlying language, STL, is also an open standard.Three dimensional printing works in a similar way to bubble-jet printing, but rather than squirting ink, it lays down layers of material to form a solid object. The raw material for the printer is a cheap plastic, typically from recycled material. Dr. Bowyer said a 1Kg drum cost about £30.The obvious question is who would want a 3D printer? Well among the harder-core geek crowd it was actually completely the opposite question—who wouldn’t want one?Alex Ljung, CEO of the Berlin-based Soundcloud, one of the entrepreneurs gathered around Dr. Bowyer, said he thought giving people the ability to manufacture their own products was all part of the democratization of the web.“What will they make? Who knows? But who knew what people would do with YouTube when you gave people the ability to share their own videos? Who knows what people will do with sound on Soundcloud? That is what is so important about these technologies. You are giving ordinary people a voice, in video, in sound and now in 3D printing.”Also watching was Lisa Harouni, MD of Digital Forming, a company aimed at making 3D printing technology more accessible by allowing anyone to design products over the web.She showed high-end products, including chain mail, made from metals such as titanium, bronze and stainless steel, that demonstrated the intricate detail possible with the 30 micron resolution achievable by high-end printers. Other technologies can achieve resolution down to 5 microns. A human hair is 40 to 120 microns in diameter." Link to article

OUTR's Amanda @ Joyland, Wujin, China

2011-07-01T11:41:00.004+10:00

OUTR has recently returned from their recent trip to China as apart of the Australian Urban Systems (AUS). Amanda Min and Craig Douglas presented OUTRS work in Hong Kong, Nanjing, Yancheng and Changzhou. Co-inciding with this trip was site visits to Wolfgang and Joyland within the Wujin district of Changzhou.

Above Amanda is testing out the 3D games room within the Joyland park.

OUTR in Melbourne Hot Spots

2011-06-30T13:56:00.002+10:00

Image Copyright to the City of Melbourne

OUTR has been published in this seasons HotSpots Guide to Melbourne. HotSpots created by the City of Melbourne is a Freepocket size guide to the eclectic world of the Melbourne urban culture.

Hot spots seeks to highlighting emergingurban culture and industries with helpful maps and information that guide localsand internationals through many of Melbournes new and hidden bars, shopping, caféand significant events that are taking place.

OUTR Team (From left to right) Amanda Min, Greg Afflick, TomHarper, Joseline Setiawan, Craig Douglas,Kathryn English, Rosalea Monacella.

Landscape Urbanism Urban Realities 3 Day Challenge

2011-06-17T15:52:00.002+10:00

For more information on the Landscape Urbanism Urban Realities 3 Day Design Challenge click here

Futuristic DJ Desk

2011-06-07T14:28:00.001+10:00

OK so the music not the greatest but i do love the idea of this interactive DJ Desk.

Islands To Treasure

2011-06-07T13:30:00.002+10:00

Urban Abstract - by Jopsu Ramu and Timo Huhtala

2011-05-24T14:06:00.004+10:00

Some time ago we found this Animation by Jopsu Ramu and Timo Huhtala which is quite clever in terms of an abstract creation of urban spaces and of flows of infrastructure embedded into them. Conceived (to our understanding) entirely in Adobe After Effects, the film is a narration on points and lines that compose parts of this surreal city.

Urban Shopping?????

2011-05-22T16:05:00.000+10:00

Analog IPAD Animation

2011-05-17T21:28:00.000+10:00

stupidtelligence

2011-05-15T18:30:00.002+10:00

no need to say anymore....

Baby REMS

2011-05-05T17:50:00.003+10:00

St Wolfgang Conceptual Apartments

2011-04-15T10:43:00.006+10:00

China Office ICDA +OUTR

2011-04-14T15:57:00.000+10:00

Lunch time at the ICDA office.

A Changzhou Morning

2011-04-14T13:37:00.001+10:00

St Wolfgang Models

2011-04-13T13:17:00.000+10:00

Shanghai skyline 10th April 2011

2011-04-13T11:36:00.000+10:00

St Wolfgang Site visit

2011-04-12T11:58:00.000+10:00

OUTR Visit Joyland Site

2011-04-12T11:55:00.004+10:00

On the weekend we travelled to the Joyland theme park site.

"The park is located in the city of Changzhou, in a valley right by the Yangtze River. While Changzhou is a third-tier, business-driven city, Joyland’s website stresses that the park is a mere two hour drive from Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou.More importantly, Joyland is just the first stage of a much larger project. In addition to the amusement park, the valley will be turned into a massive gamer’s paradise, including a museum of video games, a stadium for online sporting events and an “anime and game expo pavilion” will provide a space for gamers to trade digital content and share anime art.While China’s economy surges from industrial manufacturing towards a more innovative, technology-oriented future, creative industry playgrounds such as this one have been popping up nationwide. There is no doubt that a killing is to be made by exploiting appealing to young video game enthusiasts.Gaming is already the largest market by revenue in China’s internet industry, earning $3.57 billion in 2009. According to a forecast by Niko partners, that number is expected to rise to $9.2 billion by 2014."

