Brian Coates - Linear Array

[TheArchitect]

Cool design, it must have taken a long time to model. I'm curious how it is going to be inhabited by humans, I'm prety sure the contest guide lines require that it is. Keep up the good work

[cybeo]

How about placing some pods at the ends of the vanes as the habitable part?
Maybe you could make the vanes larger and include wedges as rooms. The furniture would have to be strapped down though. The apartments would have to be on swivel-connectors to keep em straight.

[geckster]

Well, my computer's been working fine but my creative juices haven't.

I've been going back and forth with this thing since last posting and haven't really progressed much. Like d.sign suggested I'm having a lot of trouble finding things to add that won't take away from what I already have, which at the moment looks like this:



As you can see, I've been inspired by anonyma's comments and decided to go with the concept of a large scale solar array, designed to be a 'landmark' project for the promotion of sustainable energy generation.

[RANT]

I personally believe one reason sustainable energy sources, (like wind and solar) haven't attracted large scale support from both industry and government, has been because it doesn't have 'technical sex appeal'.

What does that mean? Compare nuclear power and solar power.

Nuclear power requires exotic fuel materials, large and complex hardware systems and fairly advanced technical knowledge to get it to work, plus what you're basically doing is breaking atoms apart to make electricity.

Sounds very impressive.

Solar power requires you to stick wires into a slab of silicon and put it outside. If you want to go really hi-tech you add a mechanism to follow the path of the sun.

That's it.

Guess which method of power generation gets more attention, (and funding)?

The problem with solar power is that it's too 'simple'. I think that if you make solar power 'big' (literally) it will firstly get more attention, then more acceptance as a valid form of energy generation.

I also don't think it's a coincidence that in the last 20 years or so wind power has become widely accepted as a commercial method of generating electricity. That was around the time that turbines started getting really big. Politically there's nothing like large-scale engineering to make it look like you're doing something.

Yes, unlike nuclear reactors solar cells can't produce electricity 24/7, which is a problem since electricity can't be stored on an industrial scale. I think that's mainly because there's never been a compelling reason to find a way to do it. Large scale solar generation, (and it's environmental benefits), could provide that reason.

[/RANT]

Anyway, any suggestions about taking the modelling further would be gratefully accepted. Texturing isn't my strong point so any ideas there would be very much appreciated as well.

d.sign: Maybe not infinite but it's pretty big. At full scale it's roughly 1.2 km end to end.

TheArchitect: Initial modelling took about 5-6 hours I think but it's been rebuilt three or four times since then, so the total time is anyone's guess. I looked through the contest rules too and I couldn't see anything about it having to be habitable so I think I'm pretty safe there.

Thanks for your comments guys. Keep'em coming.

[pradipta]

Brian,

it's simply looking fantasttic. very strong concept and the detail you have achieved in the models are mind blowing. keep the good work and continu to post updates

[anonyma]

Hey Brian!

nice to see you've rrefined the proposal...i'm liking a lot the way it is conformed...
thinking out loud about it...i think making it habitable would be a plus for this great project...the solar power approach is one of my favs here...and also the structural appeal you have achieved...

it might be a possibility to take in consideration this as an extreme climate zone prototype development (desertic, arctic, etc...), so it could take advantages on the solar factor, the wind...and the grounding of the so called "habitable part"...

maybe going under the ground will lead you to a full concept..preserving the outdoors look and that could make this the quasi post holocaust environment...or something that deals with populating these difficult areas...against the current overuse of the "urban" space....(thinking about a subtle underground bunker that you only see the entrances or some functional element emerging underneath your solar protected corridor)

hope to see some more updates soon.
the panelling is looking great...i think you need a bit more work on the structural material ...maybe something that deals with new metal alloy...

keep going!

[pBarrelas]

Very nice images, they look very realistic! Keep going!

[neha]

Very unique work....I like it...keep going like this

[geckster]

Thanks for the comments guys. Much appreciated.

Once again I've been inspired by anonyma's suggestions, (thanks mate ) and designed a de-mountable office/workshop unit to use in my project. Not sure exactly where it will go yet but it'll help to populate the scene, make it feel more 'habitable' and give an additional sense of scale to the main structure.

[Brian Cassil]

This looks like a well thought out concept. It also looks like you have good control over the technical aspects of modeling and rendering here. I get the concept that this is out in the middle of nowhere, however I don't know how much of an 'architectural wonder' something can be, if it's located somewhere few will ever experience first hand. Maybe some hint of a nearby civilization would be worth considering?

Nice work either way.

[d.sign]

Very impressive updates! All aspects are top qualitty! Light and modeling are perfect! I would not add any more details to main structure, it is already detailed enough. Also, I think that adding aditional inhabitable objects like the one you designed already is really good idea. I think it is solution to the problem of completing your structure. Smaller demountable units will go along with main structure well and make it look more working and living structrure. Also it will bring up scientific aspect more... You can vary the size and configuration of those and make interesting base for your structure....
Good luck in next steps, you are doing great!