Text Sourced from: motherboard.tv

OUTR in Changzhou

2011-04-07T18:28:00.004+10:00

Five team members of OUTR have set up office in Changzhou in China. We are currently working on the first stage of construction documentation for the St Wolfgang project in collaboration with ICDA. Below is an image of our new office in the ICDA building.

The apartment that wasn’t......

2011-04-05T18:43:00.000+10:00

OUTR has been hunting for an apartment to rent for theduration of our stay in Changzhou. We have met a lot of gracious locals, aswell as taking in the sites of this ever changing city. We hope to be able todo a lot more of this while spending time in China.

OUTR - Maglev into Shanghai

2011-04-05T18:36:00.000+10:00

30 km in just 7 minutes 20 seconds......

Maglev (derived from magnetic levitation), is a system of transportation that suspends, guides and propels vehicles, predominantly trains, using magnetic levitation from a very large number of magnets for lift and propulsion. This method has the potential to be faster, quieter and smoother than wheeled mass transit systems. The power needed for levitation is usually not a particularly large percentage of the overall consumption; most of the power used is needed to overcome air drag, as with any other high speed train.The highest recorded speed of a Maglev train is 581 kilometres per hour (361 mph), achieved in Japan in 2003, only 6 kilometres per hour (3.7 mph) faster than the conventional TGV wheel-rail speed record.

Source: Wikipedia

ReHiding Published in Competitions Magazine*'s e-zine

2011-03-29T22:42:00.001+11:00

"Office of Urban Transformations Research, Australia. Re-Hiding. The metal ‘hide’ can be repositioned to accommodate shifting programs seasonally.The development of living systems proved to be a winning strategy at the Signal House site as well. Located just steps down the canal, a planted skin was the winning entry--transforming an abandoned tower into a vertical planting site. Once an operational hub for the rail line, this narrow, graffitti-covered tower has come to be one of Griffintown's most beloved landmarks. The Office of Urban Transformations Research (OUTR)--based at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia--envisioned a winning second skin for this hollow structure. Re-Hiding wraps a playful metal mesh around the tower, creating a new temporary 'hide' for the emblematic carcass. The hide functions as a versatile planting frame, capable of being adjusted to maximize seasonal light levels, and folding onto itself to become seating and bicycle parking as it meets the ground. Like a snake's skin, the hide is designed to be shed when no longer needed."For more information on the article please go to www.competitions.org

Martin Jacques: Understanding the rise of China

2011-03-22T14:33:00.000+11:00

Anthony Atala: Printing a human kidney

2011-03-22T14:28:00.001+11:00

Packing Tape Installation

2011-03-11T14:19:00.001+11:00

We recently stumbled across a fantastic installation by numen/for use design collective, which uses nothing but packing tape to create huge, spider web like form that is self-supporting. Visitors can climb inside and explore the design which used nearly 117,000 feet and 100 pounds of tape. Please visit their the numem/for use website for more.... Also visit Morfae for more images....

Wolfgang Hotel 3D print

2011-03-09T08:45:00.005+11:00

Recently we decided to 3D powder print the Hotels that were designed for the Wolfgang Mountain Resort in China. Please visit our web site for more...

CGI Animation-Frank Lloyd Wright Masterpiece

2011-03-08T13:32:00.003+11:00

Fallingwater from Cristóbal Vila on Vimeo.
Created by Christobal Vila

Mapping Urban WiFi hidden surfaces

2011-03-06T08:59:00.003+11:00

This project is called "Immaterials: light painting WiFi film" by Timo Arnall, Jørn Knutsen and Einar Sneve Martinussen, and is about exploring and revealing WiFi networks in the context of their urban environments.

"The city is filled with an invisible landscape of networks that is becoming an interwoven part of daily life. WiFi networks and increasingly sophisticated mobile phones are starting to influence how urban environments are experienced and understood. We want to explore and reveal what the immaterial terrain of WiFi looks like and how it relates to the city."

Please also visit YOUrban for more info

Immaterials: Light painting WiFi from Timo on Vimeo.

TimeScapes: Rapture

2011-03-04T13:27:00.000+11:00

After some thought we decided to post this landscape related time-lapse film by Tom Lowe.

TimeScapes: Rapture from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo.

Lake Taihu Flow Diagram

2011-03-03T14:08:00.001+11:00

Save Now

Bus tube 3D powder print

2011-03-03T08:32:00.002+11:00

Recently we decided to print the Bus tube that was designed for our blooming boulevard project in China. Please visit our web site for more...

Compositing the Third & the Seventh

2011-03-02T13:12:00.002+11:00

So after viewing the Third & the Seventh you still think parts were filmed? Then view the film below which is equally as rich and mind blowing.
Compositing Breakdown (T&S) from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

the Third & the Seventh

2011-03-01T12:43:00.060+11:00

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.
"A FULL-CG animated piece that tries to illustrate architecture art across a photographic point of view where main subjects are already-built spaces. Sometimes in an abstract way. Sometimes surreal." text extracted from the third and the seventh web site

This has to be the most amazing CGI architectural generated film we have ever seen. The creator is Alex Roman, (real name is Jorge Seva) and he is a extremely talented architectural VIS artist.
Once you see this film we am sure you will agree!
Even though we have known about this film for quite awhile (after a friend of ours referred us to it), we thought that it was well over due that we should post it, and the links to the original web site and interviews with the creator, which are extremely interesting.

Interview with Alex Roman
the Third and the Seventh web site

OUTR Runs 'Game On' Design Studio

2011-02-28T10:16:00.001+11:00

Over the last 2 weeks, Rosalea Monacella and Craig Douglas have run an intensive upper pool studio called 'Game On'

The Game On Design Research Studio explores the landscape design project as one of strategy, opportunity and multi scenarios. It considers site as a game board, a set of complex systems and operations from which a design emerges, plugs in, responds and reconfigures.

The studio is intended to respond to the challenges of a complex rapidly changing world through innovative design at the juncture of the urban and natural environments. We will explore how we might design UP from the landscape that includes a deep knowledge of systems and relationships that is the non static data field of landscape architecture.

Redundant and out-moded industrial city waterfronts are the new territory for the renewal and expansion of cities around the world, this studio is to respond to the Second Decade of the Melbourne Docklands objectives, www.docklandsseconddecade.com. We will explore emerging opportunities and necessities in the Melbourne Docklands, and will act as a think tank for new ideas and solutions to urban waterfront environments. This will include examining convergent issues that will define and articulate key design led solutions needed to enable a highly mobile, efficient and sustainable living environment for a rapidly changing population demographic in the Melbourne Docklands.

Update on Griffintown Interrupted

2011-02-17T16:49:00.000+11:00

Late last year OUTR's Re-Hiding became a finalist and won for the Signal House proposition in the Griffintown Competition, Montreal, Canada. Recently the organisers held an exhibition which was attended by two hundred guests at the opening reception, celebrating Griffintown and 40 transformative architectural interventions. If you are interested in more images form the event please click here to visit their Flickr page.Also there is going to be a digital publication launch in March, so we will post as details come to hand........

Competition background info:
Participants and the public were invited to join an online debate about the proposals, leading up to a vote on the proposals shortlisted by the jury. (07 December – 17 January 2010) Finalist proposals will become part of an open-ended design scheme for Griffintown, in a digital exhibition and digital publication which engage users, designers and jurists.

Photos below by Alexis Schneider

OUTR Vue

2011-02-09T19:29:00.000+11:00

Recently we have been doing plenty of testing in an attempt to find better ways to animate and represent complexity within the landscapes dynamic systems. Above is a short animation that was rendered off as an initial test towards this.
We expect that our testing with this tool will expand our ability to understand, simulate, represent, visualise and push our designs, not to mention what this means for Landscape Architecture and the default practice of many design firms (including us at times), to rely heavily and only on static conventions and modes of working. For us this is not just about visualisation in a traditional sense, but rather and more importantly a tool with which we can drive and embed into our design process and outcomes.
Thanks must also go to imakeu for the non-animated base tutorial file.

Conceptual Masterplan proposal approved, and to be built.......

2011-02-03T12:09:00.001+11:00

OUTRs Conceptual Masterplan proposal for a Hotel Complex and Mountain Resort near Lake Taihu Bay in China is set to be built.
The work has been approved and we will now be continuing into stage 2, detailing...
Please also click here to visit our web site to view part of the Conceptual Masterplan Animation.

Overview of the masterplanView of the hotel entrance

Yasi developement

2011-02-02T14:27:00.000+11:00

Monster Cyclone approaching Coast

2011-02-01T09:36:00.000+11:00

The raw power of the planet is once again on display in Queensland......Evacuations are under way in North Queensland as communities along the coast prepare for a Cyclone Yasi that has stunned experienced weather watchers with its size and force.It's expected to cross the coast as a severe category four (just days after Cyclone Anthony (CAT 2)), with winds gusting up to 250km/h, very late on Wednesday night into Thursday morning.Read more...

Click here to see updated image

Koolhass Interview with Financial Times

2011-01-23T13:51:00.000+11:00

interview

Biomimetic design - Festo's InteractiveWall

2011-01-18T08:15:00.001+11:00

Biomimetic design - Festo's Air Jelly

2011-01-17T08:10:00.002+11:00

Air is the element of Air Jelly. The remote controlled jellyfish "AirJelly" does not swim through water like aqua jelly, but glides through air. It's has a central electric drive and an intelligent, adaptive mechanical system and consists of a helium-filled ballonet. Each tentacle is a structure based on the Fin Ray Effect ®. The drive of a balloon through a peristaltic motion is now in the aviation history. AirJelly is the first indoor flying object with peristaltic drive. The jellyfish moves thanks to this new drive concept, a reaction principle based on the drive, pushing it gently through the air.

Please also see their work on CyberKite, AirRay among others that have been inspired through looking at movement in marine creatures. Festo's Website

3D Architecture Projection Mapping

2011-01-16T16:43:00.000+11:00

We are always looking for innovative ways to think about, and represent forms in Architecture. Today we were reminded of what is possible through 3D projected Architecture. There are many similar examples on the web and maybe you might have been fortunate enough to see some of these live. Here is a few of our favorites….. (just remember these are ordinarily static buildings)Both of these are by NuFormer, please visit their web site and enjoy some of their work below...
NuFormer - California, USA. August 2010 from NuFormer Projection on Vimeo.

NuFormer - Nespresso, Brussels, May 2010 from NuFormer Projection on Vimeo.

OUTR - The Chemical Brothers - Another World

2011-01-11T08:59:00.001+11:00

OUTR - Trimensional: 3D Scanner for iPhone

2011-01-10T00:03:00.000+11:00

A Physicist Solves the City

2010-12-21T17:52:00.004+11:00

"Geoffrey West set out to solve the City. As he points out, this is an intellectual problem with immense practical implications. Urban population growth is the great theme of modern life, one that’s unfolding all across the world, from the factory boomtowns of Southern China to the sprawling favelas of Rio de Janeiro. As a result, for the first time in history, the majority of human beings live in urban areas. (The numbers of city dwellers are far higher in developed countries — the United States, for instance, is 82 percent urbanized.) Furthermore, the pace of urbanization is accelerating as people all over the world flee the countryside and flock to the crowded street."

By JONAH LEHRER
Published: December 17, 2010, New York Times

for more info click New York Times

OUTR Finalist of Griffintown Competition, Montreal, Canada

2010-12-18T15:08:00.014+11:00

OUTR's Re-Hiding is a finalist for the Signal House proposition in the Griffintown Competition, Montreal, Canada. To read more please visit the Griffintown Competition Web page.

(30 November – 06 December 2010) Participants and the public were invited to join an online debate about the proposals, leading up to a vote on the proposals shortlisted by the jury. (07 December – 17 January 2010) Finalist proposals will become part of an open-ended design scheme for Griffintown, in a digital exhibition and digital publication which engage users, designers and jurists.

OUTR Making Tron Legacy

2010-12-18T10:52:00.000+11:00

OUTR Making Tron- Birth of Computer Animation

2010-12-18T10:09:00.002+11:00

Reaction-Diffusion Architecture by Dağhan Çam

2010-12-15T09:11:00.002+11:00

reaction-diffusion architecture from Dağhan Çam on Vimeo.

Thickened Ground - Landscape Productions & Urban Morphologies

2010-12-14T16:29:00.000+11:00

Recently Rosalea Monacella from OUTR completed her PHD. An exhibition of the works titled “Thickened Ground - landscape productions and urban morphologies” were on display at Guildford Lane Gallery, Melbourne.

Below are some images of the exhibition and body of work.

AADRL by Kate Revyakina

2010-12-14T09:05:00.004+11:00

AADRL from Kate Revyakina on Vimeo.

City Shaping II: Will Architecture Go Horizontal?

2010-12-14T08:03:00.000+11:00

Systems, Not Icons The unstoppable rise of landscape urbanism.

2010-12-14T08:01:00.000+11:00

reTUR(n)INGmatter by Jose Sanchez

2010-12-13T15:14:00.001+11:00

Also please visit their blog: GENWARE which is part of Biothing Research with Alisa Andrasek

reTUR(n)INGmatter from Jose Sanchez on Vimeo.

Koyaanisqatsi & Baraka Remixed

2010-12-13T09:48:00.000+11:00

Could it get any better, Koyaanisqatsi & Baraka remixed wtih some of my favourite music. Enjoy.

One Hundred and Eight Interactive Installation

2010-12-13T08:49:00.001+11:00

This is a fantastic installation constructedwith garbage bags by Nils Völker which we recently discovered. We particularly like the sound of the piece.

2.40 x 1.80 m
fans, plastic bags, MDF, relays,
a camera, a computer, a microcontroller
and countless screws

One Hundred and Eight – Interactive Installation from Nils Völker on Vimeo.

Interactive Projection Systems

2010-12-12T18:34:00.005+11:00

Recently OUTR has been discussing new sensory technologies emerging in the fields of the arts,dance and installations in the public realms. What we discovered was two of the following videos that explore the relationships between a moving body and motion graphics using an infrared camera tracking system.

The first video 'Glow' from the Australian dance company Chunky Move, is an illuminating choreographic essay by Artistic Director Gideon Obarzanek and interactive software creator Frieder Weiss.

"Beneath the glow of a sophisticated video tracking system, a lone organic being mutates in and out of human form into unfamiliar, sensual and grotesque creature states. Utilising the latest in interactive video technologies a digital landscape is generated in real time in response to the dancer’s movement. The body’s gestures are extended by and in turn manipulate the video world that surrounds it, rendering no two performances exactly the same" http://chunkymove.com.au/Our-Works/Current-Productions/Glow.aspx

Also fellow Australian musician Kylie Minogue has also explored this medium through her recent music video Get Outta My Way, directed by British directing team AlexandLiane and live projections again by Frieder Weiss.

Gideon Obarzanek’s Digital Moves from PopTech on Vimeo.

Kylie Minogue - Get Outta My Way on Vimeo.

OUTR @ Design Challenge 2010 Exhibition

2010-12-09T17:36:00.002+11:00

Last month OUTR shortlisted proposal "24 hour city" was exhibited at Melbourne's GPO building as a part of the 2010 Design Challenge Crime. The challenge is run by the Design Research Institute at RMIT University, supported by the City of Melbourne, Design Victoria, Australian International Design Awards, Standards Australia and the State of Design.

Images by Mila Robles Copyright ©


Team Members - Greg Afflick, Craig Douglas, Thomas Harper, Janie Lambert, Edward CrosslandJoseline Setiawan, Effie Zarfirakis, Kathryn English (Absent) Rosalea Monacella, Fabio Zambetta

Lake Eyre Filling Up

2010-12-08T17:36:00.002+11:00

For those who live in South-East Australia, you would be getting quite used to the latest extreme rainfall we have been experiencing. One of the biggest events that OUTR has observed from this unusually wet period has been the excessive water collection in Australia's largest inland lake, Lake Eyre. This usually dry salt lake in the state of South Australia hasswelled in recent weeks cutting off most access to the area.

Check out the satellite images from December the 1st.
Landsat image from Geoscience Australia

3D Holgraphic Prints

2010-12-08T12:46:00.003+11:00

Today Andrew Thompson the digital fabrication manager atRMIT Architecture and Design department introduced us to the world of Holographicdigital prints. This really has to be seen to be believed. This new technologyproduced by Sebra Imaging, based in the United States will potentially revolutionisethe way we represent 3d data in a true 3d format.

There is no need for 3d glasses to view the image and becauseof its light weight and 2 mm thickness, it can be easily transportable. Only downfall at the moment is the cost, a image just underan A3 size will set you back from $700 to $3,500 USD.

Check out below some links that shows how this technology potencially can be used.

Gajitz.com

High Definition Surveys

OUTR Shortlisted for Griffintown Competition, Montreal, Canada

2010-12-01T11:35:00.002+11:00

This week OUTR entry 'Re:Hiding' was shortlisted for the Signal House as a part of the Griffentown international ideas competition in Montreal Canada.

The competition invited participants to speculate on temporary habitation and the potenical of post industrial sites for developing dynamic, incremental architecture. Each project had to respond to a temporal and flexable conditions, and retro-fit existing strutures that had the ability to transform over time.

"Griffintown is widely considered to be one of Canada’s earliest industrial neighbourhoods, whose future has been uncertain ever since the postindustrial decline of the 50s. Today this indeterminacy remains, as Griffintown hovers on the precipice between its industrial past and an urban future. Empty lots and low-level industry sit alongside apartments and artists’ studios. While municipal plans for the demolition and redevelopment of large swaths of the area are in place, many citizens insist that highrise condominiums are not the only answer. As this debate rages on, Griffintown Interrupted proposes a third focus for the debate: neither past (restoration) nor future (redevelopment), but present. How can short term projects expand the existing community?" griffintowninterrupted.net

To vote for our entry please visit the Griffentown Website and click on Re:Hiding in the top right hand corner of the page.

OUTR Iteration printed

2010-11-29T12:43:00.003+11:00

OUTR in the process of updating their website

2010-11-26T16:10:00.002+11:00

Check out the updates on our website

OUTR is counting down to TRON Legacy 17.12.10

2010-11-24T18:08:00.018+11:00

Rerezzed

javascript:void(0)

OUTR Iteration

2010-11-22T15:47:00.000+11:00

OUTR Runs Design Research Studio 'Fish To Birds' Update 1.1

2010-11-22T15:37:00.005+11:00

Morphogenesis: Encoding livable surfaces.
Design by Matthew Hamilton + Niki Schwabe

Congratulations to Matthew Hamilton and Niki Schwabe for winning the Landscape Architecture Australia Prize for design communication from Architecture Media. Niki and Matthew took part in OUTR's Craig Douglas' design studio earlier this year "Fish to Birds".

SuperfantasticRIO Design Studio_Student Work

2010-11-22T15:29:00.003+11:00

Why:
Amongst the many things that ‘site’ might be, it is often defined by physical limit determining boundaries of ownership, action, and consequence, as well as scales of influence, resonance, and effect. The ambition of this research is to explore the notion of ‘site’ as a construction of a design process made through the act of representation.

What:
The research project is to design the Waterfront of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Like many cities around the world, including London’s Canary Wharf, Barcelona’s 1992 Olympics, Melbourne’s Docklands, Melbourne’s Birarungmar, and Sydney’s proposed Barangaroo to name a few, the city of Rio de Janeiro realises its opportunity to develop its redundant waterfront as a means of rejuvenating and redefining itself.

This project will consider the city as a living thing in a complex ever changing world of rapid urbanization. It will require you to ask questions such as, what are the potentials of this project, how do you grow a city, could this site be a park and what kind of park could that be, what relationship is to be constructed between the water and the city, who will inhabit this site, and how will this redefine the city?

How:
Making transforms and challenges ideas, whether they are unreal ideas of the imagination, or realised ideas of physical being in the world.

The act of making will be employed to interrogate how emergent form is generated through the dynamic medium of the landscape meeting the dynamic act of making, and how this might contribute to Design.

Students:

Paul Ahern and Nikki Hill
Jenna Emmanouilides and Francisco Illescas
Wen Sun
Samuel Steenholdt, Alice Lewis and Justin Walsh
Chris Armstrong
Benjamin Fleming, Aryen Liaw and Hiroshi Yoshinaga
Mi wang and Phillip Smith
Adrian Keene and Emmaline Bowman
Adrian Rivalland and Tristan Andrews
Fletcher Hawkins and Brooke Bisset
Chao Sun

Course Leaders:
Craig Douglas and Greg Afflick

Thanks to:
Andrew Thompson
Karl Fender

Marieluise Jonas

Click the link below to view some of the students work.

Hetroscape: Benjamin Fleming, Aryen Liaw and Hiroshi Yoshinaga


Carnival: Jenna Emmanouilides and Francisco Illescas

Wolfgang Masterplan Update 1.0_Conceptual Design

2010-11-22T15:08:00.001+11:00

Wolfgang: Birds eye view towards Hotel from Joyland


View of hotel facade

Conceptual facade

View of entrance to hotel

View of hotel room

Beach House Update 1.2

2010-11-22T14:57:00.001+11:00

Beach House Update 1.1

2010-11-22T14:46:00.003+11:00

Grasshopper Script

Beach House Update 1.0

2010-11-22T14:21:00.001+11:00

Design Challenge - 24hr Safe City

2010-11-16T20:03:00.000+11:00

RMIT Design Research link to Shortlisted Entries

Project description

The projects objective is to facilitate exploration of safe 24 hour city strategies, using advanced
technologies involving interactive, agent-based simulations of user-defined scenarios.
We plan to develop an extensive open source exploratory tool that will provide a basis for diverse, ongoing
work in relation to generating safer 24hour cities.

We propose a city generator and renewal package. This package consists of 3 parts:
1. A design proposal for an adaptive transformation process of the urban landscape which engages
in three scales; the large, medium and small and three operations; observation, speculation and
adaptation.

2. An identity and communication strategy for the proposal which aims in involving all citizens in the
process of transforming their city into a centre that is resilient to crime.

3. An interactive, agent-based simulator that utilizes an active tool box that speculates on various urban
strategies which responds to policies and generates user-defined scenarios.

OUTR submits design for Griffintown, Montreal, Canada

2010-11-16T16:03:00.000+11:00

Landscape Urbanism v's New Urbanism

2010-11-14T22:10:00.003+11:00

World Cup + Olympics ...what can be done in Rio

2010-11-14T21:50:00.000+11:00

Shanghai Design Biennial Pavilion Update 1.3

2010-11-07T19:53:00.001+11:00

link to article

Metamorphoses at University of Sydney

2010-10-11T15:06:00.001+11:00

Note, the text and images below were first posted at: InDesignLive

Photography by Brett Boardman

The exhibition ran from 5th-28th August 2010 at Tin Sheds Gallery,University of Sydney as a part of Sydney Design 2010, presented by the Powerhouse Museum.

AutoCAD WS for iphone and ipad

2010-10-11T08:34:00.000+11:00

Autodesk has recently released AutoCAD WS downloadable app from itunes for sharing, viewing and editing your AutoCAD drawings on the go using a mobile or tablet device. With their expansion back into Mac's after 18 years with AutoCAD for Mac, it is no surprise and was just a matter of time.

"Take your designs with you wherever you go - on the way to a meeting, on the factory floor or the job site without being tied to a desktop application." Read more......

OUTR Employment Opportunity

2010-10-07T21:02:00.000+11:00

OUTR is seeking a creative designer and research assistant for a three month part time postion within the lab.

Please send your CV and no more than 3 pages of images to

outr@rmit.edu.au

GUM.b Global Urban Measures Study Tour Exhibition

2010-10-07T16:50:00.001+11:00

The launch of the GUM.b Glocal Urban Measures Exhibition will take place at the OUTR Exhibition space at

440 Elizabeth Street
Level 5
Melbourne City, Australia

For more information on GUM.b check out these links
GUM.b previous blog entries

Offical GUM.b Blog

Jean Paul Gaultier Interior Designs for Roche Bobois

2010-10-06T17:22:00.001+11:00

Note, the text and images below were first posted at: Stylebust

Jean Paul Gaultier's new collaboration with upscale French furniture line Roche Bobois marks his reentry into the home design market. While details are scarce at this time, the French designer is giving us a glimpse of his interior skills with the Elle Decoration Suite, his makeover of the former Parisian apartment of ’30s-era architect Jacques Carlu, according to a press release. Open to the public from May 8 until October 2011, the Roche Bobois-sponsored suite features nautical and natural details, such as navy striped walls and garden prints.

“Clothes are my vocation, and as I only know how to dress, I dressed this Elle Decoration Suite… with various notes that already reside in my collections,”

Gaultier says in the release, citing green, marine, reflective and satin influences.

‘Sukkah City’ Competition (now this is more like it).

2010-10-04T14:51:00.005+11:00

Note, the text and images below were first posted at: Archicentral

‘Sukkah City’ Competition Entry By visiondivision

The concept is designed by Visiondivision as their competition entry for ‘Sukkah City‘, where designers / architects were asked to design a modern Sukkah – a temporary hut created for an annual Jewish Harvest Festival – in Union Square, New York City. Called ‘Hollow’ the structure consists of an organic pavilion that changes the conditions for social interaction and behavior, using compression to hold the structure together.

Some further information from visiondivision:

“A large number of design constraints where implied in the competition, for example the sukkah had to have a roof made out of branches, but they couldn’t be in bundles, there of our construction technique, using compression.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi To Open October 28

2010-10-04T14:02:00.002+11:00

Note, the text and images below were first posted at: Archicentral

Opening in 2010, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi is set to be the worlds largest indoor theme park, sitting under a roof designed in the style of a classic double-curve body shell of a Ferrari GT car.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will pay tribute to the passion, excellence, performance, and technical innovation that Ferrari has established over the years and represents today. Its iconic sleek red roof is directly inspired by the classic double curve side profile of the Ferrari GT body, spanning 200,000 m² and carrying the largest Ferrari logo ever created.“With over 20 rides and attractions, including the world’s fastest roller coaster, Ferrari World is more than a theme park it is where Ferrari’s legendary story is unveiled reaching speeds of up to 240 km/h.”

From the developers:

“After the inaugural Formula 1™ Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix held on Yas Island on November 1 2009, the opening of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi signals a milestone in bringing Abu Dhabi global recognition. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will be a key element in expanding the appeal of Abu Dhabi to travelers, both business and leisure. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will have over 20 rides and attractions which will bring to life the Ferrari brand in ways which appeal to a diverse international audience. In addition to Formula Rossa, visitors to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will also enjoy an aerial voyage through Italy following a Ferrari, a G-force experience taking passengers on an adrenaline-pumping ride up over 62 m, through the roof and back down again, and a flume ride journey through the heart of a Ferrari 599 engine.

Hmmm, if they say so..........

OUTR web site link established with OUTR Facebook and email

2010-10-04T10:44:00.001+11:00

In an effort to provide more exposure ofour research and interest groups, we have decided to insert a direct link tothe OUTR Facebook group page. We also thought it might be more convenient todrop in a direct email button attached to info@outr.org.

OUTR invited to exhibit at the European Biennial of Landscape Architecture (Barcelona)

2010-10-01T20:36:00.003+10:00

Please also visit web site:

Once again Barcelona will host the International Exposition of Landscape Projects from Schools of Architecture and Landscape The aim of this recurrent event is to enrich the debate on the landscape scenery.

The exhibition will display a selection of projects which were assembled during the last two years, and that in some way summarize the investigation and the projecting work done by different schools all around the world.

The projects that were selected have a special focus on landscape in its most general definition, spacing from ecology to urban public spaces.

Such selection will be at the centre of an exhibition that will take place in selection of these projects will be part of an exhibition, that will be celebrated in the ETSAB - Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona.

The exhibition includes more than 600 projects submitted by over 90 schools from 32 different countries.

Along to the main section a special one will be dedicated to all the sounder projects from the landscape programs of the Polytechnic University of Cataluña, from the Master in Landscape Architecture of Barcelona and it’s parallel edition in Milan.

The opening of the exhibition will take place the 28th of September at 4.30 p.m. in the ETSAB, while the winner of the 6th edition of the Barcelona Landscape European Biennale, the Rosa Barba Prize, will be announced Friday, October the 1st at the Pedrera [Passeig de Gracia, 92].

Grasshopper in superfantasticRIO

2010-09-29T10:36:00.009+10:00

Karl Fender attends superfantasticRIO

2010-09-22T16:12:00.013+10:00

Last night, Karl Fender of Fender Katsalidis Architects, andalso the current National President of the Australian Institute of Architects presentedto the students participating in the superfantaicRIO upper pool design studio at RMIT.

Karl was gracious to set aside some time in his schedule tonot only chat about some of his past and present work with waterfronts which the students found insightful and inspiring, butalso to critique the work of the students in their projects so far. Each studentgroup (Landscape and Architecture) were only given a very brief amount of timeto communicate their proposals and approach into how they are researching the possibilitiesfor the Rio de Janeiro port waterfront.

In the later half of last year Karl, Craig Douglas (OUTR), GregAfflick (OUTR) and a number of other Victorians from the AUS cluster travelled toSouth America on a collaborative mission……..

To read more on thisplease see earlier posts from November 2009.

Beijing's 100km, Nine Day Traffic Jam

2010-09-21T17:33:00.001+10:00

Nine day traffic jam. That’s right, a traffic jam on a road leading into Beijing now stretches more than 60 miles and is entering its ninth day. Traffic on the Beijing-Tibet expressway slowed on August 14 after a surge in traffic from heavy trucks carrying cargo into the Chinese capital. Five days later road maintenance began, compounding the congestion problem further. According to a state-run newspaper, the monumental slowdown led to the creation of an opportunistic local economy; merchants began selling food and water to stranded motorists at wildly inflated prices.

Surely at this point the traffic jam is close to letting up, right? Not so fast. According to state media the congestion is expected to continue until workers finish up the construction projects on September 13.

The tale of the traffic jam is amusing, but it highlights a serious problem in what is now the world’s second-largest economy. After years of booming economic growth China has outgrown its current system of roadways and rail lines, and the country’s infrastructure is in desperate need of some not-so-minor upgrades. The lack of sufficient infrastructure is quickly becoming a bottleneck in an otherwise promising economic machine. If the Chinese government fails to supply citizens with a sufficient standard of living, it risks choking off the move from rural areas to China’s cities. Even worse, lack of satisfactory infrastructure could prompt social unrest, one of the few threats to the power of the ruling Communist party.

Part of China’s infrastructure woes relate to a surge in automobile ownership in the emerging market. China supplanted the U.S. as the world’s largest automobile market in 2009 aftervehicle sales jumped nearly 50% over the previous year. Despite that tremendous growth, the pace is expected to accelerate further in the future. Currently there are about ten motor vehicles per 1,000 people in China; in the U.S. that figure stands north of 750.

Ongoing urbanization is another ongoing trend that will further highlight China’s need for massive infrastructure spending. At present, only about 40% of China’s population lives in cities, compared to more than 80% in the U.S. But China is quickly catching up; the rate of urbanization is more than double the comparable metric for the U.S.

China is taking steps to address its infrastructure problems. About 45% of the recent $580 billion stimulus plan was earmarked for railways, highways, and power grids, with another big slug (nearly 10%) allocated to rural development and infrastructure projects. Whether that will be sufficient to begin unclogging roads and streamlining transportation around the country remains to be seen. But judging from the recent backup heading into Beijing, there is a long way to go before China’s infrastructure problems are solved.

As China continues a push to increase its importance on the global stage, the country has generally been proactive in eliminating potential roadblocks. Agricultural independence has long been a point of pride, and in recent years Chinese firms have become increasingly active in the acquisition of international oil and gas firms. So it seems likely that Beijing will address infrastructure issues as well in order to entice rural Chinese to the cities and continue the impressive rise of the middle class.

Written By Michael Johnston From ETF Database and ETF Dailynews

OUTR animations and videos are now mobile

2010-09-20T16:06:00.001+10:00

After a few weeks of editing and compressing, we are now able toprovide all of our animations and videos in a format that is friendly to thoseof you using iphones or ipads.

We are still testing the OUTR website and the OUTR blog for more consistencyacross the different browsers, and hope to soon have everything running in a flexiblerange of formats and devices.

Landscape Workshop | Symposium 2010

2010-09-20T14:37:00.010+10:00

RecentlyTeam Members Craig Douglas and Greg Afflick co-tutored a workshop/symposium ledby Tim Schork from mesne design studio.

This year the Landscape ArchitectureSymposium was undertaken as intensive workshops. The focus of the workshop wasto develop and engage the students to develop a critical understanding ofcontemporary design strategies and techniques to test a variety of thesethrough the process of making and representation leading to many possible designoutcomes.

Other objectivesincluded:

Develop anunderstanding of basic principles of formation

Develop a conceptualunderstanding and an operational knowledge of dynamic systems

Testing explorationsthrough the production of various digital and physical prototypes

WorkshopLeader: TimSchork, MESNE Design Studio with: Dr. Charles Anderson, Craig Douglas,Bridget Keane, Greg Afflick

OUTR's Rosalea Monacella Presents at World Expo

2010-09-18T19:36:00.000+10:00

Rosalea Monacella presented OUTR's small and grand Jioashan Islands project at the AUS (Australian Urban Systems) "Beyond better cities" forum at the Australian Pavilion. Among the distinguished guest was China's Victorian goverment commisioner, Patrick Stringer and Executive Director and Commissioner General for Australia, Lyndall Sachs.

OUTR's Tom Harper visits Hainan Provence, China

2010-09-17T19:14:00.005+10:00

This week I has been travelling around Hainan Provence in the South China Sea with the Australian Urban System cluster (AUS). Observations made in this area of rapid urban transformation is a place trying to construct itself into China's new tourist hot spot, a decision made by the central Chinese government. This is because of its tropical climate and to be honest, amazing scenery. But as it goes it's literally out with the old and in with the new. Hainan transformation has been speeding up in the last three years with all high rise buildings and resorts emerging at a rapid rate. After flying into Haikou, the Provence governmental capital, I traveled down the east and south coast visiting along the way the government officials in Qiongahi, Wanning, Lingshui and last Sanya.